Happy Birthday Marines, remember when the Marines had to retake Alcatraz

The Marine Corps Birthday is today and I am going to celebrate this momentous day of my beloved Marine Corps. It is especially momentous with former Marine Corporal JD Vance now being the first Marine to be Vice President of the United States. No matter your politics, all Teufel Hunden have to celebrate this fact.

We are going to discuss the Battle of Alcatraz, a little known moment of US History in which Marines were sent onto the prison island to squash a breakout attempt by several prisoners. While the Marines were put under the command of two Army officers, it showed why the Marine Corps was necessary. This kept being forgotten by President Truman.

So, Semper Fi brothers and sisters and enjoy a slice of our history.

Setting the Stage

Let's first look at what was happening in the United States.

President Harry Truman was the President. He hated the Marine Corps, was listening to General Curtis Lemay on how the military should focus on nuclear weapons, and was cutting the military budget while there were thousands of troops all over the world.

General Alexander Vandegrift was the Commandant and was fighting to save the Corps. He would have to go to Congress to save our beloved Corps. Here is a small part of what he would say.

https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/Frequently-Requested-Topics/Historical-Documents-Orders-and-Speeches/Bended-Knee-Speech/

The Marine Corps, then, believes that it has earned this right—to have its future decided by the legislative body which created it—nothing more. Sentiment is not a valid consideration in determining questions of national security. We have pride in ourselves and in our past, but we do not rest our case on any presumed ground of gratitude owing us from the Nation. The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps. If the Marine as a fighting man has not made a case for himself after 170 years of service, he must go. But I think you will agree with me that he has earned the right to depart with dignity and honor, not by subjugation to the status of uselessness and servility planned for him by the War Department.

When Truman received the call that the Bureau of Prisons needed help from the military, he found that the only branch that he had legal authority to do this with was the Marine Corps. He may not have been happy, but he would sent combat veterans of the Corps.

He would not stop trying to destroy the Corps, but lost the fight because of Commandant Clifton Cates and his own bad choice of words. Here is what he said that helped save the Corps.

https://www.usmcu.edu/Research/Marine-Corps-History-Division/Frequently-Requested-Topics/Historical-Documents-Orders-and-Speeches/The-Marine-Corps-as-the-Navys-Police-Force/

My dear Congressman McDonough:

I read with a lot of interest your letter in regard to the Marine Corps. For your information the Marine Corps is the Navy’s police force and as long as I am President that is what it will remain. They have a propaganda machine that is almost equal to Stalin’s.

Nobody desires to belittle the efforts of the Marine Corps but when the Marine Corps goes into the army it works with and for the army and that is the way it should be.

I am more than happy to have your expression of interest in this naval military organization. The Chief of Naval Operations is the Chief of Staff of the Navy of which the Marines are a part.

The Battle

https://www.alcatrazhistory.com/battle1.htm

https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/battle-alcatraz-1948-escape-attempt-death/

The men sent to Alcatraz were sent there because they were considered an escape risk or just plain too dangerous for other prisons. Bank robber Bernard Coy decided that he wanted to escape the island, so he enlisted Marvin Hubbard, Joseph Cretzer, Sam Shockley, Miran Thompson, and Clarence Carnes to help him. These were all extremely dangerous men and they would prove it on May 2, 1946.

They would work together to get firearms and then to take prisoners of nine unarmed guards. They would be frustrated by not being able to find the correct key to fully escape, which was hidden by a correctional officer named Miller.

The alarm was sounded and the authorities called Truman to get assistance of the military. The Marine Corps in the area was mobilized, with the Coast Guard providing transportation to the island. This would be reminiscent of what happened several times on Guadalcanal. The Marine Raiders would be transported several places on that World War 2 battlefield by Coasties in boats nicknamed Yippies.

The Marines would be put under the command of Army General “Vinegar Joe” Stillwell and Frank Merrill. Stillwell had been in charge of Allied forces in China,while being Chief of Staff to Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek. Merrill was the commanding officer of Merrill's Marauders, which had been under Stillwell's command. This was one of the special operation units created during the war to fight the Japanese.

The prisoners would realize they were screwed and fire on the watchtowers and their prisoners. Miller would lose his life, with only his fellow guards knowing what a brave man he was. The Marines, with guards that were on the island, would assault the positions that the prisoners held. This assault would be done with automatic weapons and hand grenades. 14 guards would be injured, with correctional officer Harold Stites losing his life

The siege would last for 48 hours, with it ending on May 4, when the Marines would make a final assault into a tower the final prisoners held out in. Croy Cretzer, and Hubbard would die in the battle. Thompson and Shockley would be sent to the gas chamber for their actions. Carnes, who had attempted to stop the killing of guards, had 99 years added to his sentence.

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