The Disney Princess

Marines are a demographic of people that spend most of their time sleeping in the wilderness and fiercely battling both each other and other animals. It’s no wonder that they fit right into the animal kingdom, with all walks of life drawn to their wild aura. Marines are always told to leave the wildlife alone, but the wildlife never seems to want to leave Marines alone.

Despite their reputation as killers and their questionable taste in songs about little yellow birds, Marines actually tend to be quite fond of animals. Go to any Marine Corps installation and you’ll see a wide array of wildlife unafraid of people, because the people they live with live at peace with them. Marine Corps installations are also often home to endangered and protected species, from the bison of Camp Pendleton, to the Mojave desert tortoise of Twentynine Palms. In Hawaii, we had endangered booby birds living on the rifle range, where Marines were regularly shooting their weapons.

I recall training at the MOUT town of Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. We were in between training evolutions and some wild pigs came from the forrest to mingle with the Marines. These black pigs just hung out with us for like 30 minutes before scurrying back into the wild.

It is their wild nature that makes Marines closer kin to the animal kingdom than you’d initially think.

Real American Hero pic.twitter.com/cL2epKuPv8

— Terminal Lance (@TerminalLance) May 28, 2021