f
Taking off this week for the Third
Marine Division on Okinawa is Lance
Corporal Edwin W. CHAPPELL fro partici
pate in the Far 5hst Division of the
Marine Corps Competition-in-Arms Prog
ram. lance Corporal CHAPPELL leaves
: for the orient highly qualified, having
■ fired 23^x250 this year with the M—1
rifle, and competing successfully in
a rifle match last fall at Vallejo,
^California. We wish him luck to bring
■back another top firing record.
The Marine Corps has, as does the
Navy, an extensive Personal Affairs Pro
gram, set up to help maintain a high
state of morale through counseling and
assistance to Marines and dependents in
such areas as Red Cross, Navy Relief,
Veterans Benefits, Government Insurance
and Medicare Benefits, Captain L. H.
HARDEE, Executive Officer of Marine
Barracks, has the collateral duty of
Personal Affairs Officer, and as such
he holds a wealth of information which
he uses to help solve problems or diff
icult ies that arise. The better the
Fmorale, the better and more productive
the Marine, The Marine Corps saves
time and money by having such a program
and it aids the individual to know that
he can obtain guidance in an emergency
or in making a decision in one cf these
.areas. It is a good idea that you know
and use your Personal Affairs Officer,
"It can sometimes save youa lot of head
aches ,
Saluting receives the "blunt end of a
joke many times, just as do most est
ablished patterns of civilian and mil
itary lif.e. This is good, insomeways;
for it shows that the pattern is well
established and accept edenough that it
may be wise-cracked about and not have
its standards brought down. This is
because we know the true meaning and
(cont’d top next column)
purpose of the salute and that our
wise-cracks are in fun only. However,
the hand salute . has .many different
forms and has passed through a lot of
changes through the years. Your faith
ful reporter has been charged with the
responsibility of exploring its history
and passing on these interesting facts:
This is an honored tradition of the mil
itary profession and military tradition
is one of the basics of our military
law system.The salute is a custom that
goes back to earliest recorded history.
It is believed to have originated in
the days when all men bore arms; ‘they
would raise their weapons in such a
manner as to show friendly intentions.
Sometimes, they would shift their wea-*
pons from the right hand to the left
and raise their right hand to show that
they did not mean to attack. Countries
and organizations differ in their forms
of salute because of their particular
history and ways of doing things. How
ever the salute is executed, it still
means the same thing— a greeting of
courtesy and respect.
(sojxj I |^Q