Leathernecks
A while back, while watching The Kelly File on Fox, I heard Glenn Beck make a remark about the origin of the term “Leathernecks” to refer to the Marines. I decided to investigate to see if he was correct, and sure enough, it appears he was.
Plus é§a change, plus c’est la méªme chose [emphasis mine]:
The term “leatherneck” was derived from a leather stock once worn around the neck by both American and British marines. Beginning in 1798, “one stock of black leather and clasp” was issued to each marine annually. Its use as a synecdoche for Marines began as a term of ridicule by sailors…. The origin of the leather neck collar has to do with early 19th Century military fashion trends in Europe and North America. Its use among enlisted men supposedly improved their military bearing and appearance by forcing the chin high and to serve as protection for one’s neck from sword blows by Muslim pirates.
The stock was dropped as an article of marine uniform in 1872, after surviving through the uniform changes of 1833, 1839, and 1859.
Maybe it’s time to bring them back.
yankee was also a insult…
and it was originally called a Gorget..
A gorget rom the French gorge meaning throat, was originally a band of linen wrapped around a woman’s neck and head in the medieval period,[2][3] or the lower part of a simple chaperon hood. The term subsequently described a steel or leather collar designed to protect the throat, a set of pieces of plate armour, or a single piece of plate armour hanging from the neck and covering the throat and chest. Later, particularly from the 18th century onwards, the gorget became primarily ornamental, serving only as a symbolic accessory on military uniforms, a use which has survived to the modern day in some armies.
next lesson we discuss the Vambrace…
the Quirass, and and and…
the dreaded fifty shades of codpiece…
ack! forgot the link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorget
My son is a Marine, so this is something I knew and pointed out to the Salafi Muslim while getting a manicure when an Isis news report was on the TV and she openly declared that “that is not Islam”. It is passed time to roll up the carpets and place our military all around our country for strictly protectionist measures. I came to that determination after the 2 couples were killed on their private yacht by the Somali pirates, while surrounded by the power and force of our military doing what our government has determined they are to do….lose.
The use of ‘stocks’ was actually optional in the field during the Napoleonic period — and — like ‘leggings’ (spats for (USA) troops) — a combat hindrance.
One can see them actually in ‘use’ with the BBC period fiction of “Sharpe.” (Sean Bean)
Specifically “Sharpe’s Eagle” — the second in the serial drama of an up from the ranks military hero.
These stiff collars were so counter-productive that the officers of the period used them as much for hazing new formations as anything.
Like leggings, they were uniformly hated by the troops. Literally — a pain in the neck, and, no doubt, the source of the expression.
Units that were valorous/ meritorious were often (collectively) rewarded by their commanders by the removal of their ‘stocks.’
The very term ‘stocks’ is, of course, related to the PUNISHMENT stocks used for petty crimes in that long ago era.
( Leggings were dropped from the US Army during the Normandy invasion period after it became obvious that they were a positive harm to the troops. The medical corps was the driving force. Getting at leg injuries while leggings were in the way — in the field — was a nightmare — just one more piece of junk to infect foot and ankle wounds.)
In a similar vein, the Army medical corps banned Under Armor tee shirts. They melted under IED blasts and made surgery entirely problematic/ a nightmare.
In item that was pure comfort during normal wear proved practically lethal during surgery.
****
In a repeat of Japanese ‘logic’ — cf Zero fighter planes — the jihadi crowd enters combat on tennis shoes and no body armor what so ever.
The result is that US Army soldiers kill — with SMALL ARMS about 80 to 100 opposition forces for every American lost.
I might comment that many Marines must still wear the stock which has the effect of restricting the blood flow to the brain.
But, that might start yet another Navy-Marine broohaha.
As I type this, I glance at the wall over my monitor and smile at the photo of my USMC Flight Instructor (and friend) pinning on my Navy wings. So, clearly, I jest.
yankee is also a insult…
Fixed it for you.
If a foreigner calls me a Yank, I get that. If he calls me a yankee, tho, I’ll take offense. And whatever you do, do not call me a damnyankee.
darth,
Not a good idea to come south. We do use the term behind your back while smiling to your face. I my travels outside of the US, people readily know I am not a Yankee due to accent and manners.
…and pointed out to the Salafi Muslim while getting a manicure when an Isis news report was on the TV and she openly declared that “that is not Islam”…
One answer to that might be:
“They say it is Islam, and they are willing to kill people gruesomely for it. In other words, you may disagree with them, but they’re speaking a lot louder than you are.”
Will ISIS spark the long-overdue internal reckoning in Islam, in which Muslims willing to get along with the rest of the world confront Muslims who are not? Perhaps. Recent statements by the Egyptian President, and recent actions ordered by the Jordanian king, are encouraging.
But there will be a lot of blood shed before this is all over, and quite a bit of it will be American blood. President Obama missed his chance to stop ISIS when he could have done so cheaply. Now the price grows higher and higher.
““If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed;
if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may
come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”
Winston Churchill
May God protect us from having to fight when there is no hope of victory.