Military Power

Well, things have been a bit exciting here lately, so I though I would tone it down with a boring discussion of history.

I came across an old news item the other day, and it prompted me to do a little research which caused me to raise an eyebrow. So that you may enjoy the same thrill of the hunt that I did, I will start by asking a simple question:

What do these famous battles have in common?

Belleau Wood
Chosin Reservoir
Hue City
Khe San
Fallujah
Ramadi

Do some research, and let me know what you think.

Haven't found any link, yet. Only one of them was in a war where the U.S. has ended up on the winning side.

A wild guess… Would this have anything to do with the naming of USN ships? I know that the first four on the list are (or were) ship’s names. Not sure about the final two though.

USMC?

Spazz was the closest, though not a complete answer.

Each of these battles is remembered as a significant piece of Marine history, and rightly so. On all of these occasions, the Marines lived up to their nickname 'Devil Dogs' (of course, they earned that name during the first battle on the list). The fought bravely, sometimes against the odds, and prevailed.

What is often overlooked is that the Army played a major role in each.

The Marines were part of the 2nd Infantry Division (which is the only Army division to be commanded by a Marine). It was with the Indianhead Division that they fought at Belleau Wood.

Look up the 31st Infantry, and you will learn that they held the east side of the river at Chosin, and that many historians and Marines are beginning to think that had they not, the story of that battle would have been different for the Marines.

US Army Cav was with the Marines in Vietnam (Hue and Khe Sanh), and in the Iraq War (Fallujah and Ramadi), and of course in Anbar Province.

I'll try to get together another list, unless someone beats me to it...