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MarineParents.com Newsletter
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Purple Heart Hero Support™
Operation Prayers & Letters™
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Team Marine Parents™
2013 Marine Corps Marathon
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Greetings!
If this is the first edition of the Marine Parents newsletter you have received, WELCOME! If you are a returning reader we are glad you have joined us and are thankful for your support. 2013 marks the first year that Marine Parents has been a part of the world's largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign--the Combined Federal Campaign--and our first article provides information on what you can do to help our first CFC campaign be a successful one. Since 1936, the last Sunday in September has been designated as "Gold Star Mother's Day," a day to honor and support the families of those members of our military who have made the ultimate sacrifice. In honor of these families, we've launched the Gold Star Luminary Initiative. Our second article provides information on how you can help us show America's Gold Star families that we are a grateful nation. Last Thursday, July 4th, was the 237th anniversary of America. 237 days before that, on November 10, 1775, the Marine Corps was born. Our third article looks at the role played by the Continental Marines during the Revolutionary War and their legacy. This Thursday, July 11, Dr. Bridget Cantrell will hold one of her very useful online chat sessions to discuss PTSD, combat operational stress, warrior transitioning and combat recovery. Our fourth article provides information on how to take part in the discussion as well as other information pertaining to Dr. Cantrell. Finally, we take a look at this issue's Team Marine Parents Featured Participants--Mark and MacKinnon Eldridge, a proud father and his Marine son running in support of Purple Heart Hero Support and in support of one another. God bless and Semper Fi!
 Tracy Della Vecchia Founder and Executive Director MarineParents.com, Inc.
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| Do you know a Federal employee? | | Help Spread the Word!
A common characteristic shared by a large majority of Marines, regardless of age or rank or MOS, is a desire to help others and make the world a better place. In many instances, this desire to help others no matter what cost, even at the risk of their own life, is what prompts a person to join the Marines in the first place.
In this spirit of giving back to others, we invite you to support us this year as we join in the world's largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign, the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), and help us give back to the Marines who sacrifice so much on our behalf.
YOU can help spread the word, click here to learn how...
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| Pledge Your Support | | Honor Families of Our Fallen this September
 Imagine for a moment, if you could, what it would be like to experience every parent's worst nightmare--having to bury one of your children. The pain would most likely be immeasurable, the sense of emptiness profound and all-consuming.
While most of us will (fortunately) never have to experience this tragedy, more than 6,600 mothers have been forced to do just that in the 10 years since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
These women have come from all walks of life and from all 50 states. For some, time has started to heal. For others, the wounds are still fresh. But the one thing these women all have in common is they have lost a son or daughter serving in our military.
And now it's time to let these mothers know that they are not alone, that their losses and the heroic sacrifices of their children in defense of our country have not been forgotten. Join our Gold Star Luminary Initiative. You can personally honor and support families who mourn the loss of a Fallen Hero every day. We could never do enough to convey our empathy, but we have a place to start: take just one day a year to mourn with them and recognize their burden by lighting a luminary on Gold Star Mother's Day (the last Sunday in September). It may not seem like much, but with your help, we can show America's Gold Star families that we are a grateful nation.
Pledge your support, click here...
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Marines in the Revolutionary War
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Defending America From Day One
Background
 | | An artist's sketch of Tun Tavern, the birthplace of the Marine Corps |
237 days before the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776 in Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, what would prove to be a defining moment in our country's history took place a mere two miles away. That night, November 10, 1775, at the Tun Tavern, a committee from the Continental Congress drafted a resolution calling for two battalions of Marines able to fight on land or at sea as landing forces for the Continental Navy. And with that, the Continental Marine Corps was born.
Milestones & Accomplishments During the War
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Major Samuel Nicholas, first Commandant of the Marine Corps
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The first Commandant of the Marine Corps was Major Samuel Nicholas and his first Captain and recruiter was Robert Mullan, the owner of Tun Tavern. By early 1776, Commandant Major Nicholas had his men prepared for battle.
In March of 1776, Nicholas led his men on the first landing on a hostile shore in Marine Corps history when he led approximately 210 Marines on a raid of Nassau on the Island of New Providence in the Bahamas. The raid, while not as successful as initially hoped for, did succeed in capturing the town, along with a large number of guns, mortars, and gun powder. March also saw the first Marine combat death, that of Lieutenant John Fitzpatrick.
To read more about the accomplishments and milestones of the Continental Marines, please click here...
Aftermath
In the immediate aftermath of the war, both the Continental Marines and the Continental Navy they served under were disbanded. This lasted barely a decade until 1794 when, in preparation for the Quasi-War with France, Congress authorized the re-formation of both the Navy and Marine Corps.
Legacy
 | | Portrait of a Marine wearing the high leather collar from which the "leatherneck" nickname is derived |
During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Marines' uniforms consisted of a green jacket with high leather collar, or stock, to protect the neck against sword blades. While the Marines changed the color of their uniforms to blue in 1798 (to honor their naval tradition), the stock remained a part of the Marine Corps' uniform until the 1870s. Over time, the wearing of leather stocks around the neck led sailors on the ships the Marines were serving on to refer to the Marines as "leathernecks," a nickname by which Marines are still known today.
Additionally, the Revolutionary War not only led to the founding of the United States (Continental) Marine Corps, but also highlighted for the first time the versatility that Marines have come to be known for. They fought on land, they fought at sea on ships, and they performed numerous amphibious assaults (which, over time, would become one the Marine's most dangerous and defining capabilities, as would be seen in the Pacific Theater of World War II and at Inchon in Korea).
From its earliest days, the Marine Corps has played a vital role in securing and defending the freedom of our nation. While the role played by the Marines in the Revolutionary War is often overlooked, it should not be underestimated. As the great American author James Fenimore Cooper once wrote:
"At no period of the naval history of the world, is it probable that Marines were more important than during the War of the Revolution...the history of the Navy, even at that early day, as well as in these later times, abounds with instances of the gallantry and self-devotion of this body of soldiers."
To read this article in its entirety, please click here...
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| Combat Takes a Toll |
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Learn from an Expert Tomorrow at 8pm CST
Please take time to read this
 article, then forward it to folks you know who would benefit from tomorrow night's online conversation with Dr. Cantrell. Bridget Cantrell, Ph.D., will participate in Marine Parents' monthly online discussion tomorrow, Thursday, July 11, 2013 at 8 p.m. Central Time in the Marine Parents chat room. (Other times zones: 9 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Mountain, 6 p.m. Pacific.) TALK WITH A PROFESSIONAL This is your opportunity to talk with a professional in the field of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), combat operational stress (COS), warrior transitioning, and combat recovery in an anonymous online environment. The environment is warm and welcoming, and the discussions are on a personal level. Please join us to have your questions answered and concerns addressed. Click here to access the chat room. You must scroll to the bottom of the linked page to enter the chat room. Or you may also visit www.MarineParents.com and in the center column under "Connect & Share" you'll see the link to the chat room. BOOKS BY DR. CANTRELL Dr. Cantrell has written several books on combat recovery, post-traumatic stress disorder, and warrior transitioning. Two of her books are on the 2013 Commandant's Reading List!
Click here to review or purchase Dr. Cantrell's books. WHO SHOULD ATTEND Military personnel (current or past conflicts) and their families who are interested in knowing more about issues related to combat recovery and warrior transitioning are encouraged to participate in the chat. Please forward this email to folks you know who should attend. Your participation could make a difference in the life of someone you love. |
Get to Know the Team
| | TMP Featured Participants: The Eldridges
Team Marine Parents™ is a group of individuals, generally parents, family, and friends of Marines, who participate in athletic events nationwide to support our troops. The mission is to raise funds and awareness of the organization's outreach programs. Currently, there are over 50 members of Team Marine Parents™ around the country.
 | | MacKinnon and Mark Eldridge |
This month's TMP featured participants are a father and son team who don't get to see each other as often as they'd like, but are both relishing the opportunity to run for TMP together--Mark and MacKinnon Eldridge.
Mark, the father, lives in Bermuda. Mark is extremely proud of his son MacKinnon, a Marine currently stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Additionally, MacKinnon is the only active-duty Marine on Team Marine Parents this year, so we really appreciate him taking time out of his busy schedule to be a part of the team.
 | | Mark, MacKinnon, and MacKinnon's wife Joan |
The father-son duo will be running (or, in the words of Mark, slowly jogging) in the 38th annual Marine Corps Marathon on October 27, 2013.
Both father and son are running in support of Purple Heart Hero Support and both are over halfway to their $300 fundraising goals. With your help, they can meet and exceed those goals in no time at all.
We'd like to thank Mark and MacKinnon for being a part of the team and for all of their hard work in supporting a wonderful cause. Best of luck in October guys!
To read more about Mark or to donate to his campaign, please click here...
To read more about MacKinnon or to donate to his campaign, please click here...
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We hope this week's edition of our email newsletter has been useful for you and your family. If there are topics you would like us to address, or if you have other suggestions for the newsletter, please contact us.
Banner Photo--USS Kearsarge At Sea--U.S. Marines and Sailors assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), and Sailors assigned to the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), hold the American flag to commemorate the Fourth of July during their 2013 deployment on the flight deck of the USS Kearsarge, at sea, July 4, 2013. The 26th MEU is a Marine Air-Ground Task Force forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility aboard the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group serving as a sea-based, expeditionary crisis response force capable of conducting amphibious operations across the full range of military operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photograph by Sgt. Christopher Q. Stone, 26th MEU Combat Camera/Released)
MarineParents.com, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) public charity. MarineParents.com, Inc., was founded in January 2003 in response to parents' needs to find information and to have "a place to connect and share"® with one another during their Marine's career. Our free online services and connections have expanded to support and educate Marine moms and dads, spouses, families and friends. We've helped 400,000 Marine and recruit families during boot camp, training, active duty and deployments. We've shipped more than 34,000 care packages overseas to our Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, sent 60,000 prayers and letters to injured Marines and served thousands of meals to wounded heroes and their families on the East and West coasts. You've found "a place to connect and share."®
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