Marine Corps League - Black Hills Detachment 484

10/23/2026

Well worth the watch.

Short documentary told by two Beirut Marine Veterans. This video wi...

10/23/2026

RIP Brothers

In Remembrance of Beirut

in 1983, a terrorist bombing at the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, claimed the lives of 241 U.S. service members, including 220 Marines, serving as part of the Multinational Force in Lebanon.

On October 23, a su***de bomber drove a truck laden with explosives into the barracks where U.S. Marines were stationed on a peacekeeping mission. The attack devastated the building and became one of the deadliest days in Marine Corps History.

The Marines in Beirut were deployed to help restore peace and stability amid escalating violence in Lebanon. Despite the dangers they faced, they carried out their mission with courage, professionalism, and an unwavering commitment to one another.

The Beirut bombing left a lasting mark on the and the nation. We remember the lost lives, honor the wounded and survivors, and recognize the families and loved ones who continue to carry the weight of that day. Their sacrifice remains woven into the legacy of every who has answered the call to serve.

Today, we pause to remember the 241 American service members who never made it home and honor their courage, sacrifice, and devotion to duty.

They came in peace. They will never be forgotten.

Semper Fidelis

✍ (U.S. Marine Corps Graphic by Lance Cpl. Aiyana Bridges)

10/21/2026

Come join the us at the 251st USMC Birthday Banquet

10/20/2026

August 8, 1950. Hill 342, above the road to Masan.

A single Marine platoon had climbed the hill in 112-degree heat to help an Army company that was cut off. 52 started up. 37 reached the top. By the next morning, the North Koreans had thrown two regiments at the summit.

The Corsairs rolled in so low, strafing and firing rockets yards from the perimeter, that the spent brass from their machine guns fell into the laps of the Marines below.

The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade landed at Pusan with the North Koreans forty miles away and the Eighth Army holding the last corner of South Korea. On their first night in the line, one r***e shot inside the perimeter set off hours of firing at shadows, and the brigade wounded three of its own Marines before NCOs got it under control. Four days later, the real fight began. A platoon lost a third of its men on a hill, and for the first time in that war, Marine aircraft and Marine r***emen showed what they could do when they fought as one weapon.

Episode 169, A Hill Called 342, is out now.

10/18/2026

10/09/2026

On this day in 1940, the Marine Corps had about 1,500 officers. With war approaching, the Commandant ordered a class to add hundreds more.

Major General Thomas Holcomb ordered Marine Corps Schools to "organize a class of not more than four hundred candidates for appointment for commissions." At full size, the class would be a quarter the size of the officer corps itself.

The Corps was growing fast. President Roosevelt had declared a limited national emergency, and a week after Holcomb's order, the Corps mobilized all 23 of its Organized Reserve battalions.

Brigadier General Philip H. Torrey, Commandant of the Schools, stood up a special detachment on October 21 to run the Candidates for Commission Class. The first Officer Candidates Class, OCC-1, had 230 graduates. Over their careers, they earned:

- 7 Navy Crosses
- 1 Navy Distinguished Service Medal
- 18 Silver Stars
- 11 Legions of Merit
- 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses
- 6 Bronze Stars

The growth that followed dwarfed the original order. The officer corps doubled to 3,320 within a year and stood at 37,664 when Japan surrendered in August 1945.

Officer Candidates School still trains at Quantico. Its motto is Ductus Exemplo: lead by example.

Explore Marine Corps history at bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com

10/07/2026

Twenty-six days after September 11, the United States struck back. Cruise missiles and aircraft hit al-Qaeda and Taliban targets across Afghanistan, and President Bush announced the start of Operation Enduring Freedom from the White House that afternoon.

Marines were moving the same day.

The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, afloat with the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group off Karachi, was ordered to secure an airfield in Pakistan for Air Force combat search and rescue teams.

The airfield was Shahbaz Air Base at Jacobabad, more than 300 nautical miles from the ships. Four CH-53E Super Stallions of HMM-163 carried the assault force of Battalion Landing Team 1/1 straight in. To get the rest there, the Marines pushed Peleliu as close to the coast as they could, stripped weight from the CH-46s, and loaded them with as much fuel as they could carry. Follow-on forces staged through the port of Pasni and finished the trip in KC-130s.

By the end of the first day, the rescue force was able to fly missions into Afghanistan from Jacobabad.

The Marines had been told to expect three to five days ashore. They stayed 43. They lived in fighting holes in 90-degree heat, with blowing dust, bad water, and mosquitoes breeding in the old rice fields around the runway. Marine KC-130 crews flew two seven-hour runs from Bahrain every night to keep them in food, water, and fuel.

The MEU's operations officer later said the lessons of Jacobabad, moving over long distances and staging fuel and supplies ahead, set the unit up for what came next. Weeks later, the same Marines went into Afghanistan.

Photo: Marines of the 15th MEU arrive at Shahbaz Air Base by CH-53E, October 22, 2001. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Scott Reed.

Explore Marine Corps history at bloodline.historyofthemarinecorps.com