The Marine Corps and the State Department

This work is a complete history of the partnership between the Department of State and the United States Marine Corps. From its formation in 1775, the Corps developed a close working relationship with the diplomatic service of the Continental Congress and later, in 1798, with the newly created United States Department of State. The Marines accompanied U.S. diplomats to France in 1778 and worked closely with the State Department during the Barbary Wars and the opening of China. In 1905, an executive order by Theodore Roosevelt established a Marine Legation Guard, and the Corps played an increasingly important role in embassies across the globe. Today, the war on terrorism highlights this important relationship as Marines guard some of the most dangerous embassies in the world.

Leo J. Daugherty III is the Senior Command Historian for the United States Army Cadet Command in Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Leo J. Daugherty III
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 407
Bibliographic Info: 82 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3796-2
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5301-6
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Preface      1

Acronyms and Abbreviations      3

1. Origins of a Mission, 1798–1900      7

2. “Our Flag’s Unfurled to Every Breeze”: Marine Legation Guards from China to Nicaragua, 1900–1940      39

3. Ashore and Afloat: The Marines and Service with the Department of State, 1904–1945      60

4. A New Mission: Marine Embassy Security Guards and the Memorandum of Agreement, 1946–1954      85

5. The Early Years: Revolutions, Coups, Civil Wars, 1949–1964      97

6. Embassy Guards at War: Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, 1962–1975      129

7. Standing Watch Over a Troubled World, 1961–1979      178

8. Embassies at War and in Peace, 1979–1991      225

9. Coups, Non-Combatant Evacuations, and the War on Terror, 1991–2007      278

10. Not Just Fitting In … But Standing Out: Marine Security Guard School, 1979–2004      328

11. “Our Marines”: A Retrospective      349

Chapter Notes      353

Bibliography      375

Index      383

Choice Outstanding Academic Title
“Well researched in both primary and secondary sources, the book provides easily the most thorough account ever written on this topic and should stand as the seminal work for years to come. Highly recommended”—Choice.