And the pilot steers thro' the trackless waste While the engines throb and beat, Flouting surprise, with the army's eyes High up where the four winds meet. And to those who mourn comes a cheering cry, Which the angels in heaven repeat, "Grieve not, brave hearts; we await you here-- _Here_, where the four winds meet." There are songs of the north and songs of the south, The east and the west complete; But here is a song of the place we love, Which is called, "Where the four winds meet." GEOFFREY DALRYMPLE NASH. ******************* THE UNITED STATES MARINES Our flag's unfurled to every breeze From dawn to setting sun, We have fought in every clime or place Where we could take a gun-- In the snow of far-off northern lands And in sunny tropic scenes, You will find us always on the job-- The United States Marines. THE SOLDIERS WHO GO TO SEA "If the army or the navy ever gaze on Heaven's scenes, They will find the streets are guarded by United States marines." So sing the soldiers who go to sea, commonly called the marines. The Germans after the battles of Belleau Wood and Bouresches called them "devil hounds," and the French named them the "green devils." An English rhymester wrote to his home paper, "You must not call them Sammies, You should not call them Yanks. And if you call them 'doughboys' Loud laughter splits their flanks. You will not call them Buddies, And when on Kultur's track, You need not call them forward, You cannot call them back." They know too that whenever trouble arises in any part of the world, they are the first to be sent to protect American interests. It is said that many of them believe the chief reason why the United States has a navy is for the purpose of carrying the marines to the points where they are needed. They are aware of the fact that marines may be landed and such landing not be considered an act of war. Therefore they look upon their service as much more important than that of the soldier. The marine has been everywhere man has gone by land or sea or air, as one of their poets wrote: "From the hills of Montezuma To the gates of old Peking He has heard the shrapnel bursting, He has heard the Mauser's ping. He has known Alaskan waters And the coral roads of Guam, He has bowed to templed idols And to sultans made salaam." "I am more than a sailor, for although I belong to the navy I fight on the land. I am more than a soldier, for I do all that the soldier does and at the same time I belong to the navy and go to sea." Thus the marine proves to himself that he is "it," as the soldiers and sailors would say. "The marines get aviation, searchlight, wireless telegraph, heliograph, and other drill. They plant mines, put up telegraph and telephone lines in the field, tear down or build up bridges, sling from a ship and set up or land guns as big as 5-inch for their advance base work.