U.S. Marine Corps

Overview

The United States Marine Corps is the smallest of America’s armed services — a naval infantry force that traces its founding to November 10, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress established the Continental Marines (U.S. Marine Corps). Its motto, Semper Fidelis — “always faithful” — signifies a Marine’s loyalty to the mission, to the Corps, and to the country (U.S. Marine Corps). In November 2025 the Corps marked its 250th birthday, with events honoring Marines past and present planned across several states (Scripps News). And the sitting vice president who headlined the anniversary at Camp Pendleton was one of its own: J.D. Vance, the first Marine Corps veteran to serve as vice president of the United States (The Economic Times).

From a Philadelphia brewery to 1798

The branch traces its origins to November 10, 1775, when John Adams drafted a resolution creating the Continental Marines to serve alongside the Continental Navy in the Revolutionary War (Scripps News). Recruitment began at a brewery in Philadelphia, now recognized as the Corps’ birthplace (Scripps News). The Corps’ own history records that the initial two battalions, led by Commandant Samuel Nicholas, were raised to provide security and support for the Continental Navy (U.S. Marine Corps).

The Marines’ first assault came quickly: in the Bahamas in 1776, they seized gunpowder and munitions from British soldiers (Scripps News). Throughout the Revolutionary War they fought both at sea and on land — and then, in 1783, the Continental Marines were disbanded after the war ended (Scripps News). The Corps’ own account attributes the disbandment to fiscal constraints (U.S. Marine Corps).

The rebirth came more than two decades later. On July 11, 1798, Congress ordered the reestablishment of a Marine Corps operating under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy (U.S. Marine Corps). The immediate cause was the quasi-war with France: the revived Corps was sent to safeguard U.S. operations, landing in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic (Scripps News). From that day, the Corps’ history says, Marines have served “in every clime and place” (U.S. Marine Corps).

One detail the Corps itself volunteers: Semper Fidelis was not the original motto. During its first century the Corps used unofficial ones — “to the shores of Tripoli,” commemorating the First Barbary War; “Fortitudine,” meaning “with courage”; and “Per Mare, Per Terram” (“by sea and by land”), borrowed from the British Royal Marines (U.S. Marine Corps). “Semper Fi” became official only in 1883 (U.S. Marine Corps). And the birthday ritual is itself a tradition with a start date: in 1921, Major General Commandant John A. Lejeune officially proclaimed November 10 the annual celebration of the founding, marked ever since with parades, formal gatherings, and cake-cuttings (Scripps News; U.S. Marine Corps).

The Corps at war

In World War I the Corps deployed to France, where the 4th Marine Brigade’s fighting earned it the nickname “Devil Dogs,” and Marine pilots flew bomber missions over Belgium and France (Scripps News). World War II made the Marines masters of amphibious warfare: between 1941 and 1945 they carried out large-scale assaults across the Pacific — Guam, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima, the last producing the war’s iconic flag-raising photograph — and by war’s end the branch had grown to six divisions, five air wings, and supporting troops (Scripps News).

Korea proved amphibious assault still viable: at the Chosin Reservoir, Marines held against Chinese Communists in sub-zero cold (Scripps News). In Vietnam the Marine presence expanded through the mid-1960s, peaking at about 85,000 troops after the 1968 Tet Offensive; most ground units had withdrawn by 1971 (Scripps News). When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, more than 90,000 troops deployed to the Persian Gulf ahead of Operation Desert Storm — the largest Marine deployment since World War II (Scripps News). After September 11, 2001, Marines went to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom and to Iraq, where the urban fighting in Fallujah is widely considered the most intense Marine battle since Vietnam (Scripps News). The Department of Defense counts the Corps as the smallest of its armed services, at roughly 190,000 active-duty personnel as of 2020 (U.S. Marine Corps).

The first Marine in the vice presidency

The queue entry behind this profile reads: “served 2003–2007, reached corporal.” That is J.D. Vance’s service record. Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2003 under the name James D. Hamel — a fact the Marine Corps itself confirmed — and served a four-year enlistment as a combat correspondent (Marine Corps Times). He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and deployed to Iraq from August 2005 to February 2006 (Marine Corps Times). He left the service in 2007 as a corporal (Marine Corps Times).

Vance’s 2024 vice-presidential nomination was itself a milestone for the Corps’ alumni: he was the first veteran of any generation on a major-party ticket since John McCain in 2008, and the first veteran of the military’s enlisted ranks on the ballot since Al Gore in 2000 (Marine Corps Times). After the election he became the first Marine Corps veteran to serve as vice president of the United States (The Economic Times). His nomination had split the veteran community: retired Marine officers Joe Plenzler and Scott Cooper, along with former Marine aviator Amy McGrath — the first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps — criticized his politics and his reversal on Trump, while Iraq veteran Allison Jaslow of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and former Marine special-operations officer Elliot Ackerman called an enlisted veteran at that level a healthy thing for the country’s decision-making (Marine Corps Times). On October 18, 2025, he marked the Corps’ 250th anniversary at Camp Pendleton, praising Marines’ service, conveying greetings from President Donald Trump, and saying the administration would work to ensure troops were paid during the government shutdown (The Economic Times). At Pendleton he praised the Corps’ “common purpose” and criticized past officials who he said had mandated diversity quotas (The Economic Times).

What this profile does not claim

This profile does not state the Corps’ current active-duty strength: the roughly 190,000 figure comes from a 2020 Marine Corps article and is presented as dated, not current. It does not give the exact date Vance was sworn in as vice president, which was not verified from a source read in full. It does not name the current commandant or describe the 2026 force structure, which were not verified from full-read sources. It takes no position on disputes over how to characterize Vance’s level of combat exposure; it reports his documented role, unit, deployment dates, and rank.