Today's #traditionthursday looks at the Marine Corps Motto, "Semper Fidelis."⁠ ⁠ Early unofficial Marine mottoes included "Fortitudine" and "By Sea and by Land." After 1848, the Marine flag bore the traditional legend "From Tripoli to the Halls of the Montezumas" (an order that would be reversed in the famous hymn, probably for rhyming reasons).⁠ ⁠ In the early 1880s, the Latin "Semper Fidelis," meaning "Always Faithful," became official. Countless generations of Marines have lived by the motto,

Semper Fi, Marines. // “Semper Fidelis” by John Philip Sousa, performed by musicians of the United States Marine Corps. 1st Marine Division Band, Camp Pendleton, CA 2d Marine Division Band, Camp Lejeune, NC 2d Marine Aircraft Wing Band, Cherry Point, NC 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band, Mirimar/San Diego, CA III Marine Expeditionary Force Band, Okinawa, Japan Marine Band San Diego, San Diego, CA Marine Forces Reserve Band, New Orleans, LA Parris Island Marine Band, Parris Island, SC Quantico Marine