Official song of the U.S. Marine Corps, the oldest official song of our armed forces. References such as "Halls of Montezuma" and "Shores of Tripoli" date anonymously from the 19th century, but the first official full text is found in a 1917 collection called "Rhymes of the Rookies" by W.E. Christian. The tune is considered to be most akin to a theme from Offenbach's 1867 operetta "Genevieve de Brabant."