So much so, in fact, that they posted a picture of the 66-year-old former four-star commander as a saint holding a grenade in one hand and a Ka-Bar knife in the other.
The page posted up the meme photo with a caption that parodied the Catholic "Hail Mary" prayer, writing, "Hail Mattis, full of hate. Our troops stand with thee. Blessed art though among enlisted. And blessed is the fruit of thy knife hand. Holy Mattis, father of War. Pray for us heathen, Now and at the hour of combat. Amen."
The photo depicting Mattis as the "Patron Saint of Chaos" (Chaos was Mattis' radio callsign in Iraq) has been floating around the Internet for quite some time, having been passed around in the military ranks by many of his adoring fans. Mattis is a legend within the ranks for both his strategic genius and love of his troops, and it's clear that those same troops love him back.
MARSOC Facebook
The meme has been along the sidebar of the /r/usmc community on Reddit for quite some time, and was shared on a thread talking about Mattis' announcement as Secretary of Defense on the incredibly popular Facebook page of Terminal Lance, a web comic that was created for active-duty infantry Marines.
While it's not much of a surprise for many Marines to see the retired general portrayed in such a way, the posting by MarSoc got at least one negative comment, which spurred administrators to remove it, according to Marine Corps Times.
"MARSOC is committed to professionalism and supporting our great country," Maj. Nicholas Mannweiler, a MarSoc spokesman, told The Times. "No offense was intended."