The unbreakable brotherhood of the Marines prompted Guadalcanal veterans to organize the "Last of the First Club" in August 1944.
The club was formed to commemorate the heroic efforts of the First Marine Division throughout World War II. Former Marine Ralph McGill, who became the Pulitzer Prize-winning editor and publisher of the Atlanta Constitution, donated a bottle of Cognac, brought back from France after World War I, to be given to the last surving member of the club, "the last of the First."
There were 20,000 members of the First Marine Division eligible for membership when the club formed.
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