SS Symbol Used By Marine Scout-Snipers

Published On: February 23, 2012|Categories: MRFF's Inbox|1 Comment|

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Dear MRFF,

Please stop thumping your chest and spewing your propaganda about the Marines using the initials SS. Yes it looks the same as the Nazi SS symbol. Marines use it because it the angular “s” resembles a lighting bolt and it looks cool. It stands for Scout-Sniper, which is what the Marines have called their sniper platoons for years. The Marine sniper platoon is a reconnaissance asset that is organic to the infantry battalion and directly controlled by the battalion commander. They are also highly trained snipers with a mission to eliminate selected targets in combat operations. Therefore, scout-sniper or SS. It has nothing to do with Nazi’s or Aryan race. I was a Marine sniper and still have one of my old platoon shirts with the exact SS lettering on it. It had nothing to do with Nazi’s.

Who exactly is the MRFF anyway? I was in the Marine Corps for twelve years of active duty and served with Christians, Muslims, Agnostics, Atheists, and others, and they all held their own beliefs and they all worked together to defend our constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. No one was pressured to believe anything. There has always been separation of church and state in our military.

It appears you are a scam using your propaganda to scare people about losing their rights or some such nonsense so they can send you money. You then continue to spread your “news” of your great achievements and report all these service members who have come to you to save them from some military industrial religious bogey-man. Please Mikey get a real job and stop scamming people. Do you really think you are a patriotic American?

(name withheld)


Dear (name witheld),

Please forgive the informal salutation, but as you didn’t give us your name, I am unable to address you otherwise.

Thanks for your letter and your service.

Mr. Weinstein tries to answer as much correspondence as he can personally, but as you can imagine, has been deluged of late, so he asked me to write to you, particularly as you were a Marine, to give you my perspective as a retired Marine SNCO.

I will provide you with some background about the MRFF to clear up your misconceptions, and I will then provide you with some further information on the sniper issue, as well as the nature of the spread of Dominionism in our military — which I can assure you is quite real.

Most of the MRFF members, staff, and volunteers are veterans. Our numbers include active duty, reserve, or retired, from all branches, holding ranks from enlisted through Flag officer, with MOSs in all fields, and representing service eras from WW II, Korea, Viet Nam, and on through Gulf I, OEF, OIF, and the present GWOT. Many have been in close combat, and have been decorated for wounds received in action and / or for valor, with medals ranging from the Purple Heart, Bronze Star w/V, Silver Star, and the various service Crosses. We also have a Medal of Honor recipient among us.

Mr. Weinstein is also a veteran. An Honor Graduate of the USAF Academy, he served for 10 years a JAG officer, including service in the Reagan White House as a Special Counsel. His family has over three generations of service, and a number of distinguished members of the US Armed Forces.

Mr. Weinstein’s nephew is a GYSGT in the USMC in a combat MOS. He recently returned from his fourth tour in the Iraq. He is also member and supporter of the MRFF.

My own family has a long history of military service dating back to the Revolutionary War and Civil War, including five generations of Marines spanning WW I, WW II, Korea, Vietnam, and Gulf I.

My great-uncles served in WW I. One was seriously WIA in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, dying soon after of his wounds.

My father was a Marine in the Pacific in WW II, serving in the major island campaigns in the Marianna, Marshall, and Solomon Islands (incl. Tulagi, Guam, Guadalcanal, etc.). He was later WIA and evacuated to the US just prior to Iwo Jima.

One uncle was stationed in Shanghai with the 4th Marines, then transferred to the Philippines where he fought on Corregidor, becoming a Japanese POW after the surrender. He was later shipped to Japan on one of the “Hell Ships” where he worked as a slave laborer for the duration. (He weighed only 98 pounds on release.) He later served in the Occupation forces, and then was sent to Korea, where he fought at the Chosin Reservoir on the famous fighting retreat under “Chesty” Puller, along with another of my uncles (also a Marine). Both survived. Chet eventually retired as a MGYSGT. (The Marine Corps League named a post in Florida for him after his death.) My god-father was a Marine CWO with many years service..

My own service included close personal ground combat in several of the major operations in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968, at Khe Sanh (before, during, and after the Tet 1968 assault and the Siege), and later in the Hue-Phu Bai area, during the mopping-up after Tet. I have served in various infantry and artillery units, and in 1st and 3rd Recon (in capacities through platoon commander), as well as in Combined Action, and as an MSG at MARDET CINCLNTFLT.

I later lost a limb, which ended my active career, but I subsequently went on to teach in the USMC JROTC program for several years, using my GI Bill to attain a BA, and later a Master’s degree, and became a teacher.

As a result, I think I have some small understanding of “elite” units, and of the nature and exigencies of combat.

As to the nature of our work;

Most of our work concerns the violation of our service members’ religious freedom. The great preponderance of our cases involve abuses of authority and violations of the Constitutional guarantees of freedom of conscience by a specific sub-set of aggressive and radical religious zealots who style themselves “Christians” who are becoming increasingly entrenched and powerful in the military in all braches and MOSs at ranks up to and including flag officer. They are known by a number of names, but we use the generic term “Dominionists” for convenience.

I don’t know your dates of service, but on my first tour (1966-69), the situation I encountered was much as you describe it. However, by the 70s, the Dominionist agenda was as already starting to manifest itself in the Corps to some degree. (It has been much more pronounced in the USAF and other branches.)
I have been watching their rise ever since, with growing alarm, and my experience in the last few years as a MRFF volunteer has convinced me that there is a clear and present danger from this quarter.

We currently have well over 27,000 cases. ALL of these cases are initiated at the request of service members (active, reserve, and / or retired / former) or employees of the DoD.

96% of our cases are brought on behalf of Christians who are considered “not Christian enough” or not the “right kind” of Christian by the Dominionists, and who have been harassed or persecuted by these radical religious zealots. (The 4% balance of our cases includes Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and others, as well as Pagans, atheists, agnostics, and other free-thinkers.)

I have added some information on this movement (below), and will be happy to provide you with more information on the Dominionists if you wish. However, a glance at the figures above and the information below should inform you that there is a real problem.

As to the use of SS runic symbol and flag by the Marine Scout-snipers:

These “Sig” runes (as they are known) and this flag are of the Nazi Schutzstaffel – SS – Hitler’s personal thugs and bodyguards, who rounded up the Jews and other “undesirables” for transportation to their death camps.

The runes come from the so-called “Armanen Futharkh” which are 18 runes supposedly “revealed” to the Austrian occult mystic and Germanic revivalist Guido von List in 1902 while he was blinded after a cataract operation. The Sig rune was later used by Karl Maria Wiligut (Himmler’s official occultist) in his own runic row (Wiligut runes) in the bizarre Nazi mysticism rituals.

In 1931, Walter Heck, a Sturmführer in the SS (and also a Nazi occultist), drew two reversed and inverted Sig runes side by side. He noticed the similarity to the SS initials, and sold the rights to his rendition to the SS, which were then adopted as their official insignia.

However, these runes and their other meanings have nothing to do with our concerns. Hitler’s misbegotten regime permanently tarred them, along with the swastika and the term “Aryan” — all formerly quite innocuous terms and emblems, the province of scholars, linguists, and anthropologists

While it may seem an over-reaction to you, Mr. Weinstein’s personal experiences growing up as a Jew and that of his family in the Holocaust necessarily induces a strong reaction in him about these matters.

In addition, one of our Jewish veteran members was in the infamous Lodz Ghetto, and later sent to Auschwitz as a child. Both of his parents were brutally murdered by the SS. His mother was gassed the day they arrived, and he later saw his father beaten to death with a shovel by an SS guard. Somehow, he survived until the liberation, when he became a “mascot” of the US Army, and later emigrated to the US and joined our armed forces, later fighting in Korea. Needless to say, his memories of that logo are none too happy.

Some people have tried to justify this emblem as a “tradition.” Even if it were true, it in no way makes it any more acceptable.

I never encountered it during my time in (I retired in 1977), and I often worked right alongside snipers. At Khe Sanh, for example, we had one assigned to our corner of the lines, and no Nazi logos were to be seen anywhere on his person or equipment.

This “tradition” dates to 1979-80. It was well known to be anti-semitic and neo-Nazi from the start, and was selected for that reason, because those originally responsible for its adoption were members of a vicious neo-Nazi cult led by the notorious Metzgers at Fallbrook near Camp Pendleton.

I attach a letter by a former Marine Scout-sniper officer who describes the time, place, and details of when this emblem was adopted.

So, this is not some old Marine tradition, but a fairly recent deliberate move on the part of neo-Nazis in the Marines to stealthily impose their warped symbology on the Scout-snipers under the guise of the unit’s initials.

However, again, length of use is not the issue. If it had been used since WW II (unthinkable for any of us who grew up in that era or the years immediately after the war), it would STILL be wrong.

As to the nature of the emblem and flag itself, and whether those Marines knew what they were getting — there can be no doubt that at least some of them knew this was a Nazi Schutzstaffel flag, since they obtained it from a web-site called “Traders of the Lost Surplus” (which one waggish reporter has dubbed “Nazis ‘R’ Us”), a site that specializes in Nazi replicas and memorabilia. Have a look for yourself:

http://www.totls.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16:close-out-corner&catid=1:home&Itemid=30

For your convenience, I attach a picture of the identical flag from that site, and the accompanying description:

7180. ss double runic flag, a favorite and well know (sic) ss flag, 3′ x 5′ $7.50

You (along with me and many others) would have liked to believe that these Marines somehow chose this flag by accident, without at least one of them noticing that it was a Nazi SS flag, or its history or origins. However, that would have entailed believing that these carefully selected, highly trained individuals are all somewhat dumber than the average box of rocks.

(And yes, I know that members of other services sometimes suggest that about us — usually when there are no Marines present — but I like to think that not all Marines are quite THAT stupid.)

As Exhibit 2, I would like to attach the text of a letter we recently received from an active duty Marine scout-sniper. I have redacted his name and E to protect his privacy (not that he deserves it), but his name shows that he is obviously of Germanic origin.

From: K******@***.com
Date: February 10, 2012 1:48:36 AM MST
To: [email protected]
Subject: Waffen SS Flag

Mr. Michael Weinstein,
Yes, we knew what that flag meant. We are mainly composed of white people of European descent (blacks can’t swim and it is too tough for jews). We have always acknowledged true fighters and the Waffen SS are an elite brotherhood of warriors, much like we are. More than 99% never saw a concentration camp or participated in Einsaztgruppen actions, much like the vast majority of the USMC has never perpetrated any war crimes. Many of our members are of German descent and not a few have ancestors who were in the Waffen SS. We certainly do not have the combat distinction of your Israeli Commandos (if I were a 12 year old Palestinian boy throwing rocks I may be scared) or the Air Farce. You are correct; we knew what that flag meant.

(Name Redacted)

As you can clearly see, this Marine sniper not only admits to knowing the history and meaning of the flag, tries to excuse the behavior of the SS (a lie much circulated by modern neo-Nazis), and indeed glorifies those murderous bastards, while simultaneously making racially charged lies about blacks and Jews. He says he knows the meaning of that flag and symbol, and not only doesn’t recant and apologize for its use, but actually glorifies and celebrates these bloody murderers of millions of unarmed men, women, and children. I cannot find any excuse for this, or any way to exonerate him, or any like him. Can you?

Likewise, the recent discovery of a “Camp Aryan” (another highly symbolic term Hitler appropriated and sullied, like the swastika and the runes) makes it clear that there are people in the Marines and other branches of the Armed Forces who are stealthily pursuing a racist neo-Nazi agenda. We had them when I was in — though they didn’t dare display their ugly racism openly in my day — at least not in any units I led!

There is clearly no way this can be excused by saying the men “did not know.” Though doubtless some (perhaps many) individuals in the units did not know, there are obviously also a number who knew very well what they were doing from the start. For at least some of these men, this is the totally unacceptable racial and religious “supremacy” that has plagued our Corps and nation for many years, again raising its despicable head.

Even though this may have gone on for 30 years, it was never acceptable, because it has made use (knowingly or otherwise) of a symbol that was used by the most brutal units of the fascist, totalitarian Nazi regime — sworn enemies of this country, who our fathers and grand-fathers fought a long and tough war to defeat once and for all.

While not Jewish myself, I grew up in the years following WW II, when there were still many who had seen the Holocaust (which, BTW, included communists, Gypsies, political opponents, Poles, Slavs, and other non-Jews) first hand.

A close family friend had been a combat photographer in Europe. He was of German (non-Jewish) descent, and was one of those detailed by General Eisenhower (another German-American) to make a photographic and film record of the death camps, so that nobody could ever deny what had happened. As Eisenhower later wrote to Mamie, “I never dreamed that such cruelty, bestiality, and savagery could really exist in this world.”

Sadly, most of that generation are now gone.

The sight of that logo still causes great pain and revulsion in the hearts and minds of many people who fought against, or who directly suffered under these monsters, and among their families. It pains our dwindling number of WW II veterans, especially POWs and Jews — especially our member who was in Auschwitz.

The real question is this; do my fellow Marines REALLY want to cause great mental anguish and suffering to the remaining men and women who survived, and to their families and survivors, by continuing to display an emblem of a horrendous regime that murdered millions of innocent men, women and children?

Even if the snipers did not mean to inflict harm originally by intentionally choosing this logo (and as I have shown you, there are those who did), can anyone attempt to justify the continued use of such an emblem now that they know the truth?

This is a leadership failure, as well as an educational one. These emblems should never have been selected or allowed. These are NOT official USMC emblems – as you should know. We have only ONE authorized emblem – the EGA, and our authorized flags are (first and foremost), the Stars and Stripes, followed by our own Marine Corps Battle Colors with its battle streamers, our various Regimental Colors, and our unit guidons – all of the latter bearing the EGA.

As one Marine officer put it, in commenting on this case, these guys are not “special snowflakes” – they are US Marines. These gentlemen need to realize that they are Marines, not the SS. Otherwise, they need to look for a new employer.

It is also a disciplinary issue. Units that seek to insulate themselves from the mainstream of Marine life and discipline, or ignore regulations, (for whatever reasons) are headed down a slippery slope.

The CMC agrees with our position, and has issued an order banning all use of this and similar emblems in all Marine units. It may take a while to purge the Marines of this odious symbol and others. While we may never succeed in purging racial and religious intolerance. Nonetheless, it is a goal we should all be striving for.

As to punishment — if it can be ascertained that some person or persons were responsible and knew what they were doing (like our lovely neo-Nazi correspondent above), I would throw the book at them. For any who genuinely did not seem to be aware, some lesser punishment as determined by higher authority.

However, now that our CMC, GEN Amos, has clearly banned all future display and use of that despicable emblem, anyone who uses it from this point on should receive a general court-martial and appropriate punishment as prescribed for disobedience of an order.

Of course, you are free to disagree. If you think their service somehow gives them the “right” to fly a flag representing one of the most beastly, cowardly, and murderous regimes in human history, which our fathers’ and grand-fathers’ of the “Greatest Generation” fought to obliterate, then we must agree to disagree, as IMO, that would be disrespecting the Greatest Generation, who gave so unsparingly of themselves to defeat that regime and those symbols.

Thank you again for your public service and thoughtful letter sharing your concerns.

I remain, sir

Semper Fidelis,

F. J. Taylor
USMC (Ret.)

Dominionism

Dominion Theology adherents spring from several different sects and denominations, and believe in a narrow interpretation of Calvinist pre-millenial eschatology known generically (and I realize this is a simplification of a difficult topic) as Dominionists. They are also sometimes described as Reconstructionists or Subjectionists, etc. For our purposes, we have chosen to use the term Dominionist, as it most clearly defines them and their agenda.

Most mainstream Christians reject Dominion theology as quite radical.

According to the late RJ Rushdoony, one of the founders, and others (including Gary North), the idea is put forth that Genesis 1:28 implies a theonomy (“rule of the law of God”), which requires all citizens to observe a strict Reconstructionist form of Christianity.

They have advocated in both words and writing the overthrow of the Republic and Constitution (by ballot if possible, but by bullet if necessary), and replacing them with an Old Testament style theocracy, complete with “Biblical” Sharia-like laws, complete with public executions by stoning, sword, or other “Biblical” methods, with mandatory attendance and participation by the whole community – including children.

Anyone not considered not “Christian enough” by these people if they gain power will be forced to either convert to or accept their warped version of Christianity – or die. They have been correctly described as “American Taliban.”

But don’t listen to what I say – let us examine the words of the individuals who founded and run the movement, such as the late Rousas John Rushdoony who wrote that they intend to “…lead them (non-believers) to Jesus – in chains, if necessary.”

Rushdoony also wrote that democracy is “heresy” and that Christians must remember that “a monarchy (referring to “God’s kingdom on earth”) is not a democracy.” (No doubt with Rushdoony and friends as the privileged leaders of the “monarchy” while awaiting God’s arrival…)

Rushdoony also wrote that “Democracy is the great love of the failures and cowards of life.” (I’m sure the ancient Athenians and early Romans, as well as our own Founders, would have been interested to learn that. I know I was!)

Rushdoony listed eighteen capital “crimes” including blasphemy, witchcraft, astrology, adultery, incorrigible delinquency, homosexuality, promiscuity or unchastity before marriage, wearing a red dress (for women – though one must suppose for men too), and failure to keep a Kosher kitchen. (I am not joking here or making this stuff up – though I wish I were.)

Punishment for non-capital crimes would include whipping and indentured servitude or slavery (including for debt), and prisons would become temporary holding tanks while prisoners awaited sentencing. Women and children would again become chattel property of men.

Rushdoony and the other Dominionist “American Taliban” have more in common with their Afghan counterparts than just their morbid interest in cruel and unusual punishment. They are also extremely retrogressive socially and politically. One can only hope that they never recognize their true kinship with the jihadists, lest they join forces in a truly unholy alliance.

Rushdoony’s Chalcedon Foundation also helped establish The Rutherford Institute, a legal organization to promote their agenda through the very courts they plan to supersede once in power.

Although Rushdoony is dead, his odious organization and legacy of theocracy lives on, and there are other proponents besides him.

Gary North, Rushdoony’s son-in-law, espouses (publicly) a slightly less draconian version, stating, “I don’t want to kill homosexuals–I would be happy just driving them back into the closet.” However, he also espouses stoning for blasphemers and those who curse their parents, and has stated that public stoning of “malefactors” would be “a great way to bring communities together.”

A stunning example of their theology (and ultimate plans for everyone not of their belief) is the statement of US Army chaplain MAJ James Linzey, who, in a 1999 video, described mainstream Protestant churches as “demonic, dastardly creatures from the pit of hell ” that should be “stomped out.”

The Council of Full Gospel Churches (Linzey’s accrediting agency founded by retired Army COL “Jim” Ammerman) not only didn’t pull his accreditation, but supported this egregious violation of his mission and orders as a military chaplain, and of his oath as an officer.(Of course, Ammerman is as bad or worse.)

The CFGC, COL Ammerman, MAJ Linzey, and their cohorts have also denigrated Judaism and Catholicism, as well as mainstream Protestant churches.

COL Ammerman and MAJ Linzey have also spread conspiracy theories about “Satanic forces” in the US government for years aiding a military takeover aided by unnamed “foreign” (presumably UN) troops.

In 2008, COL Ammerman said that four presidential candidates (US Senators Obama, Clinton, Biden and Dodd) should be hanged for treason – for not voting to designate English as America’s official language. He also stated that President Obama would be assassinated as a “secret Muslim.” (In the late 1990s, he had also called for the execution of then-president Clinton for treason.)

CFGC and its chaplains have repeatedly and egregiously violated the Constitution and the laws and regulations regarding chaplaincies, including those on interfaith cooperation, bans on membership in organizations with religious or racial supremacist principles, especially those espousing violence, and that active military personnel cannot make disloyal or contemptuous statements about officials.

This problem, as stated, is very wide-spread and deeply entrenched, not only in the military but in many areas of government and indeed, other nations.

These people have been operating “under the radar” for years, and are now firmly entrenched in every branch and MOS of our armed forces and government, at every level – and are getting bolder by the day.

These groups and their fellow-travelers aggressively seek converts, but if persuasion fails, they unconstitutionally harass, bully, and attempt to intimidate under color of authority service members under their command or control, in order to attempt to proselytize – even service members who have expressed their unwillingness.

When in command positions, they use tactics ranging from denying choice assignments and promotions to those they don’t consider Christian or “Christian enough” to giving poor performance reviews, and difficult, dirty, and dangerous tasks – including potentially deadly tasks in combat. (One of our clients was assigned as “permanent point” in a combat unit!) – all of which is clearly in violation of the Constitution, public law, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

These people are very clever, subtle, well-organized, and well-funded. They are gaining ground in many areas – including the military and the Service Academies.

These people are regular violators of the very Constitution which guarantees them freedom of religion and pluralism, which they call upon to defend themselves as they attack and undermine the very principles which allow them to exist and operate.

While we accept their right to believe as they please, within the framework of the Constitution and public law, we balk at allowing them to proselytize unwilling service personnel under their command “under color of authority” and to undermine and work to destroy the Constitution that many of our members (most of whom are former or serving members of the US Armed Forces), swore to “uphold and defend.”

The Dominionists and their allied sects are committing egregious assaults on the Constitution and on the rights of servicemen and women daily. We expose to the clear light of day their violations and machinations, as well as those of any other individuals or groups who attempt the same. However, this group constitutes the bulk of the complaints we receive.

Pat Robertson’s “The Secret Kingdom” also details his group’s plans to establish a theocracy.

Here are a few online sources of information on Dominionism:

http://www.mainstreambaptists.org/mob4/dominionism.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominionism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Theology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christofascism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rousas_John_Rushdoony

http://www.religioustolerance.org/reconstr.htm

http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/TheDespoilingOfAmerica.htm

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dominionism

http://www.publiceye.org/christian_right/cr_intro.html#dominion

http://www.theocracywatch.org/dominionism.htm

http://www.jewsonfirst.org/dominionism.html

http://www.rwor.org/a/033/dominionism-be-very-afraid.htm

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