The story of Alva B. Lasswell is becoming better known within the Marine Corps. The abridged version is that his cryptanalytic acumen greatly facilitated victory at Midway in June 1942 and the shootdown of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s aircraft in April 1943. The unabridged version, revealed in this article, shows that his cryptologic contributions were far greater than this. In fact, his contributions continue to affect Marine cryptology to this day, a remarkable feat when one considers that he left the field for good even before World War II ended. Indeed, his Marine Corps legacy has not only grown, it has expanded in ways he never would have anticipated.

The emergence of the atomic bomb prompted the U.S. Marine Corps to develop tactics and procedures to maneuver within a nuclear environment. This led to the establishment of Marine Corps Test Unit no. 1 (MCTU 1), which represented a unique chapter in the history of the Corps. Established in 1954, this experimental unit served as a testing ground for developing tactics and doctrines in the nascent age of nuclear warfare. This article explores the motivations behind the MCTU’s creation, analyzing what the Marine Corps hoped to achieve in this new strategic landscape. It explores the training conducted during Exercises Desert Rock IV (1952) and V (1953) with provisional atomic brigades, then examines the MCTU’s development and accomplishments, including its participation in Exercises Desert Rock VI (1955) and VII (1957) and its role in refining doctrine. Finally, the article delves into the long-term impacts of both MCTU 1 and atomic testing, assessing its influence on the evolution of Marine Corps force reconnaissance, heliborne tactics, and the enduring legacy of its research on nuclear combat scenarios.

Large swaths of the U.S. Marine Corps’ history have yet to be entirely understood by scholars and Marines alike. A considerable gap in knowledge exists pertaining to the usage of the emblem used on the buttons of the Marine Corps’ service alpha and dress blue uniforms today. Many confuse this device of an eagle, fouled anchor, and 13 stars for the Corps’ famed Eagle, Globe, and Anchor (EGA) emblem, which was commissioned in 1868 by Commandant General Jacob Zeilin, nearly five decades after the button insignia made its first appearance. The history of the Marine button emblem is closely tied to the Corps’ naval heritage. This research illuminates its origins, shedding light on a previously obscured, yet salient, chapter in Marine Corps history.

The Marine Corps is poised to vastly expand its presence in Guam. Under a 2012 bilateral agreement with Japan, the United States is preparing to transfer approximately 5,000 in Marine Corps force strength from Okinawa to Guam. The relationship between Guam and the Corps has endured since 1898, when the Marine Corps played a supporting, yet significant, role in the United States’ acquisition of Guam. By early 1899, the United States had finally established effective control over Guam, which would continue until a Japanese invasion force seized the island on 10 December 1941.

The marriage of the helicopter and U.S. Navy amphibious ships with a battalion of Marines and supporting elements on board created one of the nation’s most potent and capable weapons systems. The Marine air-ground task force (MAGTF) not only represents the means to influence events by the projection of military power, it also has the inherent capability to undertake a number of missions beyond direct combat action, otherwise known as military operations other than war (MOOTW). This article examines the inherent capability of MAGTFs in MOOTW, highlighting the essentiality of helicopters for such operations, particularly humanitarian and noncombat evacuation operations, by recounting a few of these operations.

The scale of U.S. casualties during Operation Galvanic has made the operation controversial, yet losses would likely have been far worse if not for the U.S. Fifth Amphibious Force’s successful efforts to mitigate littoral obstacles. The seizure of the Gilbert Islands demonstrated that by exploiting effective intelligence to take calculated risks, even the most complex and well-developed littoral defenses could be defeated. Unable to select a different objective or to secure additional forces, Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner instead exploited Joint force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) to find the weakest parts of the Japanese defenses.

The assault on Confederate-controlled Fort Sumter, South Carolina, ended in disaster, and the U.S. Marines who managed to land on its rubble-covered shores would end up in the worst prison in the Confederacy, a place from which most would never return. This article traces their journey and details their ordeal, throughout which Marines demonstrated the qualities and character traits that have defined their Service since its inception. They resisted their captors, largely supported their chain of command while imprisoned, refused to divulge information when interrogated, and sought opportunities to escape and rejoin the fight.

During World War II, the military dog became synonymous with patriotism and a symbol of the fight for a free world. In the absence of a military dog program at the beginning of the war, the United States was the exception among Western powers. The establishment of an official military dog program during World War II was a critical step in the development of the country’s military. Through the creative collaboration of civilians and military personnel, the K-9 Corps and Dogs for Defense organization produced trained military dogs that had immediate positive impacts on the battlefield. The creation of the American military dog program laid the foundation for the continued utilization of the military dog, served as the proving ground for the capabilities of dogs, and expanded the understanding of how dogs might be used on the battlefield. This piece distinguishes the U.S. Marines’ military dog program separately from the Army’s.