Marines on the Move DVD

Two aspects of U.S. Marine life are highlighted here: life as a U.S. Embassy Marine and an inside look at Marine boot camp.

EMBASSY MARINES, A SENSE OF SECURITY: Given all the talk about protecting U.S. Embassies today, it's interesting to learn how the program for Marines to guard them was developed in 1948. Only the best and brightest Marines, who pass rigorous physical and mental training, along with background checks, can guard embassies. We see their training, both in class and outside, at a Marine security guard school, and we learn that there's a hint of espionage in the embassy world. Upon graduation, they take their place in exotic foreign lands, specifically, beautiful Southeast Asia. USA, 1964, Color, 25 minutes.

THE BEGINNING: Long before they experience the heroics and hell of war, this film documents how scruffy-faced, shaggy-haired young men are turned into clean shaven, gun-worshipping, precision bed-making Marines at boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina. Inside the camp, we see how young recruits get shaved, cleaned, and handed their army gear; how their tough-as-nails drill instructor barks out orders and doesn't suffer incompetence. We see how the men are broken down to utterly conform to precise military standards, and how are there are two tempos in Marine life: “fast and faster”. . Narrated by Westbrook van Voorhis. USA, 1962, B&W, 15 minutes.

Two films on one DVD. Total running time: 40 minutes.

NTSC Region 0 encoding (Entire World)