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First to Fight

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First to Fight
1. TITLE: FIRST TO FIGHT
2. ADVANCE COURSE, SNCOA
3. AUTHOR: Victor H. Krulak Lieutenant General, USMC (Ret.)
4. PUBLISHER: U.S. Naval Institute
5. PUBLISHED: 1984
6. PAGES: 227
7. COST: Base Library
8. SUBJECT: This book is a combination of Krulak’s personal experience and opinion about the
Marine Corps existence, mission, and history.
9. OPINION: I believe this book was written with compassion and commitment. It gives you a full ride about the history of our Corps as well as why we are who we are today. Krulak tells stories about how different equipment came into the Corps and how we perfected them.
First to Fight also shows how the different leadership styles made it all happen. It took a lot of dedication and determination to continue to fight for there to be a Marine Corps and its mission.
All in all, the book expresses how important the Marine Corps is to our nation and why, through preparation and training, we have become who we are today on and off the battle field.
10. INTRODUCTION: First To Fight begins with Krulak engaged in a conversation with a
Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt) who was asked how did the Marine Corps get the reputation of having one of the world’s greatest fighting formations. The GySgt replies “Well lieutenant they started telling everybody how great they were and pretty soon they started believing it”. The story goes on to talk about how there nearly wasn’t a Marine Corps.
11. BODY: First To Fight starts out with Marine Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith on the bridge of the command ship Mt. Olympus, off Iwo Jima on the morning of 23 February 1945 with Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal who said that the raising of our flag atop Mt.
Suribachi means there will be an Marine Corps for the next five hundred years. Smith commented “When the war is over and money is short they will be after the Marines again”, and a dozen Iwo Jimas would make no difference. The resolute general was voicing the
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