250th Series #7-WWI/Iron Mike

Description

1900-1920  

The early decades of the 1920s were a critical period of growth for the Marine Corps. The primary mission became the seizure and defense of advanced bases in support of U.S. interests—a task Marines performed well across the globe in places such as Panama, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and China. In 1912, Lieutenant Alfred A. Cunningham began an independent Marine Corps aviation program and contributed to the development of dive-bombing tactics. The Marines Corps then saw a massive expansion in the First World War and won global acclaim for its tenacity at the Battle of Belleau Wood.