WORKING OR NOT TO THE UNITED STATES MARINES


REMEMBER OUR FALLEN HEROS


FREEDOM IS THIER GIFT TO US



POETIC HISTORY OF THE "DEVIL DOGS"


By: Private Raymond Reinke 96th Co. 6th Reg. USMC
American Expeditionary Force (AEF)

Private Raymond Reinke Private Raymond ReinkePrivate Raymond Reinke

At Verdun they went in training.
In mud and slime and snow.
The hell of rats and raining,
Didn't break their spirits though.

It was at Chateau-Thierry,
At the place called Belleau Woods,
That the heinies all grew leary
'cause these guys produced the goods.

They saved fair city of Paris,
With legs, arms, blood and life,
So why shouldn't they get credit.
Now that the world is through the strife.

At Soissons he was a wonder,
At cleaning up the hun.
'cause the Dutch couldn't put him under.
The gosh darned son of a gun.

Then at St. Mihiel too, you'll remember
For we mustn't forget to tell
Of the golden day in September
When we gave them simply hell.

'Twas over the top at daybreak,
under the light of the canon flare,
to take what others couldn't take
which has always been our share.

And for Champagne they were chosen
By the Great Great Marshall Foch.
And though most of them were frozen
They sure did fix the dutchmans clock.

The French had tried to pierce the line,
But couldn't make it stick,
And so it came to be our time on the line.
That's why we turned the trick.

Then came the drive at Argonne,
The last of this Great War,
Where we took the center to start on
And finished in the fore.

The best fighter, the best soldier,
The war has ever seen,
And none were ever bolder
Then The United States Marines.


Read Complete Letter To Red Cross - Click here to read actual letter Private Raymond Reinke on left


Click on Tom to see his graduation video

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Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas

LINKS


The Story of the American Expeditionary Forces
Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial
More About The American Expeditionary Force
The Lost Battalion of WWI
US Marine Corp Always Faithful Song
The First World War, also known as The Great War
MCB Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Thirty Thousand Women Were There
120th AVIATION COMPANY "RAZORBACKS"

The poem was written by Raymond Reinke on 03/23/1919 in Rhinebrohl Germany from the late actual history as shown by record of the United States history. It was sent in a thank you letter to the American Red Cross for receipt of a comfort kit. The original letter is in a museum in LaGrange, Illinois.

Raymond stated "The last day in the march up to the Rhine, our 6th regiment over ran the 5th regiment marines by taking a shortcut through a tunnel of a railroad in a mountain which cut off about 5 miles and in this way we were the first Americans to cross the Rhine."

Belleau Wood was a turning point in WWI as well is a landmark in the history of the Marine Corps. In mid-1918, with the German army just 50 miles outside Paris, the Allied Second and Third Divisions mounted a counter-attack to halt the Germans dead and retake Belleau Wood -- but the only way into the woods was through an adjoining wheat field and this field was heavily protected by massive German firepower.
As American forces arrived on the scene, Captain Lloyd Williams of 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines Regiment was told by the retreating French army that turning back was the best course of action. He declined, giving the now-famous reply, "Retreat, hell! We just got here!"

The enemy had every square inch of that field covered with interlocking machine gun and artillery fire. The Marines paid dearly with every step they took. The enemy couldn't believe that the Marines would advance in the face of such devastation. But they did. When officers fell, sergeants led the way. When sergeants fell, corporals took the lead. And when corporals fell, the privates fought on."

In the end, the Marines of the 4th Marine Brigade's 5th and 6th Regiments took the blood-soaked grounds of Belleau Wood. The battle that had begun June 1 ended June 26 when Maj. Maurice Sheaerer, Commanding Officer, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, could finally report with pride, "Woods now U.S. Marine Corps -- entirely."

Raymond was awarded The Good Conduct Medal which is awarded on a selective basis to enlisted members in the Regular Marine Corps or Marine Corps Reserve to recognize good behavior and faithful service in the U.S. Marine Corps while on active duty for a specified period of time. Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals were numbered from their inception up to (and including part of) World War II. The style and placement of the numbering varied over time but for most of this period, the number was engraved as part of the naming of the medal. A major exception to this was a group of 50,000 medals rim numbered in the 20000 to 70000 range. These medals were issued to Marines who had enlisted for the duration of the First World War and were issued unnamed. USMC Good Conduct Medals were also named from their inception to 1951, when the practice was discontinued. The number on Raymond's metal is 60935.


Posted in memory of my Grandfather
And all those that fight for our freedom


Copyright 2006-2022 Michael J. Roberts