Everywhere from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, boisterous knuckle-draggers today are toasting to 246 (ignoring the 1783-1798 gap following the disbanding of the Continental Marines) of liquor-fueled exploits so renowned they would make the eyes of the fourth commandant of the Marine Corps well with tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We speak, of course, of Lt. Col. Anthony Gale, one of the most mysterious officers in the service\u2019s extensive history whose inflammatory reputation led to his being the only commandant to ever be fired from the post, a move that effectively banished him from Marine Corps history and, in turn, the all-important rotation of generational boot camp diddies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1798, with Marine units reemerging in order to furnish other services with crayon jokes that are in no way lacking originality, Gale signed the dotted line and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. In doing so, Gale selflessly left behind a promising career of flipping burgers back on the block in favor of preparing the service for future conflicts bearing such names as the Barbary Wars, World War I and II, and the great Lava Monster War of 1998<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t