United States Marine Corps Birthday
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The United States Marine Corps birthday is an American holiday celebrated every year on 10 November with a traditional ball and cake-cutting ceremony. On that day in 1775, the Continental Marines were established.
Historical birthday
The official birthday of the United States Marine Corps is on 10 November 1775. That was the day when the Second Continental Congress established the Continental Marines with the following decree:[1] Template:Quote
Tun Tavern, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is regarded as the birthplace of the Corps as the location of the first Marines to enlist under Commandant Samuel Nicholas,[2][3][4] though it is disputed if a recruiting drive may have occurred earlier at Nicholas's family tavern, the Conestoga Waggon [sic].[5] When the Revolutionary War ended in 1783, the Continental Navy was disestablished, and with it, the Continental Marines. The Corps was re-established on 11 July 1798, when the act for establishing and organizing a Marine Corps was signed by President John Adams.[6]
Celebration
Prior to 1921, Marines celebrated the recreation of the Corps on 11 July with little pomp or pageantry.[7] On 21 October 1921, Major Edwin North McClellan, in charge of the Corps's fledgling historical section, sent a memorandum to Commandant John A. Lejeune, suggesting the Marines' original birthday of 10 November be declared a Marine Corps holiday to be celebrated throughout the Corps. Lejeune so ordered in Marine Corps Order 47:[8][9] Template:Quote
The first formal ball was celebrated in 1925, though no records exist that indicate the proceedings of that event.[10][11] Birthday celebrations would take varied forms, most included dances, though some accounts include mock battles, musical performances, pageants, and sporting events.[12]
The celebrations were formalized and standardized by Commandant Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr. in 1952, outlining the cake cutting ceremony, which would enter the Marine Drill Manual in 1956. By tradition, the first slice of cake is given to the guest of honor. The second piece to the oldest Marine present, who in turn hands it off to the youngest Marine present, symbolizing the old and experienced Marines passing their knowledge to the new generation of Marines. The celebration also includes a reading of Marine Corps Order 47, republished every year, as well as a message from the current Commandant, and often includes a banquet and dancing if possible. In many cases, the birthday celebration will also include a pageant of current and historical Marine Corps uniforms, as a reminder of the history of the Corps.[13] Another modern tradition includes a unit run on the 10th.[14] Marines are reputed to celebrate the birthday, regardless of where they may be in the world, even in austere environments or combat.[15]
In a more somber tradition, Samuel Nicholas's grave in the Arch Street Friends Meeting graveyard in Philadelphia is marked with a wreath at dawn by a group of Marines annually on 10 November to celebrate his role in the founding of the Corps.[16]
Gallery
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John F. Kelly with Multi-National Forces West in Fallujah, 2008
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Harry B. Liversedge with the Marine Raiders in 1943
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Marine modelling a World War I-era uniform at the 2008 Birthday Pageant at MCAGCC Twentynine Palms
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Franklin A. Hart cuts a cake for The Basic School while David M. Shoup looks on in 1951. Note that this cake has candles.
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Marine Corps Birthday 1969, Marine Corps Development and Educational Center Quantico, Commanding general Lewis J. Fields cutting the cake and Commandant of the Marine Corps, Wallace M. Greene (on the left) looks on.
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James T. Conway leads a unit run of Marines in 2009.
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Austin R. Brunelli cutting the cake with the members of the 24th Marine Regiment during the celebration of the Marine Corps Birthday in Maui, 1944.
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William W. Stickney cuts a Thanksgiving cake with a Japanese officer's sword at Guadalcanal, as hungry Leathernecks look on
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Merwin H. Silverthorn cuts the Marine Corps Birthday Cake in 1953 at MCRD Parris Island.
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See also
References
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External links
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