32 powerful pictures of the US Marines through history

The Marine Corps has served a role in every conflict in the history of the United States.

That's because the Marines operate on sea, air, and land - unlike the other services - can respond to a crisis in under 24 hours with the full force of a modern military.

Earlier this week President Barack Obama nominated Marine General Joseph Dunford Jr., to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second Marine to ever hold the highest leadership position in the armed services.

Today, there are more than 200,000 active-duty and reserve Marines.

To celebrate the Corps, we've pulled some of the coolest photos from the archives.