Fifty-seven years ago, Lieutenant Senior Grade (LtSg) Manuel Lopez made this declaration that gave birth to an elite military strike force composed of 206 World War II volunteers commanded by six officers.

This pioneering band of brothers may have faded into the shadows of military history but the countless glorious victories they’ve earned for the unit in the battlefield serve to inspire its now massive force of 7,733 enlisted personnel and 424 seasoned officers, including current comman-dant Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino.

They are the Philippine Marine Corps (PMAR), “Your Marines,” Dolorfino describes his men, and they tell their tale as it is – as it happened from the time they were called on to deal with the Huks and dissidents, to its transformation into a conventional fighting force that can be deployed anywhere in the country, against any form of enemy.

From its creation in November 1950 as “A” Marine Company led by Lopez, members of the Corps have upheld a tradition of excellence which has instilled reverence, fear, and uncommon respect among foes and friends alike.

“Our role now is just like before when then Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay formed and dispatched Marines to go after the Hukbalahaps. When there’s major trouble in any part of the country, your Marines are first to be called in,” Dolorfino says.

The Marines suffered a huge blow last July when a convoy of its men searching for a kidnapped Italian priest was ambushed in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan. A chaotic battle ensued, leaving 14 soldiers dead, 10 of them beheaded by the enemies.

Eight days later, 15 Marines, including five junior officers, were killed battling the Abu Sayyaf and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Unkaya Pukan, also in the Basilan.

Despite the tragic setback, the Marines displayed uncommon gallantry and professional conduct as they carried on with their mission. They were lauded by their commandant and cited by the US Joint Special Operations Task Force commander for their discipline and professionalism in not exacting revenge for the treachery of the enemy.

“As we now play a key role in dealing with the terrorists in Basilan and Sulu, our troops are guided to seek justice but not revenge for our fallen comrades,” Dolorfino says.

“Had our Marines not been trained to be people-oriented, had they not been disciplined to fight only the armed enemies under any circumstances, had the importance and value of peace not been instilled in them, carnage could have ensued,” he adds.

The campaign against terrorism and insurgents may be a major part of the Marines’ life, but throughout the years they have also evolved into an indispensable unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, capable of performing other tasks assigned by higher headquarters.

One example, he recalls, was when the Marines were deployed in Metro Manila to check on the series of bank robberies and kidnap-for-ransom activities, tasks the soldiers were tasked to handle in Basilan and Sulu back in the early 1990s.

The Marines were also dispatched to the Bureau of Customs to help address rampant smuggling activities in Manila, and to Negros where the unit launched a province-wide search and destroy operation, not against insurgents, but to help farmers get rid of the rat infestation that hit the agricultural province.

“The Marines have become the nation’s choice of force. Its services have become indispensable, especially in any seaborne and amphibious military assault operations,” boasts Dolorfino.

The totality of a Marine’s life, Dolorfino says, make them one of the best, if not the best, of the lot.

Their training, discipline and the values consistently instilled in each member of the Corps are the stuff legends are made of. And when the smoke clears in the battlefield, the Marines leave behind stories of valor, love and respect and the will to survive, stories which come not from the soldiers but from the people whose lives they have touched.

As a young graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1976, Dolorfino admits he was never commissioned as a Marine officer, but to the Philippine Navy as a helicopter pilot of the Naval Aviation Group.

His exposure to the Marines while providing air support and airlifting wounded troops out of Lanao intrigued him and moved him to join and embrace the Corps.

The brotherhood and camaraderie, the discipline and gallantry under severe combat conditions shown by every Marine so impressed him that when an opportunity came to be part of the unit, he grabbed it against the advise of senior and fellow Navy officers.

“Ang ganda ganda na ng buhay mo sa Navy, pahihirapan mo pa ang sarili mo. Gusto mo na bang magpakamatay? (You have a good life in the Navy yet you want to make life harder for you. Are you suicidal?),” Dolorfino quotes one of his senior Navy officers then as telling him.

When he joined the Corps, Dolorfino recounts that the unit was then in the thick of fighting a two-pronged war in Mindanao – one against the communist New People’s Army (NPA) and another against the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), once the largest separatist Muslim rebel movement in the country.

Having fought and won so many battles in the South, Dolorfino remembers not the victories his unit had against the enemies but how he watched one of his men die from loss of blood because the helicopter that was supposed to airlift the wounded soldier to the hospital was being used by a more senior officer – not for combat, but to catch a tennis tournament.

“It was a very painful experience for me,” he says. “Napakasakit and an unforgettable experience.”

In the past the Marines had only to deal with the Huk resistance along the coastlines of Bulacan, the dissidents in Nueva Ecija, Bicol and Catanduanes where the unit conducted its first amphibious raid; today it has become an indispensable unit in the fight against the enemies of state.

The campaign against the Abu Sayyaf and the MILF further forced the Corps to train its men not only to become fighting machines, but also to be professional, compassionate and loving soldiers.

Dolorfino, a Muslim convert, believes that the military solution to the problem in Mindanao is only temporary. He stresses it would be beneficial for everyone if the roots of the problem, such as cultural, religious, socio-political and economics issues, are addressed by all stakeholders.

“Your Marines are trained to fight, anytime, anywhere,” Dolorfino says, but points out that  “if there’s anyone who wants all this fighting to stop, it’s the soldiers themselves.”

While hoping for peace to reign in troubled Mindanao, Dolorfino said the Marines will continue to perform its mandated tasks, even if it is short-term.

“The military approach to the problem in Mindanao is only a temporary tool for a peaceful and lasting solution to the problem which would come through dialogues,” he says.

Even in fighting terrorism in the form of the Abu Sayyaf and the regional network Jemaah Islamiyah, Dolorfino says the military  “cannot do it alone.”

“We can only be effective in addressing the problem if there is an involvement of all the stakeholders,” he points out, such as local governments and residents themselves, adding this would drain the terrorists of their mass base and financial support.

“Win back their supporters and these terrorists can be easily neutralized,” he insists, adding that this is now being done by bringing development projects to troubled areas like Sulu and Basilan.

The AFP’s elite fighting force has three brigades, one combat support brigade, 11 battalions, four Force Recom Companies, a Marine Company Training Unit and a Marine Rifle Battalion.

Their motto is Karangalan, Katungkulan and Kabayanihan, and they have updated the catchy slogan “The Few, the Proud, the Marines” by adding – at Dolorfino’s suggestion’ – “Makatao, Matatag at Maasaahan.” Their legendary fighting prowess, however, has led to one other slogan: “Muscles Required, Intelligence Non Essential.”

But instead of feeling slighted, members of the Corps simply laugh, proud of their combat skills and courage on the battlefield.

Taking exception to the “Tell it to the Marines” joke, Dolorfino says it’s only the Marines who can distinguish truth from lies.

“Behind battle-scarred Marine uniforms are no robots. They’re kind-hearted people who know how to cry, laugh and bleed. Most all, your Marines are most willing warriors who would sacrifice their lives for the safety of everybody,” Dolorfino reiterates.

And they can sing too.

“Where can you find a singing quartet with five members performing? It’s only in the Marines,” Dolofino says of the Marine Quartet Band.

“Sometimes they’re even six of them!” says former Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan in a recent media gathering at Camp Aguinaldo, triggering laughter and applause.

On a serious note, Dolorfino says many challenges lie ahead for the Corps. “As we celebrate our 57th birthday this month, we at the Marines should be looking onward as well as backwards.”

Doing so, he says, would make all members of the Corps informed and help attain its future goals and missions, at the same time continue to learn from past experiences.

He also urges the Corps to look inward and examine themselves if they are still the best in the force, using as gauge his three-point command program of being people-oriented, institutionally stable and operationally strong.

He also emphasizes to members of the Corps that being part of the AFP means they should remain apolitical and must be true guardians and defenders of the people and the democratic institutions.

Describing EDSA 1 and EDSA 2 as undemocratic processes, Dolorfino nevertheless takes pride in the Corps’ loyalty to constitutional authority for being the last military unit to join the bloodless uprisings that ousted two presidents.

“We were the last military unit to join these uprisings but we were also the first military unit to be called in to secure and protect then former President Corazon Aquino,” says. “We should be always on track. We should not go down from the pedestal of being the best in soldiery,” Dolorfino ends.