The first one hundred Marine Corps officer service numbers were intended for retroactive presentation to World War I veterans; the Marine Corps issued these early numbers alphabetically and the first Marine Corps officer number was issued to Major James Ackerman. Ackerman was issued the service number "01" with the policy established that all Marine Corps officer numbers would begin with a zero. The U.S. Army awarded their "01" to General John J. Pershing.
The Marine Corps officer corps in the 1920s was relatively small and, by the start of the 1930s, the Marine Corps had yet to issue more than one thousand officer service numbers. In 1931, the number of possible officer numbers was increased to two thousand with this number not yet reached upon the outbreak of World War II in 1941.
During World War II, the officer service number range was extended to 50,000 and, during Korea, extended again to 100,000; this number was not reached by the officer corps until 1966. At that time, the Marine Corps extended the officer service numbers a final time to 125,000. Officer service numbers were then discontinued in 1972.
Final distribution of Marine Corps officer service numbers
Marine Corps enlisted numbers
Marine Corps enlisted service numbers were also issued retroactively; however, numbers 1 through 20,000 were never assigned. Thus, the first Marine Corps enlisted service number was 20,001 and was assigned to a Marine named Alexander Schott. Service numbers upwards to 49,999 were also retroactive and assigned to discharged or retired Marines who had served between 1905 and 1917.
The enlisted service numbers between 50,000 and 60,000 were never assigned by the Marine Corps for reasons which are unclear. The next range of numbers, 60,001 to 99,999, were used for retroactive presentation from 1905 to 1919.
The first active Marines who were assigned service numbers fell into the range of 100,000 to 199,999 as it was these numbers which were assigned in the 1920s to the enlisted force of the Marine Corps. In 1935, with the service number cap of 200,000 almost reached, the Marine Corps extended enlisted numbers to a new cap of 350,000. It was in this range that service numbers were being issued upon the outbreak of World War II.
During the early part Second World War, the Marine Corps extended their enlisted service numbers to the number one million with numbers broken down into sub-sections reserved for particular groups enlisting during World War II. The first group, ranging numbers 350,000 to 670,899, were standard Marine Corps enlistees joining for wartime service. Numbers 670,900 to 699,999 were never issued and 700,000 to 799,999 were reserved for female enlisted personnel. The female enlisted service numbers were also the only numbers assigned a prefix code, as the letter W was used to denote female Marine Corps enlisted.
Until the middle of World War II, the remaining service number range of 800,000 to 999,999 was used by regular Marine enlistees. In 1943, the Marine Corps extended enlisted service numbers to 1,699,999 even though the original one million service number cap had not yet been reached. Marine enlisted service number 1,000,000 was issued in 1944 and the cap of 1,700,000 was reached nine years later.
Service numbers 1,700,000 to 1,799,999 were set aside for female enlisted personnel of the 1960s and 1970s while 1,800,000 to 2,000,000 was used by male enlistees. In 1965, with male service numbers running out due to a rise of enlistments during the Vietnam War, the Marine Corps extended enlisted service numbers a final time to 2,800,000. The highest Marine Corps service number reached was slightly above 2,699,000 before the numbers were discontinued in 1971. After this point, all Marine Corps service records converted to Social Security numbers as the primary identification means for service members.
Final distribution of Marine Corps enlisted service numbers
Notable service numbers
Significant Marine Corps service numbers include:[1]
The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936.
The Recruiting Service Ribbon is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which is issued by every branch of service with the exception of the United States Army. The Recruiting Service Ribbon recognizes those military service members who have completed a successful tour as a military recruiter in one of the United States Military Recruiting Commands.
The Dental Corps of the United States Navy consists of naval officers who have a doctorate in either dental surgery (DDS) or dental medicine (DMD) and who practice dentistry for Sailors and Marines to ensure optimal oral health.
A side cap is a military cap that can be folded flat when not being worn. It is also known as a garrison cap or flight cap in the United States, wedge cap in Canada, or field service cap in the United Kingdom. In form the side cap is comparable to the glengarry, a folding version of the Scottish military bonnet. It has been associated with various military forces since the middle of the 19th century, as well as various civilian organizations.
The peaked cap, service cap, barracks cover or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It derives its name from its short visor, or peak, which was historically made of polished leather but increasingly is made of a cheaper synthetic substitute.
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are enrolled in the Selected Reserve (SELRES), the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), the Full Time Support (FTS), or the Retired Reserve program.
The Aircrew Badge, commonly known as Wings, is a qualification badge of the United States military that is awarded by all five branches of armed services to personnel who serve as aircrew members on board military aircraft. The badge is intended to recognize the training and qualifications required by aircrew of military aircraft. In order to qualify as an aircrew member and receive the Aircrew Badge, such personnel typically undergo advanced training in aircraft in-flight support roles.
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The uniforms of the United States Navy include dress uniforms, daily service uniforms, working uniforms, and uniforms for special situations, which have varied throughout the history of the navy. For simplicity in this article, officers refers to both commissioned officers and warrant officers.
United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve (Reserve) was the World War II women's branch of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. It was authorized by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 30July 1942. Its purpose was to release officers and men for combat, and to replace them with women in U.S. shore stations for the duration of the war, plus six months. Ruth Cheney Streeter was appointed the first director. The Reserve did not have an official nickname, as did the other World WarII women's military services.
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The "G-1" military flight jacket is the commonly accepted name for the fur-lined-collar World War II-era flight jacket of the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. A similar jacket used by the United States Army Air Corps/United States Army Air Forces was usually called the A-2 jacket.
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combined arms, implementing its own infantry, armor, artillery, aerial and special operations forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States.
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Service numbers were used by the United States Armed Forces as the primary means of service member identification from 1918 until 1974. Service numbers are public information available under the Freedom of Information Act, unlike social security numbers which are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974.
Service numbers were used by the United States Army from 1918 until 1969. Prior to this time, the Army relied on muster rolls as a means of indexing enlisted service members while officers were usually listed on yearly rolls maintained by the United States War Department. In the nineteenth century, the Army also used pay records as a primary means of identifying service members after discharge.
United States Air Force service numbers were created in the spring of 1948, approximately six months after the Air Force's creation as separate branch of the armed forces.
United States Navy service numbers were created in 1920, one year after the close of the First World War. The creation of Navy service numbers coincided with those of the Marine Corps, as the Marines were under the authority of the Department of the Navy.
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Jack Warner Hill (1928–1987) was a member of the United States Marine Corps who bears the distinction of holding Marine Corps enlisted service number one million (1,000,000). Hill served a total of two enlistments in the Marine Corps, one during World War II, resulting in a discharge due to lying about this age upon enlistment, and the other briefly before the outbreak of the Korean War. After his military service, Hill lived until 1987; where he was killed in an automobile accident.
References
↑ National Personnel Records Center, Military Operations Branch, "Service number index and registry of retired, deceased, and discharged military personnel" (2007)
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