The Marine of the Marine Biologist waymarking team trained here in 1978. He brought the Biologist here after he retired from the Marine Corps. We spent several hours visiting and reminiscing. Parking can be difficult in the active training sections of the base, but there are areas (e.g., hiking trail, golf course) for visitors as well with ample parking. We took photos at the main entrance, the training areas, and the hiking trail.
WORLD WAR I CONNECTION:
"By 1914, the world was in crisis. War had broken out in Europe, and closer to home, Marines saw action at Vera Cruz and Haiti. As a response to the impending peril, in October 1915, Parris Island’s naval facilities were turned over to the Marine Corps for recruit training. The installation was officially designated “Marine Barracks, Port Royal, SC.”
With the passing of the National Defense Act in 1916, recruiting efforts were amplified. Included in this act was the creation of the Marine Corps Reserve. The depot quickly grew to meet the challenges of an expanding role in preparing the nation for war. After 1915, most recruits received training at Parris Island or Mare Island, California. During World War I, about 80% of all recruits trained at Parris Island. West coast training was expanded in 1923 by moving Mare Island’s operations to San Diego.
The course of instruction at Parris Island lasted eight weeks. The first three weeks were devoted to instruction and practice of close order drill, physical exercise, swimming, bayonet fighting, personal combat, wall scaling, and rope climbing. During the fourth and fifth weeks, recruits perfected their drills, learned boxing and wrestling, and were taught interior guard duties. The last three weeks were dedicated to marksmanship.
Parris Island also hosted a variety of other skill-based schools including noncommissioned officer, field music, radio, signal, clerical, pay, and cooks’ and bakers’ schools. On 1 July 1918, a Presidential proclamation ordered possession to be taken of the entire island not already owned by the United States Government, comprising 6,000 total acres."
--Source (
visit link)
"Parris Island was established just a couple of years before a massive recruitment drive for World War One. Training groups increased from roughly 800 to over 13,000 at one point during the war, and receding to about 4,000 at war's end."
--Source (
visit link)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE BASE:
"Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated as MCRD PI) is an 8,095-acre (32.76 km2) military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used for United States Marine Corps Recruit Training of enlisted United States Marines. Recruits living east of the Mississippi River report there to receive initial training. Recruits living west of the Mississippi River receive training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, but may train at MCRD Parris Island by special request.
Marines were first assigned to Parris Island on June 26, 1891, in the form of a small security detachment headed by First Sergeant Richard Donovan, two corporals and 10 privates. This unit was attached to the Naval Station, Port Royal, South Carolina, the forerunner of Parris Island. Donovan's unit was highly commended for preserving life and property during hurricanes and storm surges that swept over the island in 1891 and 1893.
Military buildings and family quarters constructed between 1891 and World War I form the nucleus of the Parris Island Historic District. At the district center are the commanding general's home, a 19th-century wooden dry dock, and an early 20th-century gazebo, all of which are on the National Register of Historic Places.
On November 1, 1915, Parris Island was officially designated a Recruit Depot, and United States Marine Corps Recruit Training has continued there since then. In the early years of the Marine Corps presence it was referred to as Paris Island.
Prior to 1929, a ferry provided all transportation to and from the island from Port Royal docks to the Recruit Depot docks. That year, a causeway and a bridge over Archer's Creek were completed, thus ending the water transportation era. The causeway was dedicated as the General E. A. Pollock Memorial Causeway in April 1984.
In the month following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 5,272 recruits arrived there with 9,206 arriving in January 1942, making it necessary to add the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Recruit Training Battalions. As the war influx continued, five battalions were sent to New River, North Carolina, to train, and the Depot expanded to 13 battalions. From 1941 to 1945, the Marines trained 204,509 recruits there, and at the time of the Japanese surrender, the Depot contained more than 20,000 recruits.
On February 15, 1949, the Marines activated a separate "command" for the sole purpose of training female recruits. Later, the command was designated the 4th Recruit Training Battalion.
The Korean War began in 1950, when 2,350 recruits were in training. From then until the 1st Marine Division withdrew from Korea, Parris Island drill instructors trained more than 138,000 recruits. In March 1952, the training load peaked at 24,424 recruits. The recruit tide again flooded during the years of the Vietnam War, reaching a peak training load of 10,979 during March 1966.
On the night of April 8, 1956, the Ribbon Creek incident resulted in the drowning of six recruits, which led to widespread changes in recruit training policies. Supervision of drill instructors was expanded, such as the introduction of the series commander.
On October 11, 2002, the town of Port Royal annexed the entire island, but most visitors still associate the installation with Beaufort, a larger community five miles to the north.
On June 17, 2011, Brigadier General Lori Reynolds became the first female commander of the base. On June 20, 2014, Brigadier General Terry Williams became the first African-American commander of the base.
Recruit training
he Marines train about 17,000 recruits at Parris Island each year. Recruit training for those enlisted in the United States Marine Corps includes a thirteen-week process during which the recruit becomes cut off from the civilian world and must adapt to a Marine Corps lifestyle. During training, the drill instructors train recruits in a wide variety of subjects including weapons training, Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, personal hygiene and cleanliness, close order drill, and Marine Corps history. The training emphasizes physical fitness and combat effectiveness. Recruits must attain a minimum standard of fitness to graduate. This standard includes a Physical Fitness Test and a Combat Fitness Test. Recruits must also meet minimum combat-oriented swimming qualifications, qualify in rifle marksmanship with the M16A4 service rifle, pass minimum curriculum standards, and complete a 54-hour simulated combat exercise known as "The Crucible".
The facility has trained female U.S. marine recruits since 1949. The facility also has female drill instructors."
--Wikipedia (
visit link)