Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Marine Nicknames

Marines have accumulated a number of nicknames over the years. Many people would like to know where they came from.
  • Leatherneck - This name originates from the stiff leather stock that early Marines wore around their necks, probably to protect their jugular vein against saber blows
  • Devil Dog - The Germans after the battle at Belleau Wood in World War I called the Marines "Teufelhunden", which translates as Devil Dog, because of the fierce fighting that the Marines demonstrated
  • Jarhead - This was a slang term used by sailors in World War II because Marines in their Dress Blues with the stiff collar resembled Mason Jars
  • The President's Own - Used in reference to the Marine Band located in Washington, D.C., because they play at all the official White House ceremonies; it could easily refer to all Marines because the U.S. Marine Corps Mission states in part that the Marines "shall perform such other duties as the President may direct"
  • Gyrene - formed from the combination of G.I. and Marine
  • America's 911 Force - The Marine Corps has earned this nickname by being the first forces called in a crisis - like one of our mottos we are "First to Fight"

10 Comments:

At 28/3/07 20:03, Blogger by Jim MacQuarrie said...

Question: Do US MArines ever refer to themselves as "old salts"or is that term only used by Navy personnel?

There is a person on the internet who touts himself as a Marine vet, but many things he has said (along with numerous instances of behavior no real Marine would dream of perpetrating) indicate that he was never in the USMC. You can see some of his ravings at http://www.myspace.com/orcafresh if you're interested.

 
At 28/3/07 22:24, Blogger Lance Taylor said...

Yes, there are Marines that are referred to as "old salt" or "salty". Typically, these are Marines that were deployed aboard ship during at least part of their tour of duty.

 
At 15/10/07 00:08, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Salt and Salty originated as Navy term, but Marines use it often as well. Salty is used to refer to Marines who have been in for a while, ie: completed all training and is not in the fleet. Where as a boot is referred to someone fresh out of bootcamp and infantry training school. I just dated myselft with that, I don't think it's been called infantry training school for quite a few years. Boot replaced FNG.

 
At 13/12/07 17:29, Anonymous Anonymous said...

yea um, i was wondering since there are marines respondoing on this site, lol, what's boot camp like because since i was 10 i've been more than willing and wanting to be a marine (wether you believe it or not) and the onl;y thing that is making me nervous is the boot camp because im and overweight guy,lol, please email me back at usmcrjh2383@yahoo.com

 
At 27/11/08 20:05, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Salty was used during my time in the Corps to refer to someone who had completed their first elistment and had signed back up (re-upped).
Boot Camp Question - first I would ask why do you want to be a Marine?
When I was in boot camp, guy in our training platoon was on his 3rd round of boot camp and he would not quit. He was overweight but that did not stop him from his goal of becoming a United States Marine.
So, dig deep and ask yourself, "why do I want to be a Marine?" If it is truly a goal of yours, then the weight will not be an issue as they can take it off of you or in my case put it on. I went from 145 pounds when I enlisted and 180 pounds when I came out of boot camp.
Semper Fi

 
At 12/10/09 16:15, Blogger kwconch said...

have marines ever been called mud dobbers,if so when & why??

 
At 12/10/09 16:21, Blogger kwconch said...

have marines ever been called mud dobbers? when & why?

 
At 12/10/09 16:32, Blogger Lance Taylor said...

Marine aviators used the term Mud Marines to refer to Marine infantry personnel during World War II and Korea.

 
At 12/10/09 17:39, Blogger kwconch said...

THANK's to LANCE TAYLOR for the mud dobber reply

 
At 11/11/10 18:19, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The devil dogs term was not only because of the outstanding performance in the battle. Also because of the flashes of grenades acted similar to a camera does when it turns your eyes red on a photo. Combine that with the smoke everywhere from explosions nearly blinds the enemy from everything except the bright red glow from all the marines eyes.

 

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