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HISTORY
"The occupation Marine must be thoroughly indoctrinated with the idea that his task is primarily a military one. He has been assigned a job to do as the uniformed representative of the United States. He is the executor of policy and not the formulator. It is not the job of the military to attempt to sell the people of the occupied country on American democracy-but merely to carry out their assigned military functions in a dignified, fair, and firm manner."
-Maj J. A. Donovan "The Occupation Marine," Marine Corps Gazette, April 1946
On 14 August 1945, the sailor walked through Times Square, dixie cup pushed far back on his head. He looked at the nurse to his right and acted on impulse. With his right hand he grasped her waist, spinning her toward him. As she arched backwards, he cradled her neck in the crook of his left arm and kissed her as if he were making up for a lifetime put on indefinite hold. Life Magazine's Alfred Eisenstaedt saw the nurse's surprise in her limp arms and the crowd's approval in the shocked stares they directed toward the embracing strangers. With the press of his camera's shutter release, Eisenstaedt created a lasting symbol of the joy felt across America at World War II's end.
Eight thousand miles away on Guam, the 50,000 Marines of III Amphibious Corps (III AC) felt no such jubilation and carried little hope of liaisons with nurses. While the Marines trained for the invasion of the Japanese home islands-code named Operation DOWNFALL-the war ended abruptly. But before the Marines had a chance to celebrate, they received a warning order to prepare for operations in the vicinity of Shanghai, China. Their new mission, Operation BELEAGUER, would not end until 16 May 1949, when the last elements of III AC disembarked at San Diego. During the course of the operation, 12 Marines would be killed and 42 more would be wounded in clashes with Communist forces; 22 Marine aircrew in 14 aircraft would perish during the same period.
Using four of the six principles of military operations other than war (MOOTW) as described in joint Publication 3-07, joint Doctrine for Military Operations Other Than War, an analysis...