NH 100613
An officer and men of the South Carolina-class battleship USS MICHIGAN (BB-27) landing force prepare to disembark off Vera Cruz, Mexico 22 April 1914 for a rough shore call.
The men wear coffee dyed “white” uniforms and carry Springfield M1903 rifles. The officer, center, wears a Marine Corporal’s uniform, with chevrons and an M1912 pistol belt with magazine pouch for an M1911 which is likely on his person. Note the poncho slung across his body, and packs on deck, one with a rack number stenciled on the attached cartridge belt.
Some 22 men of the 1st Marine Brigade and their accompaning 1,200-man Naval Landing Parties were killed at Vera Cruz while Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels ordered that 56 Medals of Honor be awarded to participants in this action, the most for any single engagement before or since.
