The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is an independent branch of the US armed forces. The unit was established in November 1775, and the first branch of this unit was formed a year later. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, US Marines served primarily in the region of South and Central America, guarding American interests in this part of the world. It was also then that the principle was established that it was the USMC that was deployed to the area of operations as the first among other units of the US armed forces. Corps soldiers fought in World War I, but they gained special fame in the course of bloody and heavy fights in the Pacific in 1941-1945, taking part in such battles as Guadalcanal (1942-1943), Tarawa (1943), Iwo-Jima and Okinawa (both from 1945). Often in the face of the enemy, the soldiers of this formation showed a lot of courage, an example of which can be, for example, John Basilone was awarded the Medal of Honor for his accomplishment during the battles on the Gudalcanal. After 1945, the soldiers of the Corps fought, for example, in the Korean War (1950-1953) or especially in the Vietnam War (1964 / 1965-1975), suffering heavy losses in the latter war. After the end of the Cold War, USMC soldiers took part in, for example, both Gulf Wars (1990-1991 and 2003). Currently, there are 182,000 soldiers in the Corps, and about 38,500 in the reserve. The motto of the Corps is the Latin motto Semper Fidelis (Polish always faithful).
The siege of Khe Sanh Battle of Khe Sanh) was carried out during the Vietnam War (1964 / 1965-1975), and precisely during the so-called Tet offensives. Battle under Khe Sanh ran from January 21 to early April 1968. The opponents in this battle were the American army, which can be estimated at around 45,000 people (no more than 6,000-7,000 people at a time) and the troops of North Vietnam and Vietcong estimated at 17,000 to 35,000 men. The battle was fought because of the strategically important location of the American base in Khe Sanh in the vicinity of the so-called a demilitarized zone. It is worth adding that the American side took into account the siege of its base already at the end of 1967 and made appropriate preparations for it, first of all shifting its own considerable forces to it. It was also assumed that North Vietnam would concentrate as much force as possible into operations, which would be destroyed by intense artillery fire and air attacks. Interestingly, however, during the entire siege of Khe Sanh, the American base was subjected primarily to artillery fire by North Vietnamese troops, and the battles between infantry units took place primarily on forward points of resistance. It is worth noting that the base was supplied by low-altitude air drops. The battle was de facto unresolved, with the emphasis on the American troops - they lost about 2,800 wounded and killed in this struggle, while their opponent lost at least 4,000 wounded and killed.