Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia

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Since its inception in 1917, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, has been the "frontline of innovation." Marine concepts, doctrine, training, and equipment of the future are initiated aboard the Base. The techniques of amphibious warfare, for which the Corps is renowned, were conceived and perfected here. The tactics of close-air support and vertical envelopment using helicopters were also developed within its borders. As attention is focused on future battlefields, the Marine Corps and other branches of Service are looking to Quantico to lead the way with technological advances as well as creative and innovative thinking.

Quantico also serves as the focal point for professional military education. The Marine Corps University provides the academic platform the Corps uses to shape and hone leaders at every milestone of their professional lives. Officers in the Marine Corps begin their careers at the Officer Candidates School and The Basic School. Enlisted marines receive additional leadership training at the University's Staff Non-Commissioned Officers Academy. The Marine Corps War College, School of Advanced Warfighting and Amphibious Warfighting School are also part of the University, training officers in the U.S. Armed Forces and international officers from designated foreign countries in the art of war.

Whether assigned to Quantico as a student or as a permanent personnel, you will become part of a community that reflects professional character while enjoying an off-duty environment with many social, civic, and professional opportunities.

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Birth of Marine Corps Base Quantico in 1917

It's called the "Crossroads of the Marine Corps," and during its 80 year tenure on the approximately 100 square miles of land located along the western bank of the Potomac River, Marine Corps Base Quantico has been a training site for Marines and a birthing place of Marine Corps concepts.

Prior to Marines arriving here in 1917, the land was owned by the Town of Quantico. At the turn of the century, the Quantico Company was formed on Quantico Creek. The company, which promoted the town as a tourist and excursion center, set up tourist sites, such as refreshment stands, boats, and beaches with dressing rooms to promote business.

Marine Corps Base Quantico as it appeared in 1926. The large white building at the top, built in 1919, currently houses the Defense Printing Agency, self help and drivers improovement office. Directly across the railroad tracks are the buildings that comprised the town of Quantico.

By 1916, the Quantico Company began advertising Quantico as "The New Industrial City," and pushed for industry to come to the area. At the same time, the Quantico Shipyards were established on the land that is now located by the Naval Medical Clinic to build ocean freighters and tankers. With growing tensions of war in Europe, the construction of U.S. Navy ships was a major money-maker for the Quantico Shipyards.









"I remember lots of hammering and noise going on in the back of the town," said John Brown, who was born in 1895.

Brown, a resident of the Brook Point Nursing Center in Stafford, grew up in Fredericksburg in the early 1900's and was a shoe shiner at a Quantico Town barber shop for 38 years, up until the end of WWII.

While the Town of Quantico was rapidly growing as a fishing village, excursion center and a shipbuilding center in early 1917, the town was not large or significant, and was suffering many financial difficulties.

Around the same time, then-Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps, Major General George Barnett, sent a board to find possible sites for a new Marine Corps base in the Washington, D.C., vicinity.

It wasn't to long after that the Crossroads of the Corps was established and the name "Quantico" would become immortalized in military history.

In 1917, Marine Barracks, Quantico, was established on the land currently occupied by today's Base. Marine Barracks personnel consisted of 91 enlisted men and four officers.

Brown recalls a time when the Town of Quantico and its newly established neighbors, the Marines of Marine Barracks, Quantico, were much different than today's Quantico area.

Quantico is the home of Marine Helicopter 1, the first Marine helo squadron. Here Marines load a helo as they test the aircrafts troop movement capabilities.

Brown referred to the training and preparation Marines made here for deployment to Europe during both World Wars while he worked at Quantico.

"There were horses and carriages, and buggies," he said. "I remember soldiers [Marines] training there for something they weren't too certain of."

As technology grew and expanded, so did Quantico. Thousands of Marines were trained here during World War I , and by 1920, the Marine Corps schools were founded, as then-Commandant, Col. Smedley D. Butler put it, "to make this post and the whole Marine Corps a great university."

These schools eventually developed into today's Marine Corps University, where most Marine officers begin their careers and many enlisted types keep up with their primary military education.

Quantico also had several other firsts, to include a first in Marine aviation and warfare doctrination. The first Marine Aircraft Wing was developed here, as well as the Corps' first helicopter squadron - Marine Helicopter Squadron One. HMX-1 was the first helicopter squadron to provide rapid transportation of U.S. Presidents. It continues that mission today.

In 1934, Amphibious Warfare Doctrine, along with special amphibious landing crafts for WWII were developed here.

Brown also remembered one incident he had with several Marines during Morning Colors at the Barracks just a few years after the base was established.

Students of the 1st Officers Training Camp dug trenches as part of their training. Officers were first trained here in August 1917.

"When that flag came up, a Marine told me to put my hand over my heart," he said. "He told me that if I was going to salute, that I had to stand at attention. I haven't forgotten to salute."

Since his birth, Brown has had the opportunity to experience many things in the Quantico area, to include many of the base's developments. Quantico was the birthplace for the first Marine Corps newspaper, the Quantico Sentry; the Advanced Base Force, which was the predecessor of today's Fleet Marine Forces; and a doctrine that gave the guidelines for training the first Naval gunfire specialists.

In 1987, the Marine Corps Development and Education Command here was changed to the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, signifying Quantico's role in the 21st century Marine Corps.

Over the years, Quantico has served as a birthing place for concepts and ideas that have since developed into essential components to the Corps' mission.

From the first 95 men who made up Marine Barracks, Quantico, which Brown remembers as only a handful of Marines training for WWI, to becoming the foundation of today's formal Marine schools and home of HMX-1, Over the course of it's "lifetime," Quantico has truly lived up to it's motto, "Semper Progredi," always forward.

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Those who came before us

Numerous cemeteries now hold the secrets of past residents and the land they once owned.What is now known as the Crossroads of the Marine Corps was once seen as five miles of quiet, lush forest that bordered the Potomac River.

According to records, this is how the Algonquin Indian tribe known as Manohoacs saw the land when they inhabited the area just north of Quantico in the 1500s.

As a matter of fact, the name "Quantico" comes from the Native Americans and has been translated to mean "by the large stream."

Other accounts show that the area was first visited by European explorers in the summer of 1608. But, it wasn't until later in the year that major land owners started to appear.

After the turn of the century, the area became popular because of tobacco trade in Aquia Harbor. Because traveling on muddy roads in those days was slow, many villages sprung up along the river and its inlets. Additionally, the area was a bustling stopping point on the North-South routes between New York and Florida.

Early settlements and plantations rooted along the flatlands bordering the Potomac. The hills west of the river remained essentially uninhabited until the early 1700s.

Prince William County was organized in 1731 when the "Quantico Road" was also opened. This road gave vital access from the western part of the county to this area. By 1759 the road stretched across the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Shenandoah Valley.

The first military presence at Quantico came during the Revolutionary War, when the Quantico Creek village became a main naval base for the Commonwealth of Virginia's 72-vessel fleet on which many Virginia State Militia served.

The land was first visited by the Marine Corps in 1816 when a group of Marines traveling by ship to Washington had a slight setback. Their vessel was halted by ice in the Potomac forcing them to debark and march to the town of Dumfries. Here they met a young Captain Archibald Henderson who lived close by. A generous-natured man, Henderson hired a wagon for them and sent them on their way.

This pile of wood was once a stage coach inn and later a spa where people came to "take in the waters from the natural springs located nearby. Now nothing more than a pile of old wood partially held together with rusted, square nails is left of the inn.During the Civil War, control of the Potomac River became very important to both sides of the two armies. The Confederates picked the Quantico Creek area on the Potomac to set up their gun batteries. This enabled them to make full use of several points where their artillery could reach anything on the water, thus deterring Union use of the water highway. One of these sites included "Shipping Point," the present day site of the Naval Medical Clinic here.

While battles took place in Manassas and Fredericksburg, Va., the gun positions around Quantico were used until the end of the war. After a 12-day battle at the Spotsylvania Courthouse where the Union lost about 25,000 soldiers, the war moved out of the Quantico area.

Following the war, railroads became a more integral part of transportation. In 1872, the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad was formed when several railroads north and south met at Quantico Creek. This railroad still runs through the Base and is used daily.

The village came to be called "Quantico" and was built by the Quantico Company. This was the start of a thriving tourist and fishing town that would later be known worldwide as Marine Corps Base Quantico.

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Places of historical interest in the Quantico area This statue was originally named "A crusade for the right," but was later given the name "Iron Mike." It stands in memory of the thousands of Marines who passed through Quantico during World War I.

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Aquia Episcopal Church- This church was built in 1751 and rebuilt after a fire in 1757. It still stands near Aquia Harbor. Headstones moved from other cemeteries to the church graveyard date back to 1697.

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Town of Dumfries- The town itself was established prior to 1831 and was the largest one in Virginia at the time. The name "Dumfries" came from the city by the same name in Scotland about 65 miles southeast of Glasgow.

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Weems Botts Museum- Located in the Town of Dumfries, this house was built in the 1700s and still stands. It was originally the bookstore of Parson Weems, the first biographer of George Washington and the source of much of the folklore about the nation's first president. The second owner was Benjamin Botts, a well known lawyer in Virginia, noted for being on the defense team for Aaron Burr. The museum can be reached at (703) 221-3346.

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Stafford Springs- Located a short walk off of MCB-6, on a road now called 613, are the remains of the springs and buildings that was once a busy stopping point in the area. The house also served as the Confederate spy headquarters during the Civil War.

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Shipping Point- What is now the site of Naval Medical Clinic and officer housing once served as artillery sites during the Civil War. Later in 1916 it was advertised as one of the largest shipyards in the Western Hemisphere.

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Butler Stadium- The stadium was built in 1921 by BGen. Butler's Marines for a mere $5,000. Using donated railroad tracks, the bleachers were framed and concrete slabs were used as seats. According to Butler, the stadium was to be "the world's largest stadium." While varsity football is no longer played in the stadium, it is still used for ceremonies and special events.

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Marine Air-Ground Museum- Housed in 1920s hangars, the Air-Ground Museum gives visitors a glimpse of Marine Corps air-ground team development and its achievements in three major wars and numerous minor campaigns. Museum personnel can be reached at (703) 784-2606 or 784-2425.

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Town of Occoquan- Occoquan is a Native American word meaning "at the end of the water." This small town was laid out with streets and lots in 1804. By 1835, the town had about 50 dwellings, stores and mechanics. The country's first automated grist mill operated in this small town and existed for 175 years. Many attractions, such as a mill house museum, can be visited in this village of shops where many original buildings still stand. The town visitor center can be reached at (703)491-4045.

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Town of Quantico- Having the distinction of being the only town completely surrounded by a military installation, this town has a storied past.

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Quantico National Cemetery- The cemetery, which opened in 1983, is located off I-95, on Route 619 west. Annual ceremonies are conducted on both Memorial Day and Veterans Day. For more information, call 221-2183.

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Waller Hill ("Rising Hill")- This was the site of a Civil War gun emplacement which helped the Confederates defend the Potomac River and overlooks the Town of Quantico. A hotel was erected at this site in 1871, which later became a school and eventually Waller Hall.

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Numerous statues and cemeteries that date back to the early years of Quantico can be found scattered throughout the base.

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A humble take-off
Marine Helicopter Squadron One began with nine Marines, no helicopters

An HRP-1 "Flying Banana" lands at Brown Field on Quantico Air Station. The helicopter was the first large helicopter used in the Corps.

On Dec. 1, 1947, Marine Helicopter Squadron One was established. Its mission was to test a new concept in aviation known as vertical envelopment. The strange machines which would be tested were called helicopters, innovative crafts which could make the Corps more versatile - get Marines on and off the battlefields more quickly and safely, evacuate casualties, cut down on resupply missions and even put troops behind enemy lines.

The squadron's first responsibilities were to study this new aircraft and develop doctrine, maintenance and training requirements needed to put the helicopter into use.

The first helicopter squadron was comprised of nine Marines and no helicopters. The aircraft arrived two months later - two HO3S-1s from the Navy Helicopter Development Squadron, Lakehurst, N.J. Pilots, crew and mechanics all learned about the "choppers" together.

A series of helicopters began arriving for testing and evaluation. Among them, perhaps the most memorable was the HRP-1, nicknamed the "flying banana," at the time the world's largest helicopter. It carried 10 passengers.

The squadron was tested in combat only 30 months after its inception, when Marines were sent to fight the Korean War in 1950. Only a few days earlier, President Truman had been treated to a demonstration of the flying banana's capabilities, and he approved enthusiastically of its use.

An HMX-1 VH-60N Whitehawk flies over the air facility during training. The squadron uses the VH-60N, the CH-53E Super Stallion (above, parked), CH-46 Sea Knight and the VH-3D Sea King in its mission to fly the President, support Quantico training and test new equipment for the Corps.

Korea turned out to be an excellent proving ground for the squadron and the use of helicopter as an integral component of the Corps' battlefield equipment. Not only were Marines able to transport entire battalions to the front, but also nearly 10,000 Marines were evacuated to hospitals or rescued from behind enemy lines.

Since 1947, the squadron has continued in its mission of "testing and evaluating military helicopters" with various aircraft, and setting the standards in aviation excellence through its Operational Test and Evaluation department. Most recently, the MV-22 Osprey was brought to Quantico for testing before being developed for use in the Fleet Marine Force. However, HMX-1's role has expanded and now includes not only testing but also an even greater responsibility.

In 1957, 10 years after HMX-1's establishment, President Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first U.S. president to use an HMX-1 helo for quick transportation. Having to leave his vacation grounds in Newport, R.I., on short notice, Eisenhower needed to fly from Newport to Naval Air Station Quonset Point, to board Air Force One. Spearheading the task, HMX-1 used one of its UH-34 Seahorse helos to fly the president to the air station. Realizing the usefulness of the helicopter, Eisenhower continued to use the HMX-1 aircraft for the remainder of his term.

More than 40 years since that first presidential flight aboard an HMX-1 helicopter, the squadron takes pride in continuing that mission of transporting the President in its various aircraft. Today the "First and Finest" Marine helicopter squadron in the Corps has grown to employ more than 700 personnel. The squadron has four different aircraft. The CH-53E Super Stallion, the CH-46E Sea Knight, the VH-3D Sea King and the VH-60N Whitehawk.

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Corps' first artillery unit born at Quantico
Crossroads' contributions may not always reach fleet; sometimes pave way for future development

Post World War I artillerymen of the 92nd Co., 10th Marine Artillery Regiment, ride with a 75mm gun as it's being pulled by a quad truck. Although the unit was created to fight in the war, it did not see action.It had been a winter of preparing for war, fighting disease, and expanding the Marine Corps to meet the demands of an increasingly unstable world. That was the winter the Marine Corps' first artillery unit was born, never to see active service.

The winter of 1917 had been particularly harsh at Quantico. At least 140 Marines had died of influenza. Another 4,000 were treated, most bedridden for a period. But the Quantico Marines wouldn't be stopped. With war raging around the world, the six-month-old base was already earning a reputation as the hub of Marine Corps activity. The base commanding general, Gen. John A. Lejeune, watched as wave after wave of Marines came to "his" base for training and were shipped off to France.

Gen. Lejeune described the aura of the base, after witnessing one of many early-morning unit departures, as a "heartbreaking winter for those of us who were left behind."

"What bleak, cold, wintry mornings they were," he wrote. "Once the thermometer registered 14 degrees below zero. All of those left behind stood along the railway tracks and shouted three lusty cheers for their departing comrades, while the bands played until instruments froze. As we turned away to resume our daily tasks, how heavy-hearted we were."

It was those daily tasks, performed by Marines left behind, that enabled Marines to fight so well in combat around the world. Even then, Quantico's role as Crossroads of the Corps had been all but etched in stone.

In January the Marines received an assignment from the Navy to establish a 7-inch gun regiment at Quantico, to be part of extensive operations planned for 1919.

They attacked the mission like any other, with Marine Corps zeal and innovation. Since there were no 7-inch guns available, the Marines formed the 10th Artillery Regiment Jan. 14 with 3-inch guns which had been part of the Advance Base Force headquartered in Philadelphia, and a battery of 4.7-inch guns already aboard the base. The Department of War had prohibited the 3-inch field artillery from being sent to France, but if the Marines had waited for the guns to arrive, they would have been idle until July.

Some of the personnel came from Marine Detachments of Battleship Force One. They were trained battleship gun crews sent to Quantico to make room aboard the ships for Sailors in training.

Other artillerymen came from Philadelphia and had been training at Quantico since November 1917, in anticipation of receiving 8-inch Howitzers. The first of these guns did not arrive until June 1918, and then only one was sent. The four former infantry companies were established as the 11th Artillery Regiment Jan. 18, but the unit was disbanded by September without ever seeing active service.

As for the 10th Artillery Regiment, although the War Department originally formed the unit with the intention of sending it to battle, the regiment never saw action in France. However, it was eventually transferred to Camp Lejeune, where roots took hold, fathering the artillery infrastructure the Corps uses today.

Note: Information for this article was found in the History and Museums Division publication "Quantico: Crossroads of the Corps."

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Legend and lore of "Lou" Diamond

Today Diamond Hall is the venue of many command religious programs and activities as well as the base education office. It is also the former site of the base Public Affairs Office. However, it was originally built to serve as a club for Quantico's staff non-commissioned officers.

In determining which Marine would be most appropriate for the commemorative naming of the building, organizers selected one of the Corps' most, well, interesting SNCOs.

MGySgt. Leland "Lou" Diamond was not a Medal of Honor recipient. He was not famous for saving lives under fire or relentless pursuit of the enemy. However, his dedication to the Marine Corps through two world wars and his dedication in training young Marine recruits earned him Corpswide recognition. His name was even known to Commandant of the Marine Corps A.A. Vandegrift, who referred to Diamond as "The perfect Marine."

Diamond was born May 30, 1890, in Bedford, Ohio, as near as anyone could determine, as there were no official records. He enlisted in the Marine Corps July 25, 1917 at the age of 27, which was considerably older than most recruits. He had an easy-going personality, but tolerated no nonsense when there was a job to do. Early in his career he was dubbed "The Honker" due to his incredible, booming voice, which could be heard above all other noises - to include combat.

In one article written for The Globe at Camp Lejeune, N.C. in 1947, Marines who fought with Diamond in France called him "a human air-raid warning system" who would call out when rounds were incoming.

Diamond had a reputation as a cocky Marine who considered anybody with less than ten years in the Corps as "boots," regardless of their rank. At 5 feet, 11 inches and 200 pounds, Diamond enjoyed his intimidating stature, which caused more than one nervous youngster to salute him out of confusion.

Diamond saw action during World War I with the 6th Marines at Chateau Thierry, Belleau Wood, the Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and the Meuse Argonne. By then a sergeant, he marched to the Rhine with the Army of Occupation. At war's end, he returned to the United States and received an honorable discharge from the Corps.

But the civilian life was no challenge for the Marine at heart. Diamond was back in the Corps Sept. 23, 1921, and became an assistant armorer at Parris Island, S. C. By 1925, he had regained his sergeant's stripes. He became a gunnery sergeant in 1933 and master gunnery sergeant in 1939, at which time he was assigned to the Depot of Supplies at Philadelphia to help design a new infantry pack for Marines.

Following the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Diamond shipped out to Guadalcanal with "H" Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was 52 years old. During World War II, Diamond, an expert with both 60mm and 81mm mortars, led a team of Marines whose accurate fire was credited as the strength behind many engagements in the Pacific.

Among the many anecdotes concerning his service is the story of the day he lobbed a mortar shell down the smoke stack of an off-shore Japanese cruiser on a dare from a fellow Marine. Whether this is true or not, Diamond is credited with driving that cruiser from the bay. Although his guns were too small to create any extensive damage, their constant and accurate pounding made it impossible for any crewmembers to leave the vessel.

An indication of Diamond's reputation among Marines was made in a letter of commendation for "outstanding performance of duty on Tulagi and Guadalcanal," from the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Vandegrift wrote: "To every man in your company you were a counselor, an arbiter of disputes, and an ideal Marine. Your matchless loyalty and love of the Marine Corps and all it stands for, are known to hundreds of officers and men of this Division, and will serve as an inspiration to them on all the battlefields on which this Division may in the future be engaged."

According to another story written about Diamond in 1945, when he was presented with this letter by the commandant in person, Diamond was on liberty in Australia and did not have his dress uniform. Unabashed, he reported to the ceremony in his dungarees, claiming, "this was good enough to land here with."

"You look good enough in dungarees to me," the general reportedly said, and continued with the ceremony.

Diamond began experiencing physical disabilities on Guadalcanal and was evacuated by air against his wishes. Somehow, he acquired orders to board a supply ship for New Caledonia, where a friend furnished him with orders back to Guadalcanal. Upon his arrival, however, Diamond discovered that the 1st Marine Division had shipped out to Australia, 1,500 miles away. He made the trip, without orders, by hitchhiking rides on planes, ships and trains.

During Diamond's final years in the Corps, he served as an instructor at the Recruit Depot, Parris Island. He then transferred to Camp Lejeune and joined the 5th Training Battalion with the same duties. Diamond retired Nov. 23, 1945, and returned to his home in Toledo, Ohio. He died at the Great Lakes, Illinois, Naval Training Center Hospital in September, 1951 and is buried in Sylvania, Ohio.