 A lot of folks ask what do you learn from history? History teaches no lessons. What history does is provides a context so you can look to the future. In fact, there is no ability to understand the future except from the past. Our history makes us want to be brave. Our history is rich with a legacy of Marines that have made the ultimate sacrifice and have been very willing to do so because of that bigger purpose that we're taught. Happy birthday, Marines. On 10 November each year, wherever we are, we pause to celebrate the anniversary of our Corps and reflect on who we are, what we do, and why we do it. 70 years ago, when our predecessors paused to mark the anniversary of our Corps, they reflected back on a year of extraordinary combat in a amphibious drive across the Pacific. Despite the challenges and horrific conditions, Marines prevailed at places like Guam, Saipan, and Pelaloo. On 10 November 1944, Marines looked back with pride on their accomplishments, confident in their ability to meet future challenges. During the Pacific Campaign, Marines fought many hard-won battles from 15 September to 27 November 1944. The 1st Marine Division fought a determined enemy, 10,000 strong, on the small volcanic island of Pelaloo. I can remember, I don't think many of us slept the night before, anticipating to land in the next day. They usually feed you steak and eggs for breakfast, which is a terrible thing to do to you, because you're not used to it at all. When we went ashore, we got splashed several times with near misses. I was up on deck through the night, and I remember seeing a crossfire of anti-aircraft fire in the sky like this, and all of a sudden it blistered in flames, and I saw my first airplane shot down. We were supposed to go in, and there was a Japanese airplane in there, crashed, and that was our pivot point. We were supposed to go in and pivot to the left and go north. We were in the middle of setting up a short defense to see which way we were going to go further north. When we got hit, it wasn't long after that when we found out that we were surrounded. If there was one thing I believe that is the highest honor for a Marine, it is the opportunity to fight alongside another Marine. If you look back through our history and you study our history, that's one constant, and that's one thing that always stands out is the camaraderie and the spirit of the Corps and the Brotherhood of being a Marine and never failing and always coming through mission and accomplishment. A costly and controversial battle that would claim the lives of 1,252 Marines and nearly 11,000 of the enemy. In an environment of utmost savagery, the Marines prevailed. They were victorious because they were well prepared. They built mental and physical toughness. They were disciplined and they trusted each other. In 2004, 20,000 Marines deployed to the Anbar province in Iraq. Many Marines spent that birthday in combat at places like Ramadi, El Khan, in Fallujah. Marines would once again find themselves sent to root out an entrenched and determined enemy, this time in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah Iraq. It was some of the heaviest urban combat Marines have been involved in since Way City, 1968. We received our mission statement as to what we were supposed to do when we entered the city of Fallujah and pretty much it was eliminate all threats for the most part in the nutshell. They had already received a warning of anyone that's left in the city, we could see the combatants or whatever the case may be and our mission was pretty much to clear the city of Fallujah to return it to the people. During the course of that battle when I was trapped and wounded bleeding out inside the house, if I ever had any doubts during that period of making it out alive or making it out of that building, I always knew without any doubt whatsoever that I would make it out because those Marines that were part of that unit, I just had that much confidence in them and their abilities that they would somehow figure out a way to find a way to never leave Marine behind. It's that camaraderie that makes us elite. It's the whole combined arms team. So here we are as a tank company, we couldn't move forward without the infantry to our left or right. We couldn't move forward without the logistic supportings, the fuel, the trucks, the bulldozers, the close air support, the artillery support as we were getting, the mortars. It all came together and I think every Marine in that city felt that. They understood that. The Marines who fought in the battle of Fallujah were 100% warriors. They should always be proud of the jobs they did and how well they performed and who they were and what they stood for. And like all times in history through all generations of the Marine Corps, those young Marines stepped up to the plate and executed and overcame great odds to become victorious in the end. I think I would rather fight in the jungle, not Pelladude type of jungle, but rather on Guantanel type of jungle or the Korean type of war than in Fallujah. What I know about it, door to door stuff, you don't know who your enemy is. That would be nerve wracking. We at least knew where our enemy was most of the time. Like Pelladude, the battle for Fallujah was the bloodiest of the Iraq war. Coalition forces suffered more than 100 killed and 600 wounded. More than 2,000 insurgents died and 1,500 were captured. Looking back at our history, whether Marines are storming beaches in World War II or Marines are patrolling the streets of Iraq, our warrior mentality, what we stand for, our customs and courtesies, our love for each other, our love for the Marine Corps, and our history since the founding of this nation, the people that we've protected and the ideas and the freedoms that we fought for. As we celebrate the 239th birthday of our Corps, Marines are in combat in a helmet province. And since we last gathered to celebrate, Marines responded to crisis in the Philippines, South Sudan, Libya and Iraq. Some things change. This year found us in different climes and places than our predecessors. Our organization, our equipment and our training have certainly changed since World War II. What we do in recruit training, whether it's San Diego or Pirate Island, what we do at Quantico in terms of training our officers and later all of our Marines, it instills something into each of us that's hard to explain. I've lived on the side of civilian and child of the Marine Corps, so going in and going to hopefully become a Marine myself, I know that the Marine Corps properly trained me for whatever situation is thrown my way. That's never been a question. You know, they're the best of the best. Honor, Courage and Commandment means to me that I'll be able to wear the title of United States Marine on my shoulders for the rest of my life, no matter how long I'm in the Marine Corps, if it's four years or 20 plus. I joined the Marine Corps because I wanted to accept the challenge. Nobody thought I could do it, so it was to prove myself and everybody else wrong. As I look and talk with some young Marines today, it's obvious that there is eager to be a Marine as I was, and that makes me feel good. The equipment of today that they have to fight with is awesome. We've learned lessons going back from hand-to-hand combat in World War I to the house-to-house fighting in Ways City in Vietnam. And so, you know, as long as we keep up with the lessons that we've learned from the Marines that come before us, we should be this fine. Some things never change. Marines attack this year's challenges with the same courage, commitment, loyalty, self-sacrifice and adaptability as their predecessors at Pelaloo and Fallujah. For that reason, on 10 November 2014, we Marines can look back with pride in our accomplishments, confident in our ability to meet future challenges. Marines are something special. They have a commitment to be in it their best when the times are at their worst. They have a commitment to be in the most ready when the nation's least ready. They have a commitment to each other that even at the cost of their own lives, they will stand by each other no matter what is going on on a battlefield. We are going to continue to live hard, train hard and fight hard, providing our nation the capability to contain crisis, fill the gap or hold the line. And like yesterday, we are ready to leave tonight. Happy birthday, Marines and Semper Fidelis.