The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is an independent branch of the US armed forces. The unit was established in November 1775, and the first branch of this unit was formed a year later. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, US Marines served primarily in the region of South and Central America, guarding American interests in this part of the world. It was also then that the principle was established that it was the USMC that was deployed to the area of operations as the first among other units of the US armed forces. Corps soldiers fought in World War I, but they gained special fame in the course of bloody and heavy fights in the Pacific in 1941–1945, taking part in such battles as Guadalcanal (1942–1943), Tarawa (1943), Iwo-Jima, and Okinawa (both from 1945). Often in the face of the enemy, the soldiers of this formation showed a lot of courage, an example of which can be, for example, John Basilone being awarded the Medal of Honor for his accomplishments during the battles on the Gudalcanal. After 1945, the soldiers of the Corps fought, for example, in the Korean War (1950–1953) or especially in the Vietnam War (1964–1975), suffering heavy losses in the latter war. After the end of the Cold War, USMC soldiers took part in, for example, both Gulf Wars (1990–1991) and 2003. Currently, there are 182,000 soldiers in the Corps and about 38,500 in the reserve. The motto of the Corps is the Latin motto Semper Fidelis (Polish: always faithful).