To give you an idea of the difference between Marines and Army, during the Korean War (Battle of Chosin if I remember correctly) the army withdrew without putting up a significant fight, leaving the marines to deal with the commies. The marines holed up and proceeded to fight "a model military operation", "fending off an enemy force many times their size".
In the Middle East, on at least one occasion, US Army soldiers cheered when the Marines came, making victory possible when the Army was pinned down and useless.
The Marines are, as a general rule, better than the Army in just about every way except budget/tech.
I know a family of USMC vets (everyone, women included, served in the USMC or USAF. The kids are going into the marines, two are still too young to enlist and one is at boot camp right now) and they all refer to the Army with disdain.
