Letter to All Hands
March 23, 2004
We are going back in to the brawl!
We will be relieving [in Anbar Province] the magnificent Soldiers fighting under the 82nd Airborne Division, whose hard won successes in the Sunni Triangle have opened opportunities for us to exploit.
When its time to move a piano, Marines dont pick up the piano bench – we move the piano.
So this is the right place for Marines in this fight, where we can carry on the legacy of Chesty Puller in the Banana Wars in the same sort of complex environment that he knew in his early years.
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This is going to be hard, dangerous work. It is going to require patient, persistent presence. Using our individual initiative, courage, moral judgment and battle skills, we will build on the 82nd Airbornes victories.
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Our country is counting on us even as our enemies watch and calculate, hoping that America does not have warriors strong enough to withstand discomfort and danger.
You, my fine young men, are going to prove the enemy wrong—dead wrong. You will demonstrate the same uncompromising spirit that has always caused the enemy to fear Americas Marines.
The enemy will try to manipulate you into hating all Iraqis. Do not allow the enemy that victory.
With strong discipline, solid faith, unwavering alertness, and undiminished chivalry to the innocent, we will carry out this mission.
Remember, I have added, “First, Do No Harm” to our passwords of “No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy.”
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Stay alert, take it all in stride, remain sturdy, and share your courage with each other and the world.
You are going to write history, my fine young Sailors and Marines, so write it well.
Semper Fidelis,
J. .N. Mattis, Major General, U. S. Marines
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