"Semper Fidelis", which was written in 1888 by John Philip Sousa, is regarded as the official march of the United States Marine Corps. The song was one of two composed in response to a request from United States President Chester Arthur for a new song to be associated with the United States President.
Sousa served in the U.S. Marine Corps, first from 1868 to 1875 as an apprentice musician, and then as the head of the Marine Band from 1880 to 1892.
 
In an October 1927 interview published in the Independent (Nebraska), Sousa claimed "I wrote "Semper Fidelis" one night while in tears after my comrades of the Marine Corps had sung their famous Hymn at Quantico (which is now home to Marine Corps Base Quantico)."