Honorary Marine is a title that has been given to various people by the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

.

Current official program (1992–present)

The distinction is currently bestowed solely by the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps to "individuals in the civilian community who have made extraordinary contributions to the Marine Corps." It "carries no entitlement to pay or benefits."

Nominations may be submitted to the commandant by "commanding generals, commanding officers, and officers-in-charge" and "must be endorsed by a general officer within their chain of command." Criteria include:
A terminally ill child that has some unique or qualifying link to the military or the Marine Corps. An individual who has given extraordinary service or support to the Marine Corps, and for whom any lesser form of recognition would be insufficient. Deceased individuals whose actions or contributions on behalf of the Marine Corps would have merited consideration before their death.

Honorees

Two somewhat differing lists can be viewed on the official Marine Corps website, one at the Marine Corps Honorary Marine page, and the other in this document.

Among the notables on both lists are:

• Joe Rosenthal
  Joe Rosenthal
  Joseph John Rosenthal was an American photographer who received the Pulitzer Prize for his iconic World War II photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima. His picture became one of the best-known photographs of the war.-Early life:Joseph Rosenthal was born on...
  
   (1996), the reporter who took the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
  Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
  Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima is a historic photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.The photograph was extremely...
  
  
• Felix de Weldon
  Felix de Weldon
  Felix Weihs de Weldon was an American sculptor. His most famous piece is the Marine Corps War Memorial of five U.S. Marines and one sailor raising the flag of the United States on Iwo Jima during World War Two.-Biography:...
  
   (2001), the sculptor of the Marine Corps War Memorial, based on Rosenthal's photograph
• combat veterans and United States Senators Max Cleland
  Max Cleland
  Joseph Maxwell Cleland is an American politician from Georgia. Cleland, a Democrat, is a disabled US Army veteran of the Vietnam War, a recipient of the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for valorous action in combat, and a former U.S. Senator...
  
   and Daniel Inouye
  Daniel Inouye
  Daniel Ken "Dan" Inouye is the senior United States Senator from Hawaii, a member of the Democratic Party, and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate making him the highest-ranking Asian American politician in American history. Inouye is the chairman of the United States Senate...
  
   (both 2001)
• Jim Nabors
  Jim Nabors
  James Thurston "Jim" Nabors is an American actor and singer. Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Nabors moved to Southern California because of his asthma. While working at a Santa Monica nightclub, The Horn, he was discovered by Andy Griffith and later joined The Andy Griffith Show, playing...
  
   (2001), star of the television comedy show Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
  Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
  Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...
  
  
• actor Chuck Norris
  Chuck Norris
  Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
  
   (2006)

Other ad hoc honorees

Lon Chaney, Sr.

Lon Chaney, Sr.

Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...

 was made an honorary member of the Corps for his portrayal of a Marine sergeant in the 1926 film Tell It to the Marines

Tell It to the Marines

Tell It to the Marines is a 1926 silent movie starring Lon Chaney, William Haines and Eleanor Boardman, and directed by George W. Hill. The film follows a Marine recruit and the sergeant who trains him...

. Cartoon character Bugs Bunny

Bugs Bunny

Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...

 was given the rank of honorary Marine master sergeant for his performance in Super-Rabbit

Super-Rabbit

Super-Rabbit is a Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Bugs Bunny who is parodying the popular character Superman. It was released to theaters on April 3, 1943.-Plot:...

. Actor and comedian Bob Hope

Bob Hope

Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...

, famous for his work with the USO, was named an honorary brigadier general of the Corps.