Today, 201 years ago, Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon, United States Marine Corps, had the honour of planting the first United States Flag in foreign soil on the other side of the Atlantic: Derna, Tripoli.
In recognition of heroism... he was awarded a Mamluk sword, which our officers, such as Joel, carry today. Us enlisted grunts had to make due with a pretty fine Cavalry sword... the oldest weapon in the US military today (though I stood in front of a merit board and argued, successfully, that the Marine was the oldest weapon in the Marine Corps inventory).
Semper Fidelis Marines.
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