Legends and Lore in the Corps: Don't let the truth get in they way of a good story

 I've spent decades debunking myths, tracking down the origins of stories and verifying some tall tales that the Corps is known for.  Tonight, while scrolling through my Twitter feed, I stumbled into one about Steve McQueen, and Lee Marvin.  I thought it might be worthwhile to run my lips a little on the topic of legends and lore in the Corps.

When I was a historian with the Corps, I never actively debunked the myths.  If asked directly, I always gave the straight scoop.  Some were straight up lies, others had nuggets of truth, and some were no-kidding-straight facts.  When time allowed, I did what I did best, researched the rumors, myths and tall tales to try to sort fact from fiction.  I believed that even though they may not be true, the lore served a purpose; it was a way to bring Marines together.  

Smedley Butler, yeah, good ole Gimlet Eye himself.  I would have loved to have had the chance to meet him.  Everything I've read about the man, what he wrote, and what others have written about him, he sounds like a frickin' hoot. 

I recall the rumor that Butler had a tattoo of the Eagle, Globe and Anchor on his chest because he so loved the Marine Corps.  I'd seen this in many places, even in supposedly in his own words.  But the historian in me required documentary evidence.  A source that would dispel or prove the assertion for one and for all. What's more definitive than a Marine's official military personnel file (OMPF)?  Well, even this isn't concrete.

From BGen Butler's OMPF indicating "Marine Corps device tattoo"

 

As you can see, from his OMPF as a Brigadier, the "Marine Corps device tattoo" is recorded.  This seems to end the debate, Butler had the tattoo!  BUT...a few pages later, as a Major General, the tattoo is recorded differently.

 

From MajGen Butler's OMPF indicating "Tattoo American Eagle"

So, even the documentary evidence isn't enough to clear it up.  Either way, though, Butler had a tattoo on his chest and I'll believe that it is the Marine Corps emblem.  It adds to the mystic that is Smedley, it adds to his legend.  Further, for those Marines today who are hassled about tattoos, it gives them someone that is held in very high regard to point to in order to say, "Let's look at this policy a bit more."  These same Marines can also point to THE LEGEND, the Marine of all Marines--Lejeune--as well.  Yes folks, Lejeune was tattooed as well!

So let's circle back to Lee Marvin for a moment. 

Lee Marvin Headstone

You cannot argue that Lee Marvin exuded machismo; women wanted him and men wanted to be him--or so I've heard.  Lee Marvin was a Marine and WWII veteran.  The rumor long persisted that Lee Marvin told Johnny Carson that he'd been on Iwo Jima with Bob Keeshan ("Capt Kangaroo") and that he'd (Marvin) had been awarded the Navy Cross for bravery on the sulfur island.  Again, documentary evidence was required.  

Do a search online, can you find a Navy Cross citation for Lee Marvin? Not a transcription or anything, but a real copy of the citation? No.  The absence of evidence isn't evidence, but it can be used when combined with other evidence.  It is acknowledged that Marvin was wounded on Saipan in June 1944.  This can be easily verified by his casualty card (see below).

The card indicates he was ordered discharged on 12 July 1945.  While this isn't proof he wasn't on Iwo, it helps build the case.  If he were so wounded in June 1944 that he was ordered discharged in July 1945, it is unlikely he was on Iwo.  What about the muster rolls?

In January 1945, just one month before Iwo, Marvin is at the Transient Center in Hawaii, listed as "sk"--sick and foonote T is listed.  Footnote entry reads:

He's being transferred to the Depot of the Pacific in San Francisco in January.  He's not headed to Iwo Jima.  Strike three.  No, Lee Marvin did not fight on Iwo Jima and was not awarded the Navy Cross.  However, he did serve honorably, was wounded in action, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Had he been on Iwo and awarded the Navy Cross, would it change our impression of him? Not me.  He was a badass Marine, and a helluva an actor in my book.  Wouldn't change a thing! Oh, and Bob Keeshan? Yah, he was a Marine too!  But, he never left the US.  

Lastly, let's talk about Steve McQueen (or as he served under his full name Terrance S. McQueen).   There is a great story about him stealing an amtrac at Camp Pendleton, and then another story of him saving lives of Marines while on an exercise.  Like Lee Marvin, McQueen played some serious badass dudes on the screen, and it's not hard to think that maybe he was badass enough to steal an amtrac or save lives of his fellow Marines.

McQueen's OMPF was released and alas, the tale of joyriding in the amtrac is false.  

However, McQueen did participate in the cold weather exercise off the coast of Labrador.  He recounts the tale of saving the lives of his fellow Marines in a several articles.  One from 1960:

McQueen, and other Marines, did save the lives of their fellow Marines from the capsized amtrac in icy waters.  Pretty badass if you ask me.  

There are many other legends and tall tales that rear their heads now and again.  When the story seems too fantastic, or causes you to pause, do some homework.  Ask for proof, or dig it up yourself.  One of the best lessons I have learned in all my education, in all my years of 'on the job training' was to have a critical eye for things that just don't sound right.  Sometimes the tale doesn't pass the sniff test, and then sometimes you're surprised to find out it's true.   

If you think it sounds too good to be true, it might be.  If you think "really?" then dig into it.  Find those who know their stuff, read reliable sources, and find out for yourself.  

While I didn't actively seek to tell Marines that some of the tales they were told in boot camp were bunk, if they asked, I gave it to them straight.  I was often told that when I did tell them the stories that it was like kicking puppies.  On more than one occasion I heard, "You mean my DI lied to me?"  I would reply, "No.  It's not a lie if they didn't know the truth themselves."  On my very long list of "books to write before I die" is the "Enlisted Marine's History of the Corps" wherein enlisted Marines (and recruits, especially recruits) can read the unvarnished, real history of the Corps--where they will find "just the facts" and know that the history presented is not sugar coated, honest, and backed up by solid research.  One day.