Is it okay to say to a Marine: "Semper Fi"?

[klausinak]

Personally, I would feel very awkward using the phrase, so I don't. I've known quite a few Marines, (I'm related to 3), and I don't think anyone would get bent out of shape over it, (especially if you added the ", Marine" to the end). Using the phrase would make me feel like the fat kid who always got picked last for kickball in the 3rd grade; like I'm trying to fit in too hard.

-Klaus

 

[Voyager28]

As an old "inactive" combat Marine, I can tell you that I, personally, am not offended by non-Marines saying Semper Fi to me. Nor am I offended by Gyrene, Jar Head or Leatherneck as long as you smile when you say it and offer to buy me a beer.

As Litenlarry said, it's all way better than what I got walking through LAX in 1969 after 18 months in Nam.

Semper Fi!

Bob

 

[Golphin]

All that said it would be better than saying "go Buckeyes" any day of the week to anyone on planet earth.

Go Buckeyes! Go Buckeyes! Go Buckeyes!

NCAA Champs...#1

Yah I'll say it one more time in case you didn't hear it: Go Buckeyes![/QUOTE]

Gator Bait!

 

[wyccad915]

I think it's probably ok. I think I have maybe heard it from someone not a marine, towards a marine maybe once or twice myself. I've seen it on ncis a couple of times but that's about it. I say go for it. If they're offended, you'll probably know, and a simple apology should suffice.

 

[Stu1205]

I run into a lot of active and former military people in my job.
Whenever I do, I always thank them for their service.
Though I never had the privilege to serve, my Dad was a Marine in WWII.
When I greet a Marine, I will say Semper Fi, and follow it with,
I am not a Marine, but my Dad was, and I just want to say
thank you for your service to our country.
I have never had any of them get angry or tell me not to use the term.
I am glad this thread was started because I always wondered about that.
Anyway...Semper Fi to all you Marines on the Forum, and a very
grateful Thank You to all the men and women who serve and
have served in the other branches of our armed forces.
God Bless you all.

Stu

 

[Old TexMex]

Good friend of mine I greet: How's my favorite Leatherneck?

He says: Not bad...you still smugglin' scotch and toilet paper?

I still say " Welcome home, sir"

I remember when that was said to me, and it means a lot.

 

[Ματθιας]

Ironically, it seems that people on this thread who strongly object to the use of "Semper Fi" as a greeting/farewell don't appear to be Marines.

 

[rwsmith]

It's not something I'd normally say....

I might use it if I felt that the people I was addressing would understand where I was coming from like not claiming to be a 'retired SEAL' or something. Now I would not walk into a bar and yell, "Semper Fi, Jarheads".

What happens when you address a group of Coast Guards with "Semper pa"????

When I was young and foolish I played football some with a bunch of Marines from a church I attended. They were great guys but when I got home I always wondered what I thought I was doing. Good memories.

 

[GatorFarmer]

Semper Fidelis is the motto of a number of military units other than the United States Marine Corps. Ironically, this includes a regiment of the United States Army and such diverse units as Romanian Special Forces. A number of colleges and cities also use it, in some cases going back to the 14th century.

I lived on Parris Island for years. I never once heard it used in real conversation by actual Marines. I only observed it used in and around the Marine museum near Quantico, which is sort of a sacred place. My impression was that it was used in casual conversation rarely, being reserved for speechifying and the like. This is opposed to the Army "hooah" that did seem to become something that creeped up in regular speech.

My wife gave all her challenge coins to our kids to play with over the years. A shame, as some, such as the Presidential Marine helo squadron one, seemed uncommon.

Anyway, spending eight years as a civilian dependent living on or near Marine bases, I never once recall saying Semper Fi. I addressed people by name, amd in a few cases by rank (current or former).

 

[vt_shooter]

Ironically, it seems that people on this thread who strongly object to the use of "Semper Fi" as a greeting/farewell don't appear to be Marines.

My sense is the folks from other services have a sincere respect for Marines, and they view the Marines as having earned and deserve to have their own greeting, to be used between them. It's a respect thing.

I always remembered this news article - I think it solidifies what I'm saying. Here's a copy/paste from the NY Times:

NY Times, November 16, 1983

GENERAL GIVES HIS STARS TO A WOUNDED MARINE WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (AP) - The Marine Commandant presented his four stars today to the corporal who scrawled "Semper Fi" in a note to the general as the young marine lay seriously wounded from a bomb attack in Beirut.

"Your gesture will remain in my heart forever," said Gen. Paul X. Kelley as he awarded a plaque with his stars to Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Nashton of Rome, N.Y. The plaque, too, read "Semper Fi," - short for Semper Fidelis, the Marine motto, meaning always faithful.

Last month, as General Kelley was visiting marines wounded in the Oct. 23 bombing, he stopped at Corporal Nashton"s bed at a United States Air Force hospital in Frankfurt, West Germany, to present him with a medal.

The corporal, who suffered a broken leg, collapsed lungs, a crushed arm and a fractured skull, couldn"t see because his eyes were full of concrete dust.

"I told him I was the Marine Commandant," said General Kelley, "and before he believed me, he reached up and touched my four stars to make sure it was me."

Then, the General related, Corporal Nashton asked for a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote "Semper Fi."

"When I left that hospital, I realized I had met a great human being," General Kelley told a news conference at Bethesda Naval Hospital. "I took off those stars because I realized they belonged more to him than me."

"Why I wrote it is hard to say," Corporal Nashton said. "It"s hard to express a feeling. I just wanted the general to know not to give up the faith."

 

[NCTexan]

If someone would be "offended" by that... then I would wonder how they made it out of boot camp.

 

[Cpo1944]

I have a lot of Marine friends and I say it to them all of the time, and then I call them Jarhead-just to keep them in their place-you know.We don't want them to get spoiled!

 

[red14]

I am an old Sailor, and Marines were my comrades in arms. I feel a closeness to them, and I say 'Semper Fi' to the ones I know. If they were offended, they never let me know. I also don't know many shy Marines, and if they don't mind, I will continue saying it.

 

[Kinman]

As one of the returnees from the Vietnam conflict I would appreciate just about anything to the greeting we got. I was Army and always had the utmost respect for the Marines I was priviliged to work with and remember a very sad day when we returned to pick up a squad we had dropped off a couple of days earlier to have one of their own in a body bag. I'm with the group that wouldn't use their motto as a greeting of any kind, I just thank them for their service. I have one remaining uncle in my family, he was one of the "Frozen Chosen", I learned long ago there is no such thing as an Ex-Marine...Semper Fidelis "Always Faithful". I was very disenchanted with my service experience in Vietnam and once wrote my uncle a letter regarding my feelings. His reply was pretty simple and basically came down to its not up to us to decide what the best thing to do is, we are here to provide the service that is required of us by those who are in the position to make the decisions. The military service regardless of what branch your in would not work if everybody had a chance to decide what they wanted to do. I appreciated his effort but it was basically the same answer I got from my Senator. I was a bit of a trouble maker and got sent to the camp psychiatrist for an evalutation, we talked about my problem for the better part of an hour and in the end he said "There is nothing wrong with you, your as sane as I am." My reply to him was "Thats whats wrong Doc, if your as sane as I am, what in blue blazes are you doing here?" His reply was "The Army is paying for my med school, pretty simple." So I said "Like I said Doc, its all about the money." His reply "Kid...Its always about the money."

 

[Drm50]

I notice PO who is all riled up over Semper Fi, has no military
service. I'm VN Vet,Army, I would not say Semper Fi to Marine.
Because I'm not a Marine. I doubt a Marine would be offended
by a civilian using Semper Fi, because he would figure you didn't
know any better. Unless he thought you were a phony trying to
act like you were USMC. If you have no military service it may
be something you shouldn't be comenting on. You ain't earned
the right.

 

[UncleEd]

Although I've been aware of Semper Fi since I was a kid (one of my brothers was in the Pacific at the end of WWII), I don't remember it being in general use until more recent times as a greeting, salute, sign of respect, etc.

He did mentioned it was the Marine motto. Seems I remember him mentioning a few times just having worn the ball and anchor.

I think R. Lee Ermey has helped popularize it from his History Channel programs. Think I've even heard him say "hooah" as well.

Now when the heck did the "word" hooah come into usage?

 

[nocents]

All that said it would be better than saying "go Buckeyes" any day of the week to anyone on planet earth.

Spoken like a true "Gator" fan

 

[Alpo]

As a "looks older than he really is" teenager, when I went to "family nights" at my father's lodge, every Mason I met shook hands with me the same way. As a result, I believe I know the "secret Masonic handshake". I would not shake hands with anyone that way though. I have never been a Mason.

If I have aware that the other feller is or was part of the BSA, I would have no problem extending my left hand. I was a Boy Scout for years, and feel perfectly correct in using the Scout handshake.

That's how I feel about "Semper Fi". I know the term. But as I have never been a Marine, I would not use it. It's not "my term". I have no right to it.

Whether it would offend Marines or not - I neither know nor care. It seems wrong to me. So I don't.

 

[litenlarry]

I have posted on this thread before..
I got to thinking about an occurrence that happened to me, 10 or so years ago..
My wife and i were staying at the Paris in Las Vegas, lounging around the swimming pool..A pool attendant stopped by and asked if we needed a cocktail..I asked for a beer and my wife ordered a mixed drink..In a few minutes he came back with a bucket of beers and the mixed drink..He said " On the house Marine" and we talked a bit..He had noticed the USMC tattoo on my shoulder ( I forget it is there)..His Dad and Brother had been in the Marines..In parting he offered the Semper fi to me and I returned the gesture with Semper fi..
Take from it what you want..

 

[Fishslayer]

Spen four years on a gator freighter. Before I lost my voice I could do a pretty good "bark." Kinda sorta an "oo rah" but done properly. The key is don't hold back. Just let'r rip! Marines know what I mean.

Don't think I've ever said "Semper Fi" to a Marine. Maybe "Stay motivated."