United States Marine Corps A decade later, in the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), the Marines made their famed assault on Chapultepec Palace in Mexico City, which would be later celebrated as the "Halls of Montezuma" in the Marines' hymn. In the 1850s, the Marines would see further service in Panama and Asia, attached to Matthew Perry's East India Squadron on its historic trip to the Far East. The Marine Corps played a small role in the Civil War (1861–1865); their most prominent task was blockade duty. As more and more states seceded from the Union, about a third of the Corps' officers left the United
Marine Corps Association the MCA is: "We formed the Marine Corps Association after each of us had contributed all he could afford," stated a participant at a meeting on 25 April 1911 at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, attended by every officer of Colonel L.W.T. Waller's 1st Provisional Marine Brigade. These officers represented 25 percent of the commissioned strength of the Corps. Their stated purpose was to preserve the existence and status of the Marine Corps. In an April 1963 Gazette article, Colonel Robert D. Heinl, Jr., reviewed the turbulent era and events leading to the meeting of these officers and their willingness to