On this day, 102 years ago…
Marines with 5th and 6th Marine Regiment would fight for 25 days alongside the U.S. Army and the British and French forces at the Battle of Belleau Wood in France.
The Battle of Belleau Wood was the first large-scale battle of World War I and one that would be seared into the collective memory of the United States Marine Corps.
Marines would wear gas masks as a precaution against German mustard gas. Upon advancing up a hill towards enemy lines, the Germans would later describe the Marines as a pack of tenacious, growling figures wearing gas masks, with bloodshot eyes, foaming at the mouth. They advanced forward, killing everything in their way.
It was in this historic battle, that Marines were given the infamous nickname Teufel Hunden, or Devil Dog, to describe how fiercely they fought.
(U.S. Marine Corps graphic by Cpl. Marvin E. Lopez Navarro)