MARINE BLOOD SPORTS

By the time something acquires a nickname, it may be said to have entered the realm of the normal. "Blood pinning," however, is anything but. Ordinarily, when Marine paratroopers complete 10 training jumps, they receive their golden wings, a pin with two half-inch protruding points on the back. Sometimes, with that military love of macho ritual, the pin is even proudly thumped into a Marine's chest to draw a little celebratory blood. But according to two amateur videotapes obtained by Dateline NBC and aired as well on CNN late last week, that ritual sometimes descends into something much more barbaric.

The...