Response

Just to let you know I am Jewish and the SS Scout Sniper symbol does not bother me at all. This was tradition prior to my arrival. I do not know why your group gets off on harassing Marines who served their country and I bet some of those Snipers never made it home. Just because the symbol looks like something you think it is its not always the case the USMC is just covering their ass as usual.

Thank you for you letter I enjoyed reading it..

PS, I spoke the some members of the USMC Scout Sniper association and they agree with me

(name withheld)

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Dear (name withheld),

Thanks for your response.

I must say that I am surprised, indeed amazed, to meet a Jew who isn’t bothered by the sight of that emblem, but I suppose it takes all kinds. I remember the case of an American Jewish boy who joined the local neo-Nazis. Not as a joke — he was serious. He later joined the KKK. I think he (or another like him) was eventually beaten or murdered when his new friends found out. I believe there have been other such cases. I understand it has something to do with Jews suffering such a constant barrage of hatred and loathing for centuries, that some become self-loathing and identify with their oppressors, somewhat akin to the Stockholm Syndrome.

As to “tradition” — there are good traditions, and bad traditions. We have had both in the Corps. As I remarked, there was (to the best of my knowledge) no such tradition or insignia among the snipers of my era (1966 – 77), so I assume it came in after that time. That hardly makes it an ancient and revered tradition. The only SS and Nazi paraphernalia I ever saw in the Corps in my era was held by neo-Nazis and KKK types — and few legitimate military collectors.

In any case, this relatively recent “tradition” of using an SS Nazi emblem for the snipers is not one of the good ones. We as Marines have many great traditions such as the EGA, our USMC Battle Colors flag and its many streamers denoting battles around the world and across the centuries, and our official USMC company guidons – which most assuredly do not contain SS Nazi insignia, but our own proud EGA.

As to the likelihood of members of that group being WIA or KIA — sadly, that is quite possible, as it was two years old, and due to the nature of this war and the current AVF system, many of our troops have made multiple tours. We would be as grieved over their loss as anyone can be. We want to see all our young men and women home (and intact!) as soon as possible.

As to our group “getting off on harassing Marines” — as I thought I had made clear, many of us (including me) ARE Marines, past and present. We most assuredly don’t “get off” on this sort of thing, or for that matter, any of the work we do.

I personally was deeply ashamed, both as a Marine and as an American, to see this flag under the Stars and Stripes, in the hands of my fellow Marines. I don’t care what bogus “justifications” are pulled out of the hat or how long it has been going on. It is completely unacceptable to me — and I am not even Jewish. I can only imagine how I would feel if I were.

Of course, you are Constitutionally entitled to your own views. However, to the best of my knowledge, we don’t have ONE Jewish service member who thinks this is OK. For that matter, none of the others of any faith do either. (I’d say the Christian, Muslim, and other non-Jewish members are as, or even more upset than the Jewish members — I know I am.)

One of our most senior members is a survivor of those Nazi murderers. He was first in the infamous Lodz ghetto (aged 10), and was later sent to Auschwitz and Dachau, where he miraculously managed to escape the death machine. (However, his mother was killed on arrival, and his father was beaten to death with a shovel by an SS thug.)

After liberation, he joined the American Army as one of the “mascots” the GIs were caring for, and learned “G.I. English.” He eventually emigrated to the US and joined the US Armed Forces, and was in the Korean War. I assure you that SS runes bother the hell out of him.

However, even if some Jews might find it OK, the practice would still be wrong if it offended any of our comrades of any rank or era, or any citizens of our nation – particularly those who have, like our member mentioned above, Mr. Weinstein, my wife, and others, lost family in the camps.

We are doing what the Marine Corps should have done on its own without any prodding, and correcting a wrong that should NEVER have occurred. This is a failure of leadership at every level. It is totally unacceptable for Marines to use Nazi paraphernalia (even if you and some of your comrades don’t view it as such) for the reasons I have stated in my last.

While I accept that you, and perhaps many of your comrades, didn’t view the SS “sig” runes as being emblems of fascist terror (perhaps due to your relative youth and lack of contact with their true meaning), I assure you that there are many who DO know the true meaning — and take some warped pride in it. I included one letter (of many we have received) purporting to be from a USMC Scout-sniper. Perhaps you glossed over it before, so here it is again.

> 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.

Please note the obvious neo-Nazi and white “supremacy” language here, the racial slurs, and the oft-repeated (but still incorrect) lie that the Waffen SS didn’t do the death camps. That is arrant nonsense, as anyone who was there at the time could tell you, and the evidence is overwhelming. The Waffen SS, likes its even more heinous Totenkopf SS camp guard brethren, were ruthless murdering bastards. They were not Wehrmacht, although they worked alongside them. They were Nazi thugs, personally sworn to Hitler.

Can you honestly tell me that you believe that this man is not a neo-Nazi fascist, who didn’t know the symbolism? He TELLS you so, blatantly, and throws in some gratuitous racial and religious slurs for good measure, while trying to excuse the SS themselves.

We have gotten many letters like this from Marines and other branches, and from civilians. That indicates that the problem is not minor or limited.

I also detailed to you how that very flag is a well-known SS flag, which was purchased from a Nazi-themed web site which carries Nazi emblems and insignia almost exclusively. It could not have escaped the purchaser’s attention.

So it all comes down to this, sir; are you content, as a man, a Marine, and an American to continue to uphold and defend the use of an emblem of terror, murder, and fascism, or are you going to admit that the adoption and use of this emblem was at best a terrible mistake, and at worst an intentional use of a symbol of evil, and cease using it? I, for one, would rip it to shreds if I had one. If it were tattooed upon my body, I would have it removed — by surgery if need be — once I learned of its symbolism.

I think from your words that you are at heart a man who strives to be a man of honor. Search your inner heart and see what you find. If after doing so, you still feel compelled to uphold that emblem of ignominy, there is nothing more I can say or do to convince you otherwise, and of course, under the Constitution (and even more so by virtue of your service), you are entitled to your views and opinion, no matter how mentally and emotionally harmful they may be to others.

Thank you for your attention, and for sharing your views with the MRFF. And once again, thanks for your service.

I remain, sir,

Semper Fidelis,

F. J. Taylor
USMC (Ret.)

PS: You might be interested to see the site I constructed for my CAP unit in Vietnam: http://sites.google.com/site/usmccaposcar