"This work is a complete history of the partnership between the Department of State and the U.S. Marine Corps, tracing the evolving role that Marines have played in conjunction with the Foreign Service"--Provided by publisher.

Origins of a mission, 1798-1900 -- "Our flag's unfurled to every breeze" : Marine legation guards from China to Nicaragua, 1900-1940 -- Ashore and afloat : the Marines and service with the Department of State, 1904-1945 -- A new mission : Marine embassy security guards and the memorandum of agreement, 1946-1954 -- The early years : revolutions, coups, civil wars, 1949-1964 -- Embassy guards at war : Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, 1962-1975 -- Standing watch over a troubled world, 1961-1979 -- Embassies at war and in peace, 1979-1991 -- Coups, non-combatant evacuations, and the War on Terror, 1991-2007 -- Not just fitting in ... but standing out : Marine Security Guard School, 1979-2004 -- "Our Marines" : a retrospective.