The U.S. Marine Corps in Crisis: Ribbon Creek and Recruit Training - Softcover

Fleming, Keith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1570038848 ISBN 13: 9781570038846

Publisher: University of South Carolina Press, 2009

Synopsis

This book describes the history of a tragic event in USMC history and of how its impact led to reforms. In 1956 a Marine drill instructor led his recruit platoon on a punitive night march across Ribbon Creek, a tidal stream at the Parris Island, South Carolina, recruit depot. Six men drowned, and the resulting court-martial became a national media sensation putting the future of the corps into question. Written by a senior historian at the Marine Corps Historical Center, ""The U.S. Marine Corps in Crisis"" explores the social, political, and historical context of this tragic moment in U.S. military history as a case study in how bureaucratic institutions undertake internal reform and offering a valuable vantage point on tensions in American society during the 1950s.

About this title

Review

This is much more than the story of one lone drill instructor's misguided attempt to instill discipline into his platoon. Rather it is a look at the Marine Corps, at recruit training in particular, as an institution and at how changes in the institution allowed an incident like Ribbon Creek to happen. - Marine Corps Gazette ""Fleming brings a knowledgeable eye and a discerning sense to Marine boot camp, an American institution that is much discussed but little studied or understood."" - Infantry

About the Author

Keith Fleming holds a Ph.D. in American military history from Ohio State University. He is a retired U.S. Marine officer who commanded a rifle platoon in the U.S. intervention in the Domincan Republic in 1965 and the following year assumed command of a rifle company in the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1570038848
• ISBN 13: 9781570038846
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 168