Researching the piracy issue led to finding out more about the First and Second Barbary Wars. And to learning that in 1805, President Jefferson and Congress authorized William Eaton to raise a force against Tripoli. In Alexandria, Egypt, Eason assembled several hundred Arab, Greek, and Berber mercenaries, plus United States Marines, under the command of 1st Lt. Presley O'Bannon. They marched west 500 miles, with offshore support from three American warships.

On the 27th of April, they reached the fortress port of Derne, capital of the province of Cyrenaica. After 75 minutes of fighting, they captured it, and for the first time raised an American flag of conquest in the Old World. Their actions are immortalized in the Marine's Hymn, which begins, "From the Halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli." An Arab ally, Prince Hamet, presented Lieutenant O'Bannon with the Mameluke Sword, which Marine officers wear to this very day.

So I looked for the best on-line version of the Marine's Hymn. My objective was that it had to have singing (not just instrumental), with good graphics, and with all three verses.

Here's the best that I've found so far. It has almost everything, including excellent footage of the USMC in action in Iraq. It does lack the second verse, but the reprise of verse one is excellent.

Bonus: Three versions of Battle Hymn of the Republic: historical movies; WWII footage; and in French (!), performed by the great French patriotic singer Mireille Mathieu, with Civil War photos.

And that led me Mireille Mathieu's wonderful performance of Le Chant des Partisans.

Mathieu has recorded many wonderful versions of La Marseillaise, but, at least from an American viewpoint, the most inspiring version of that song is this one. Get's me choked up every time.