American Legion Baldwin Post # 246

06/14/2026

https://share.google/kKRYspHu2UyvzOfsm

06/14/2026

[Belated Post] Celebrating Women Veterans Day 2026 … June 12th -

The contributions and impact of women in the military are still wid...

06/10/2026

06/07/2026

On June 6, 1918, [also start date 01 JUN is oft cited] the Battle of Belleau Wood commenced. Today, we remember and honor the legacy of those Marines who fought at the Battle of Belleau Wood during World War I, those who helped cement the reputation of the Corps as the world's premier fighting force.

During the intense battle, the 4th Marine Brigade, comprised of the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments, and the 6th Machine Gun Battalion, fought aggressively through the wheat fields and woodlands in France, helping to stop a major German advance toward Paris in 1918.

The Battle of Belleau Wood became a major turning point for the Corps, providing Marines with experience in large scale operations.

Semper Fi, Devil Dogs!

U.S. Marine Corps Musée de la Mémoire de Belleau 1914-1918 National Museum of the Marine Corps

On June 6, 1918, the Battle of Belleau Wood commenced. Today, we remember and honor the legacy of those Marines who fought at the Battle of Belleau Wood during World War I, those who helped cement the reputation of the Corps as the world's premier fighting force.

During the intense battle, the 4th Marine Brigade, comprised of the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments, and the 6th Machine Gun Battalion, fought aggressively through the wheat fields and woodlands in France, helping to stop a major German advance toward Paris in 1918.

The Battle of Belleau Wood became a major turning point for the Corps, providing Marines with experience in large scale operations. Surviving German soldiers named the Marines Teufel Hunden or Devil Dogs due to their fierce and relentless tenacity while attacking their positions during the battle. Because of the Marines’ unwavering commitment, the 5th and 6th Marine Regiments were awarded the French Croix de Guerre, an award presented to individuals or units for acts of valor and bravery on the battlefield.

Semper Fi, Devil Dogs!

U.S. Marine Corps Musée de la Mémoire de Belleau 1914-1918 National Museum of the Marine Corps

06/07/2026

D-Day Anniversary 2026 …..

06/06/2026

(re-Post) The D-Day Heroes We Must Never Forget

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc

Photo(s) by -US National Archives/AFP via Getty Images

“We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France,” President Ronald Reagan told a group of U.S. Army Ranger veterans. “The air is soft, but 40 [now 82 years] ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke & the cries of men, & the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire & the roar of cannon.”
Reagan’s 1984 “The boys of Ponte du Hoc (https://substack.com/redirect/0e6ddc8d-221a-4780-9e16-e03ef6e12d68?j=eyJ1IjoidTI0eTMifQ.F8n73Eat-cJ1d393BfDNrVOen8CKZsJwSZ6MBUSrpTs)” speech, written by Peggy Noonan & delivered in France, was one of the finest moments of his presidency – & one of the best speeches ever by a U.S. president:

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.

Gentlemen, I look at you & I think of the words of Stephen Spender’s poem. You are men who in your “lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.”

The speech cast an almost religious light on that day, & indeed, there is something sacred about D-Day. In the minds of Americans, it’s an historical event that transcends & stands above today’s partisan politics. Despite patriotism plummeting for young generations, the Normandy landings still remain untouchable in the eyes of the average American.

There are no doubts about its righteousness. No moral scruples. Aside from, perhaps, the occasional amateur “revisionist” historian podcaster, I have yet to encounter anyone – online or in real life – who has even attempted to compare D-Day to other follies of the U.S. empire. It stands apart.

Americans may have grown cynical to the point of no return after the invasion of Iraq & the War on Terror, but there is virtually no question that the invasion of Nazi-occupied France was just.

I suspect it has, in part, something to do with the sacrifices made by Allied soldiers. Those heroes have since taken on a sort of mythical status in the American consciousness – & they certainly deserve it. Their actions that day were selfless and courageous, and they witnessed such horrific violence & overcame such hardship that it is nearly impossible to put yourself in their shoes.

When you die for your beliefs, you are a martyr. When you die for the collective, such as a European society that was shackled by a hideous tyranny, you take on the status of a saint.

If you consider the hell they went through, even for a moment, you feel a deep shame for ever having complained about superficial problems in your life, such as a delayed flight or a cold cup of coffee.

06/06/2026

06/06/2026

D-Day Remembered …