United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military. While concerned almost exclusively with shipboard security service and amphibious warfare in its formative years, the Marine Corps has evolved to fill a unique, multi-purpose role within the modern United States military.

Miscellaneous

• Marines guard U.S. embassies (Marine Corps Security Guard) and other foreign missions, in cooperation with the Diplomatic Security Service. Marines also stand guard at the White House.
• The president's helicopter is Marine One, part of HMX-1, in Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.
• Marines do not serve as chaplains or medical workers. Naval personnel fill those roles. They generally wear Marine uniforms with Navy markings when serving with the Marines. For example, when wearing utility uniforms, Navy Corpsmen wear their rank on the left collar, a shield with the Cadecus on the left, and U. S. Navy over the right breast pocket.
• The Marine Corps Band, known as "The President's Own", is charged with providing music for the President of the United States and often plays during state functions.
• Three infamous former Marines are Lee Harvey Oswald, Clayton Lonetree, and Charles Whitman. Lonetree was a Marine embassy guard who was court-martialed for spying for the Soviet Union.
• Academy Awards
• Four former Marines have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor: Lee Marvin (won for Cat Ballou), Steve McQueen (nominated for The Sand Pebbles), George C. Scott (won for Patton but returned the statue), and Gene Hackman (won for The French Connection).
• Gene Hackman also won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven.
• Director Sam Peckinpah was nominated for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay for The Wild Bunch.