An entry in a Marine’s service record from 1926 shows that even though the Corps has come a long way in 100 years, Marines are always gonna Marine.
A currently serving Marine recently shared a disciplinary record for his great-grandfather on Reddit. He asked that his name not be included in the story because he is still in the Corps, and he identified his great-grandfather by his first name only: Edmund.
Edmund served in the Corps from 1922 to 1953, the Marine said. The record shared on Reddit lists his rank in 1926 as a sergeant.
The document appears to be authentic based on its general typeface and content, according to the Marine Corps History Division. It also appears to be a Page 11 entry in the Marine’s Service Record Book. A Page 11 is reserved for administrative remarks, including — but not limited to — punitive action.
It’s worth noting that most Marines are likely to get into some sort of trouble during their careers in the Corps. Even the Marine legend Chesty Puller — who retired as a three-star general — once accidentally discharged a .45 caliber pistol while indoors. He fined himself $100, although the penalty for negligent discharges at the time was a $20 fine.
Edmund’s record lists six offenses considered minor, such as being late for reveille roll call, being absent for just over an hour one morning, and creating a disturbance after Taps.
Looking at the record from 1926, it is interesting to note which infractions the Marine Corps considered the most serious at the time. Edmund was put on restriction for three weeks for “Not airing out bedding & raising a disturbance.”
However, when it came to “Fighting in quarters with dangerous weapons,” he received only a warning. Edmund’s great-grandson said he was struck by the disparity in how Edmund was disciplined for the two offenses.
“I thought it was pretty funny, just how it balanced out and all,” the Marine told Task & Purpose. “Not airing out the sheets, he got restriction for, but fighting, it’s just like — yeah, don’t do that again.”
The Marine said he had requested Edmund’s service record through the National Archives and Records Administration because he wanted to present it to his father as a Christmas present. However, he was “blown away” when he received more than 900 pages in records about his great-grandfather, he said.
Among the things that he and his family have since learned is that Edmund served at Guadalcanal in World War II, the Marine said. The records provide a fuller picture of a man who died long before the Marine was born.
“I never got to meet him, and he never really talked about serving to my dad or my grandfather,” the Marine said, “And so it was kind of a way that we could just see his whole story – with him being gone for almost 50 years now.”