Devil Dog

"Devil Dog" is what jar heads (Soldiers in the U.S. Marine Corps) affectionately refer to themselves as. Spelled backwards, Devil Dog spells "God Lived." I am not sure if this is intentional, and if it is what the hell it has to do with being a Marine, but as it is unlikely that any U.S. Marine is able to read the words "Devil Dog" forward without refering to the picture of the little red dog next to those words in his field manual, I would imagine it is a coincidence.

This nickname for the United States Marine Corps originated during World War I. In 1918, the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines were sent to reinforce the French in the Belleau Wood. Soon after they arrived, the commander of the French forces advised then Colonel Wendell C. Neville to retreat.

Neville replied, "Retreat? Hell, we just got here!" Though outnumbered, the Marines proceeded to drive the Germans from Belleau Wood, and for the ferocity of their fighting and disturbing marksmanship earned the nickname "Teufelhunden," or "Devil Dogs."