Culture of the United States Marine Corps
Two styles of swords are worn by Marines. The Marine Corps officers' sword is a Mameluke Sword, similar to the Persian shamshir presented to Lt. Presley O'Bannon after the Battle of Derna during the First Barbary War. After its adoption in 1825 and initial distribution in 1826, Mameluke Swords have been worn by Marine officers ever since, except during the period 1859–1875, when they were required to wear the Army's Model 1850-foot officers' sword. Upon returning to the traditional sword, many officers gave their Army swords to their senior noncommissioned officer, creating the basis for the NCO sword. Generally, Marines are the only branch where enlisted members regularly carry a sword (the Army authorizes platoon and first sergeants to carry a Model 1840 sword during some ceremonies, while the Chief of Naval Operations authorized Chief Petty Officers and above to carry an optional ceremonial cutlass with dress uniforms in 2010).
Fighting knife
In late 1942, the U.S. Marine Corps adopted the 1219C2, later designated the USMC Mark 2 Combat Knife or Knife, Fighting Utility, but better known in popular terminology as the KA-BAR. The KA-BAR differed from World War I-era U.S. fighting knives in that it was purposely designed as a dual-purpose weapon, adapted for both combat and as a utility knife. It also differed from some earlier USMC knives such as the Marine Raider Stiletto in that the new knife used a stout, wide blade with clip point that facilitated slashing attacks as well as blade thrusts. Subsequent reports on the effectiveness of the new knife in jungle combat substantiated the Marine Corps decision to standardize the "KA-BAR" as the USMC's fighting knife for individual Marines.
In contrast, in 1941 Great Britain introduced one of the most famous "pure" fighting knives designed specifically for military use in combat, the British Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife (F-S). A traditional single-purpose fighting knife, with an acutely pointed, stiletto-type blade designed to emphasize thrusting strokes (puncture wounds), the F-S was based on the concepts and ideas of William E. Fairbairn and Eric A. Sykes, two renowned former members of the Shanghai Municipal Police who trained countless soldiers in the art of close-quarters fighting. The Fairbairn-Sykes knife inspired several similar knives of the era such as the V-42 Stiletto designed by Lt. Colonel Robert T. Frederick, who commanded the joint US and Canadian First Special Service Force and the United States Marine Raider Stiletto designed by Lieutenant Colonel Clifford H. Shuey. Capt. Fairbairn would later introduce a much larger fighting knife, the Smatchet, based on the traditional Welsh Fusiliers trench knife of World War I.