US Vice President J.D. Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth marked the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton. The grand event featured live-fire drills and an amphibious showcase. Vance, a former Marine, saluted the Corps’ valor, saying, 'Semper Fidelis — 250 years strong and still fighting for freedom.'
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NewsTranscript
00:00Oorah Marines!
00:02Oorah!
00:04Man, that is beautiful.
00:07Let me just say, this might be one of the most beautiful sights I think I've ever seen.
00:12In fact, I'm not supposed to say this, really not, but I think you guys might be my favorite.
00:18Don't tell anybody.
00:23Marines, it's great to see you. It's an honor to be here.
00:25Chief Commandant, Secretary of the Navy, thank you.
00:28It's an honor to be at Camp Pendleton.
00:30And looking out at these Marines today, and the Navy SEALs, I had a chance to do PT with this morning.
00:36You know, I do PT all around the country now, with the troops, and it's turned into Smoke the Secretary.
00:43It's clear to me why President Trump says all the time,
00:46we're the strongest, most powerful, most lethal, and most prepared military on the planet.
00:52Because you are that strength.
00:55You are that power.
00:57You are that lethality.
00:59And you are prepared.
01:01And President Trump's going to make sure it stays that way.
01:05Being here with you is the perfect way to mark 250 years of the beautiful and beloved United States Marine Corps.
01:15President Trump has made our mission clear.
01:25We needed clarity, and he provided it.
01:27America first.
01:29Peace through strength.
01:31And common sense at every turn.
01:33We are the War Department.
01:37And you are warriors.
01:39The Marine Corps embodies the warrior ethos.
01:45You see, when other parts of the department wavered in years past, not anymore, in years past, the Marine Corps stood strong.
01:55When other parts of the department wanted to go woke, the Marine Corps stood strong.
02:07When other parts of the department wanted to lower standards, the Marine Corps stood strong.
02:13You, ladies and gentlemen, are the backbone of the United States military.
02:21You always have been.
02:23And that's why we're proud to honor you today.
02:25250 years ago, Major Samuel Nichols formed the Continental Marines.
02:31The next year, the Marines won the Battle of Nassau, capturing two forts from the Brits.
02:35Since that day, the very mention of the Marine Corps stirred panic in the hearts of our enemies.
02:41From the halls of Montezulo to the shores of Tripoli,
02:45Marines have been the tip of the spear of our armed forces and the vanguard of the fight for freedom.
02:51Just as they are right now in the Caribbean.
02:55Let's hope the wrong people don't F-A-F-O around there.
03:03In the most critical battles our nation has ever faced, it is often Marines, forged by unique traditions,
03:09and tough-as-nails training, who land first.
03:13And they volunteer to put themselves in harm's way.
03:15Thanks to the blood and sweat of men who came before you,
03:19every American knows the truth of the phrase.
03:23It's not just a phrase, it's a way of life for all of you.
03:25Semper Fidelis, always faithful.
03:29You see, because I look out at this crowd, I see a lot of different types of faces.
03:35The truth is, your diversity is not your strength.
03:39It never has been.
03:41Your strength is in your unity of purpose.
03:45It's in your shared mission.
03:47It's in your oath to the Constitution.
03:49It's the bond that turns individuals into single-minded fighting units.
03:55You see, you are set apart.
03:57You're not civilians.
03:59You're devil dogs.
04:01Leathernecks.
04:03United States Marines.
04:05You are set apart for a distinct purpose.
04:11You kill bad guys and break things for a living.
04:17You close with and destroy the enemy for a living.
04:25And as we mark the 250th birthday of the Marine Corps, take a moment and remember where you are in the great American story.
04:33Everybody likes to talk about 1776, and that was a pretty important date.
04:37But we're not here without 1775.
04:43When Americans were willing to stand up and pick up a rifle and say,
04:47we will live free.
04:49That spirit lives in all of you.
04:53That story includes heroes like Chesty Puller, Daniel Daly, and our own great Vice President and Marine, J.D. Vance.
05:04Take pride in that story and continue making yourselves worthy of that legacy.
05:10As the Commandant said so beautifully, standards, discipline, accountability, war fighting, lethality, they live in the Marine Corps.
05:21We get a chance to see our Commander-in-Chief fight for all of you every single day.
05:27I know because I see it.
05:29President Trump appreciates your dedication, your valor, your tenacity, the sacrifices you make and the sacrifices that all of your families make.
05:38We know no Marine serves alone.
05:40They serve alongside a family.
05:43Someone else who understands that is Vice President Vance, who is right there alongside President Trump,
05:50who he himself has made the same types of sacrifices that you have.
05:55Your Vice President enlisted after high school in the Marine Corps and served in Iraq.
06:03Your Vice President knows and shares the dedication of this force.
06:09And he represents you always in Washington.
06:13I have an honor, I have the honor, of getting a chance to watch Vice President Vance day in and day out.
06:19Live the values of the Marine Corps.
06:22Speak up and tell the truth.
06:24Have courage.
06:26Stand alongside President Trump.
06:28It's an incredible thing to watch.
06:29And as I tell every warrior I meet, our President and Vice President, they have your back.
06:37And I promise you, so do I.
06:40Support from the top is all I ever wanted when I was a young infantry lieutenant in Iraq.
06:46Or in Afghanistan, where my boss actually happened to be a Marine.
06:52He was tough.
06:54He was brave.
06:55And a little bit crazy.
06:56But I loved him for it.
07:01And I knew he would do anything for me.
07:06So on behalf of the Department of War, thank you.
07:10Congratulations on 250 years of success.
07:14And here's to 250 more.
07:16I can say to you, we've got seven little kids in our stead.
07:19Not so little anymore.
07:20A couple teenagers.
07:21Man, I would be proud.
07:23As a dad.
07:24If I ever saw one of them put on the uniform of a United States Marine.
07:29You serve your country.
07:31You make us proud.
07:34We have your back.
07:37God bless you.
07:38God bless our Marines.
07:39And may God bless our great Republic.
07:41Godspeed.
07:42God bless you, Marines.
07:43God bless you, Camp Hamilton.
07:45It is so much fun and such an honor to be out here to celebrate 250 years of United States Marines.
07:54Now, I got to say, first of all, thank you to so many of the fine people who are here today who made this incredible event happen.
08:07And who every day make our military the finest fighting force anywhere in the world.
08:12First of all, our great Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, who gave a hell of a speech, if I might say so.
08:18Pete, where are you at?
08:19Now, he is a soldier, but are we proud of our Secretary of War and Marine Corps?
08:29Now, I will say, I was talking to Pete about this speech and thinking about what I said,
08:36and I realized that over my four years in the United States Marine Corps,
08:41I probably learned about a hundred jokes about United States Marines.
08:46And every single one of them Marines would mean the end of my political career if I told it up here today.
08:53I sent a few of them last night to my communications staff and I said, can I tell this one?
09:01And they said, please, no, sir.
09:02Please, please do not tell that one.
09:05We're also happy to be joined by our great Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan.
09:10John, thank you so much for your leadership and service.
09:17I got to give a shout out to my beautiful wife, our great Second Lady Usha Vance with the Marine Corps hat.
09:27You know, I've been asked many times, why did I want to run for and become Vice President of the United States?
09:41And there's a lot of answers, of course, to that question.
09:44I wanted to serve our wonderful Commander-in-Chief, President Donald J. Trump.
09:49And I know we're proud of him.
09:51And of course, I wanted to serve the American people and make their lives better.
09:59But really, deep down, I wanted the Commandant of the Marine Corps to have to salute a member of the E-4 Mafia.
10:07And now he has to.
10:16And Marines, we have a great Marine Corps come on in General Eric Smith.
10:20General, thank you so much for everything you do.
10:29We got General Daniel Taylor.
10:30Where is General Daniel Taylor?
10:32Apparently he was sick today.
10:36We have got Admiral Gavin Duff here.
10:39Admiral.
10:40Thank you for your service, sir.
10:43We have got Colonel John Caldwell and General Michael Nacanese.
10:55Did I pronounce that right, General?
10:57There we go.
10:58I did okay.
10:59I'm the Vice President, so you can't tell me I'm wrong.
11:01And of course, Marines, I bring greetings today from our Commander-in-Chief, Donald J. Trump.
11:11And he wanted me to tell each and every single one of you that he's proud of you, that he loves you.
11:18And that despite the Schumer shutdown, he is going to do everything he can to make sure you get paid exactly as you deserve.
11:25Now, I know we're here to talk about the Marine Corps, but I got to get just a little political because congressional Democrats seem to want to keep the government shut down, even though it would mean that a lot of you would not get your paycheck.
11:45But as I told the President just a couple of days ago, I said, sir, we have got to figure out how to pay these Marines, both for their sake, but also, of course, because if we don't pay our enlisted Marines, every bar in Southern California is going to go out of business.
12:00And we don't want that.
12:07Now, I've also got to give a special shout out to the incredible display that we saw earlier today.
12:14It made my heart saying as your vice president, and it was a testament to the core strength and unbeatable power.
12:21It reminded me why I am so proud to have worn the uniform to be one among your ranks and to be the very first vice president to have been a United States Marine.
12:32Now, for us East Coast Marines, Camp Pendleton has always had a special place in our imagination.
12:47We heard the stories of the backbreaking hikes you all had to do.
12:51The West Coast Marines had to do in Camp Pendleton.
12:53You know it.
12:54Us East Coast Marines, we had the sand fleas and you all had the hills.
13:00I don't know which was worse.
13:01These guys behind me have opinions.
13:11So let's give some credit to the amazing Marine units who pulled this off.
13:17First of all, to the incredible Marines of this base and the Marine Corps forces West who put on this display.
13:25Let's give a round of applause to the incredible job they did.
13:28And I want to talk about some of those units because you all made me so proud.
13:41I know we must have some Marines from the 1st Marine Division.
13:45Where are you?
13:46You all did a hell of a job.
13:51How about the Marines from the 3rd Marine Air Wing?
13:54I know we have some Marines from the 1st Marine Logistics Group, the lifeblood of the fight.
14:01Where are you all at?
14:03We've also got Marines from the 1st Meth Information Group, the brain of the fight.
14:11Where are you all at?
14:12And we've also got, of course, men and women from Marine Corps Installations West, the folks who keep the home front.
14:21Where are you?
14:22Marine Corps Installations West.
14:24There we go.
14:27Now, I know you all know we cannot leave out our brothers and sisters of the sea.
14:32So we're proud to have all the sailors of the Navy's 3rd Fleet here to celebrate 250 years of Marines.
14:49These sailors who go to war with us, they fight over the horizon.
14:52They stand shoulder to shoulder with Marines wherever the fight takes us.
14:57And if any group shares in the glory of the Marines' 250th birthday, it is our beloved Navy Corpsman.
15:04Let's give a shout out to the Navy Corpsman out there.
15:06We love them.
15:07And I know every Marine has had the story of walking into a Corpsman's office, barely alive, suffering the most severe illness you've suffered in your entire life.
15:25And they'll say, just go home, hydrate and take two Motrin and it'll work out just fine.
15:30So thank you to the Corpsman for taking care of us, but also toughening us up.
15:35And that's right.
15:38And a change of socks, a bottle of water, a change of socks and two Motrin will fix any illness.
15:44So we are grateful Marines to be graced with the presence of some very special guests, people whose very lives contribute to the incredible Marine Corps legacy.
15:59Earlier, we all heard from Sergeant Dakota Meyer, who received the Medal of Honor in 2011 for extraordinary heroism in 2009.
16:10Are we proud of Sergeant Dakota Meyer?
16:12Dakota Meyer, yes, we are.
16:21And despite the constant rain of enemy fire, then Corporal Meyer made multiple runs across an ambush zone that day, saving the lives of 36 American and Afghan troops.
16:34Dakota Meyer, we love you.
16:35We're proud of you.
16:36You're the very best of the Marine Corps and the very best of this country.
16:42We are also honored to be joined by American hero Charles Cram, who was a Navy Corpsman attached to the 5th Marine Division when it landed at Iwo Jima.
16:57Now as part of that force, this American hero watched the stars and stripes raised over Mount Suribachi before being wounded on the seventh day of battle while tending to a Marine.
17:12For his valor, he was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart.
17:27Sir, we love you.
17:29Thank you for your service.
17:30The Marines love their corpsmen, and that's one of the very best.
17:44Another living legend we have with us today is Elmer Royce Williams, a naval aviator who, while on combat patrol in the Korean War, suddenly found himself up against seven Soviet MiGs.
17:59Sir, thank you so much.
18:01God bless you, and thank you.
18:15Now we're going to let the brave lieutenant take a seat, but I've got to talk a little bit about him.
18:19I've got to brag on him, because despite the odds, Lieutenant Williams took down four of them in a single 35-minute dogfight, the longest dogfight in naval history, a record I believe that still stands to this day.
18:33Hurrah.
18:34Hurrah.
18:35Hurrah.
18:36Hurrah.
18:37Hurrah.
18:38Hurrah.
18:39Hurrah.
18:40Hurrah.
18:42Hurrah.
18:43Hurrah.
18:44Hurrah.
18:45Hurrah.
18:46Hurrah.
18:47Hurrah.
18:48Hurrah.
18:49Hurrah.
18:50Hurrah.
18:51Hurrah.
18:52Hurrah.
18:53Hurrah.
18:54Hurrah.
18:55Hurrah.
18:56Hurrah.
18:57Hurrah.
18:58Hurrah.
18:59Hurrah.
19:00Hurrah.
19:01Hurrah.
19:02Hurrah.
19:03Hurrah.
19:04Hurrah.
19:05Hurrah.
19:06Hurrah.
19:07Hurrah.
19:08Hurrah.
19:09Hurrah.
19:10Hurrah.
19:11Hurrah.
19:12Hurrah.
19:13Hurrah.
19:14Hurrah.
19:15Hurrah.
19:16Hurrah.
19:17Hurrah.
19:18Hurrah.
19:19And I finally got to give a shout out to my dear friend, recently retired Master Sergeant
19:28Charles McKelvey.
19:29Chase, where you at, man?
19:32Love you.
19:33Oh, he's got a beard already.
19:34Look at that.
19:35He's been out of the Marine Corps for three months.
19:37He's already got a beard longer than what I got.
19:40Now Master Sergeant McKelvey and I served together at Cherry Point when we were both
19:44very young Marines and we've been good friends ever since.
19:46I call him Chase.
19:48A lot of Marines will tell you Chase is an extraordinary person.
19:52The smartest, kindest Marine you'll ever meet and those are descriptions I can personally
19:57attest to.
19:58Now he was supposed to join me at my inauguration to become the Vice President last January,
20:04but tragically he lost his wonderful, devoted wife Jillian to a terrible illness just days
20:10before.
20:11So I want to tell you, Chase, in front of all these Marines, we're proud of you, we're
20:16thankful for you.
20:17I'm sorry I couldn't see you in January, but I'm glad to see you today my friend.
20:20I love you.
20:21I love you.
20:22Semper Fi.
20:24And finally, we are grateful to have all of you, whatever your rank, whatever your station
20:37in the Marine Corps here at Camp Pendleton to commemorate this incredible 250th anniversary
20:44of our beloved Marine Corps.
20:46From these mountains and this water, Marines have deployed to every major fight of the
20:52last century, from island hopping across the Pacific to Vietnam to a city to Kuwait to Helmand
21:00and beyond.
21:02And standing here, you can feel the weight of that history, the generations upon generations
21:08of Americans who cut their teeth at this base before boarding ships and carrying the American
21:15flag into battle.
21:17But that's exactly what Marines do.
21:20For two and a half centuries now, this beloved Corps has served as our nation's sharp edge,
21:27always forward deployed, always ready and always faithful.
21:32My service in the Marine Corps was a huge part of my life.
21:36I would not be here today.
21:37I would not be the vice president of the United States.
21:40I would not be the man I am today were it not for those four years that I served in the
21:44Marine Corps.
21:46Now before I was enlisted, I was pretty terrified about the prospect of becoming a Marine.
21:51I'm sure that a lot of you can share that.
21:55I remember I had nightmares before I went to boot camp of drill instructors yelling at me,
21:59of being away from my family, of being constantly stretched well beyond my own physical limits.
22:05It's daunting stuff, as all of you know.
22:08And as anyone who survived boot camp can tell you, it's all real.
22:13But my cousin Rachel in particular, one last shout out to a former Marine, in particular,
22:19she pushed me to do it.
22:21A veteran of the Corps herself, she got it.
22:24She understood what joining does for a young man or a young woman.
22:28So she pushed me to go and talk to a recruiter, which I did.
22:33And I will never forget that conversation.
22:36Because at no point did he try to sell me on the United States Marine Corps.
22:41He warned me, said, you don't enlist in the Marine Corps to make money.
22:44And you all know that's exactly right.
22:48He said you might even go to war.
22:50This was back in 2003, right after we invaded Iraq.
22:54But what he did tell me is that enlisting in the Marines would teach me many things, including
22:59discipline and the virtue of leadership.
23:04And that was appealing to me.
23:06And I know it's appealing to Marines today and for every year of our 250 year history.
23:11But over the days that followed, what further dawned on me was that I needed to do this,
23:22not just for me, but for the nation.
23:25My country needed me just as sure as the country needs each and every one of you today.
23:30The September 11th attacks had occurred barely a year earlier.
23:35And as I weighed what enlisting would mean, the crisis in Iraq was becoming a full out war.
23:42So I made the call.
23:43As an 18 year old senior in the state of Ohio, it was one of the first times in my life that
23:49I recall feeling like the country actually needed me.
23:55And when I realized I had a responsibility to something so much greater than myself or
24:01even my family, and I had an obligation to act on that feeling of duty.
24:07And I know that's something that animates every single one of you, whether you're a private
24:13or a general.
24:14That spirit of service has been the spirit of the Marine Corps for two and a half centuries.
24:20So I just wanted to say, from the bottom of my heart, from one Marine to another, from
24:26the Vice President of the United States to the whole Marine Corps, thank you for your
24:31service.
24:32We are proud of you and proud of your service.
24:39And I'm here today because I want to talk a little bit about the great Marine Corps tradition,
24:50250 years of it.
24:52I want to talk about the tradition that all of us standing under this bright California
24:57sun, and man, it is bright.
25:00We all chose, however many years ago, to adopt that Marine Corps tradition as our own.
25:06A tradition in that just three short weeks will reach its 250th year.
25:12Now as many of you in this audience know, the Corps found its origins in the autumn of 1775,
25:19in a venue that may be familiar to you, a bar in Philadelphia called Tun Tavern.
25:28The very first bar in the United States of America that would come to regret serving United
25:33States Marines.
25:39So here we are, in Tun Tavern, almost 250 years ago.
25:45And what we did in that moment was we answered the call of service.
25:51Because even before we had a Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress organized
25:56an army and a navy to fight the British, but they recognized they needed something a little
26:01bit extra.
26:03They needed a force that could fight just as comfortably on land as it could on sea.
26:08That was able to move fast, strike hard and hold its ground.
26:12So on November 10th, 1775, Congress resolved to raise two battalions of Continental Marines.
26:20Captain Samuel Nicholas established that first recruitment drive at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia
26:26in search of a few good men.
26:28He was seeking young, able-bodied citizens, men who relished the opportunity to fight tyrants,
26:34yes, but more importantly, who were eager to answer that first call of duty of a young nation.
26:41Just a few months later, Captain Nicholas was personally leading those Marines in a daring
26:47raid on New Providence, receiving British forts and supplies in the Bahamas.
26:54And two short years later, the Marines joined forces with the legendary John Paul Jones, the
26:59father of the American Navy, beginning a great tradition that has survived the entire term of
27:05our Marine Corps, that when the Marines and the Navy go to war together, they always fight
27:11well and they always win.
27:22The War of Independence set a blueprint that Marines follow to this day.
27:27Boldness in action, unity in purpose, and a lightning readiness to go wherever the nation
27:33required.
27:35In battle after battle, the United States Marine Corps has broken the backs of empires, you've
27:41toppled tyrants, you've hanged pirates, and hunted down America's foes across the seven
27:47seas.
27:48And Pete, it turns out we're hunting some pirates today, aren't we?
27:54From Tripoli to the halls of Montezuma, from Bella Wood to Iwo Jima, and from Chosen Reservoir
28:01to Khe Sanh, we Marines have repeatedly earned our reputation as the first to fight and the
28:07last to leave.
28:09And as all of you know, that legacy only grew stronger after 9-11.
28:15Within weeks after the attack, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the 15th MU, already forward
28:21deployed on September the 11th, helped launch the most ambitious amphibious assault in the
28:27history of the United States of America.
28:30And that's just how Marines are wired.
28:32No matter where, no matter when, the Corps will always uphold its reputation for discipline
28:38and for unshakable focus.
28:41Now, I always think back to what Army Major General Frank Lowe had to say this about the
28:46Corps in 1952.
28:48The safest place in Korea was right behind a platoon of Marines.
28:54Lord, how they could fight, and what a great testament to the United States Marine Corps.
29:07Because while the world keeps changing, new weapons, new threats, and new ways in which
29:13we wage war, the nation will forever need the United States Marine Corps.
29:20And in the Trump administration, we know that the work you do, protecting our country, putting
29:26your lives on the line to defend our way of life, is at the heart of Marine Corps service.
29:33Now when officials try to shift focus to mandating diversity quotas, or they try to inject partisan
29:39politics into the American Armed Forces, they impede the Marine Corps' ability to do its
29:45best work.
29:46And that's why the Secretary of War and the President of the United States have stood so
29:51firmly against that crap.
29:54Because when you can't operate at your best on the battlefield, it puts everybody's lives
29:59at risk.
30:00And it's why we're recentering the focus of all of our military, including the Marine Corps,
30:06on those timeless values of discipline, readiness, and faith in one another.
30:13Now I remember when I was a young recruit in boot camp, talking about how politically correct
30:18things got maybe over the last few years, and I compare it to my time in the Marine Corps.
30:23I remember, I was lining up as a young recruit to go to church one Sunday morning.
30:29And back then, there were two lines.
30:32There was the Catholic line, and there was the Protestant line.
30:35And I remember, we all get into our, we all get into our lines, and there's one recruit
30:39who's just kind of standing there by himself.
30:42And, you know, the folks watching on TV may not realize that Marines refer to themselves
30:48in the third person when they're in recruit training, because you haven't earned the title
30:52of United States Marine.
30:54And so, you have to say, this recruit, instead of I.
30:59And so you've got this one recruit standing out there by himself, and the drill instructor
31:03says, hey, what the hell are you doing?
31:06And the recruit says, this recruit is an atheist.
31:10And the drill instructor says, bullshit, get in the Catholic line.
31:19That didn't work in the Biden administration, Pete.
31:22That didn't work in the Biden administration, but now we recognize that it is not our diversity
31:27that makes us stronger.
31:28It is our common purpose.
31:30It is our common mission.
31:31And it is the fact that every single person here bleeds Marine Corps green.
31:39And I think that all of you should realize that from the President of the United States on
31:51down, this government is proud of you.
31:55It's proud of the tradition of the Marine Corps.
31:58And it's proud of the fact that that great tradition has custodians in each and every single person
32:04here, each and every single Marine who is serving today.
32:08And I hope that the proud Marine Corps tradition you heard Pete talk about this, Chessie Puller,
32:14Dan Daly, John Bassoloni, all of these great Marine Corps heroes, they should inspire you
32:21through their action to be the very best Marine in the future that you can be.
32:26Now, I remember so many people who made my Marine Corps journey and made the country better
32:33in the process.
32:34I remember a gunnery sergeant who saved me from financial ruin.
32:38I was a young Lance Corporal, and I was going to go to an off-base car dealership and buy
32:45a used car with a low, low dealer provided interest rate of 22%.
32:56These Marines behind me, you aren't supposed to nod your head at that part, guys.
33:01No 22% interest rates.
33:03So I had a gunny who was like, look, stop being a dipshit and go to Navy Federal Credit
33:10Union, get a better interest rate and then go and buy a car.
33:13That's exactly what I did.
33:17I remember that gunny.
33:19And I remember a young Marine who was younger than I was, Chase knows who I'm talking about,
33:24a Puerto Rican Marine who grew up in New York City.
33:31You too, huh?
33:34A man I thought I had nothing in common with, but who I learned bled Marine Corps green just
33:39like I did, and who came to my inauguration as Vice President of the United States.
33:45I remember a Marine I served with, a guy whose political beliefs you might call far left,
33:51but despite the craziness of our politics today, remains one of my best friends and is a man
33:56I would trust with my life.
33:59I remember the Marines raising the flag over Iwo Jima, etching in American memory the importance
34:06of respecting and honoring our beautiful national symbol.
34:10I remember all my friends from the Marines, men and women, some of whom retired and some
34:15of whom made the Marine Corps proud in the civilian world.
34:19I remember General Chuck Krulak, who I met at my cousin's boot camp graduation.
34:25He was the 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps, and I was probably 14 years old, and I was
34:30taller than he was, but he was tough as nails.
34:34I met him as Vice President, by the way, just a few months ago.
34:37He's still very short, and he's still tough as nails, and he still loves the Marine Corps as
34:42much as he did on his first day of service.
34:45Now he had a phrase, I'm sure you guys have heard it, he said that the most important thing
34:49the Marine Corps does for this nation is to win battles and to make United States Marines.
34:56Today, we remember a fallen Marine from the 3rd Marine Air Wing, who died not far from here
35:04on a training mission.
35:06He died so recently, as a matter of fact, I can't even say his name publicly, but I want
35:10all of us to know and send a message to his family that we remember them, and we know
35:16that his Marine Corps service was not in vain.
35:19Let's give an oorah for that fallen Marine.
35:24I know that all of us remember the friends who went off to war, and we particularly remember
35:34the ones who were mangled in combat or who never came home at all.
35:40Every single one of you has memories like this.
35:43Every single one of you is lucky enough to have friends like mine.
35:48Within each of you is your own Marine Corps legacy burning every single day.
35:55And because of that, every one of our fellow Marines lives on.
36:01As Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, we like Full Metal Jacket Marines?
36:06He said, but the Marine Corps lives on forever.
36:11And that means you live forever.
36:15Our motto, Marines, is Semper Fidelis, which means in Latin, always faithful.
36:21Though the shape of the battlefield will change, our nation will be just fine, so long as fellow
36:27Marines, just like you, remain faithful to that great Marine Corps legacy.
36:33My fellow Marines, you have the watch now.
36:37You honor that legacy by how you carry yourself in public.
36:40You honor it by how you treat your friends and family.
36:43You honor it by how you contribute to your communities.
36:46And most importantly, you honor it in how you fight and win the nation's battles.
36:52So from one Vice President to an incredible United States Marine Corps, keep kicking ass,
36:58keep taking names.
36:59Semper Fidelis Marines, happy 250th birthday.
37:02God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God bless you, God
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