FLAG:
The U.S. Marine Corps' official colors are scarlet and gold, which are reflected in the design of their flag. The flag bears an anchor and eagle in the center.

MOTTO:
Semper Fidelis, or "Semper Fi" for short

The Marine Corps adopted this Latin phrase, meaning "Always Faithful" as their official motto in 1883. Semper Fedelis is also the title of the official musical march of the Marines. Semper Fi comes as the last in a long string of Marine mottos, among them: "To the Shores of Tripoli," adopted in 1805; "Fortitude," adopted in 1812; and "By Sea and by Land," adopted in the 1850s.

HYMN:
"From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli."

The hymn's name, taken from its first verse, refers to two early and important battles that earned the Marines' distinction among the armed services. In 1805, following a war with Barbary Pirates, Marine Lieutenant Presely N. O'Bannon, along with a small force of Marines, helped capture Derne, near Tripoli. For the first time, they hoisted the American flag above a fortress of the Old World. Following this victory, the Marine Corps' colors were inscribed with the words "To the shores of Tripoli." Then, during the Mexican War, after the Marines participated in the capture and occupation of Mexico City and the Castle of Chapultepec, known also as the Halls of Montezuma, the words on the Corps' colors were modified to say: "From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli."

DATE FOUNDED:
Nov. 10, 1775

The Continental Congress passed a resolution stating that "two Battalions of Marines be raised" for service. This resolution established the Continental Marines and marked the birth date of the United States Marine Corps. Serving on land and at sea, these first Marines made their mark in several important operations, among them an amphibious raid into the Bahamas in March 1776, under the command of Captain Samuel Nicholas, the first commissioned officer in the Continental Marines, who remained the senior Marine officer through the American Revolution is considered the first Marine Commandant.


SERVICE ACADEMY:
Marine Corps University, Quantico, Va.

WHAT IS A LEATHERNECK?:
A nearly universal moniker for a U.S. Marine, the word originally described the wide, stiff piece of leather collar, called a stock, worn as part of the Marine uniform from 1792 until 1872. Its purpose was twofold: it protected the neck and jugular during battle and it also kept the Marines' heads erect during more ceremonial occasions. A testament to the widespread use of this term: the official Marine Corps Association magazine is titled Leatherneck.

WHAT IS A JARHEAD?:
Originating during World War II, this is another reference to official Marine neck-wear. The Marines' Dress Blues uniform features a tall, stiff collar and sailors, in their seemingly never-ending pursuit to poke fun at the Marines, noted how it the collar made Marines' heads look like they were sticking out of the top of a jar, hence the term Jarhead.

WHAT IS A DEVILDOG?:
During World War I, while the German army moved toward Paris and the French army was retreating in June of 1918, U.S. Marines arrived there and joined fierce weeks-long fighting to push back the German offensive. After the German drive to Paris stalled, the Marines attacked and drove them out of Belleau Wood. The Germans, stunned by the Marines' doggedness, referred to them in written reports as "teufel hunden" meaning Devil Dogs, a name borrowed from Bavarian folklore to describe ferocious mountain dogs.


Sources: Official Web site For The United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps University, U.S. Marine Corps Heritage Press