Post by Boudreaux on Nov 10, 2010 8:39:11 GMT -5
Happy Birthday to the Marine Corps today, and thank you to all that have served.
The Marines are 235-years-old today
Today is the 235th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Tradition says the corps' birthplace was Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, befitting its image as a hard fighting, rabble rousing force. Around the world, in every clime and place, Marines will pause in remembrance of traditions, past battles and fallen comrades.
Whether at some remote combat outpost in Afghanistan, aboard ship off the coast of Korea or on the parade deck at Marine Barracks at the intersetion of 8th and I Streets in Washington, D.C. — the corp's oldest installation — the tradition begins with the reading of the current commandant's birthday message. The Star Spangler Banner will be played with everyone standing at attention, chests puffed out in pride for serving our great nation.
The birthday ceremony revolves around a cake. It may have been created by the finest bakery in New York City or fashioned from items found in MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) but it will be "The Cake." Carefully, it will be brought to the center stage in front of the senior Marine who supervises the participants. The senior Marine might be a four-star general or a corporal, but his duty to preside over the ceremony is a solemn task.
With the cake in place, the 19th commandant's birthday message is read. Gen. John A. Lejeune was one of the giants of the corps who led Marines in combat during World War I and then became the commandant in the early 1920s. Under his leadership, the Marines completed the transformation from the U.S. Navy's police force to the beginnings of the fierce amphibious force that would range across the Pacific in World War II. Gen. Lejeune's message begins:
"On Nov. 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of the Continental Congress. Since that date, many thousand men (and now women) have borne the name "Marine." In memory of them, it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history."
After the 19th commandant's message, two pieces of cake will be cut. The first piece goes to the oldest Marine present in tribute to the "old breed," tested in battle, keepers of the corps' traditions and upholders of its honor. The next piece is given by that oldest Marine to the youngest, symbolizing the passing of those traditions and responsibilities to the next generation.
At some point either the senior Marine or a guest of honor will be called on to deliver remarks. He or she will speak of those who have gone before and honor their service. Those words might recount the contributions of someone such as Capt. Jack Holland from Jackson who later returned after the war to the family department store business.
Capt. Holland won the Silver Star defending Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. He fought the mud and fanatical Japanese soldiers at Cape Gloucester on New Britain while helping to close the ring around Rabaul. And he won this nation's second highest award, the Navy Cross, in the hell of Peleliu so vividly recreated in the recent HBO Series, The Pacific.
Or it could be about Gen. Clifton B. Cates who was born in Tiptonville in Lake County and later attended the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Gen. Cates became one of the few officers of any service who commanded a platoon, a company, a battalion, a regiment and a division under fire. In combat at Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, and Iwo Jima, he won nearly 30 decorations including the Bronze Star, Silver Star and Navy Cross.
Or the speaker could cite still another West Tennessee hero, Capt. Brent Morel, from Bartlett, who attended the University of Tennessee-Martin. He was killed in Iraq on April 7, 2004. For his heroic actions leading his unit in the brutal urban combat of Fallujah, he was awarded the Navy Cross.
The ceremony closes with the playing of the Marine Hymn, and as the stirring notes begin to fade, you will almost see the faint figures representing 235 years of Marines march across the room. America has to have the Army to win big land battles and garrison territory; we have to have an Air Force to defend our skies; the Navy is required to protect our shores and project global power; but America doesn't have to have a Marine Corps. The Marine Corps only exists because the American people want her Spartans, warriors who meet adversity, thrive on challenges and willingly make the ultimate sacrifice. Happy birthday Marines.
The Marines are 235-years-old today
Today is the 235th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Tradition says the corps' birthplace was Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, befitting its image as a hard fighting, rabble rousing force. Around the world, in every clime and place, Marines will pause in remembrance of traditions, past battles and fallen comrades.
Whether at some remote combat outpost in Afghanistan, aboard ship off the coast of Korea or on the parade deck at Marine Barracks at the intersetion of 8th and I Streets in Washington, D.C. — the corp's oldest installation — the tradition begins with the reading of the current commandant's birthday message. The Star Spangler Banner will be played with everyone standing at attention, chests puffed out in pride for serving our great nation.
The birthday ceremony revolves around a cake. It may have been created by the finest bakery in New York City or fashioned from items found in MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) but it will be "The Cake." Carefully, it will be brought to the center stage in front of the senior Marine who supervises the participants. The senior Marine might be a four-star general or a corporal, but his duty to preside over the ceremony is a solemn task.
With the cake in place, the 19th commandant's birthday message is read. Gen. John A. Lejeune was one of the giants of the corps who led Marines in combat during World War I and then became the commandant in the early 1920s. Under his leadership, the Marines completed the transformation from the U.S. Navy's police force to the beginnings of the fierce amphibious force that would range across the Pacific in World War II. Gen. Lejeune's message begins:
"On Nov. 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of the Continental Congress. Since that date, many thousand men (and now women) have borne the name "Marine." In memory of them, it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history."
After the 19th commandant's message, two pieces of cake will be cut. The first piece goes to the oldest Marine present in tribute to the "old breed," tested in battle, keepers of the corps' traditions and upholders of its honor. The next piece is given by that oldest Marine to the youngest, symbolizing the passing of those traditions and responsibilities to the next generation.
At some point either the senior Marine or a guest of honor will be called on to deliver remarks. He or she will speak of those who have gone before and honor their service. Those words might recount the contributions of someone such as Capt. Jack Holland from Jackson who later returned after the war to the family department store business.
Capt. Holland won the Silver Star defending Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. He fought the mud and fanatical Japanese soldiers at Cape Gloucester on New Britain while helping to close the ring around Rabaul. And he won this nation's second highest award, the Navy Cross, in the hell of Peleliu so vividly recreated in the recent HBO Series, The Pacific.
Or it could be about Gen. Clifton B. Cates who was born in Tiptonville in Lake County and later attended the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Gen. Cates became one of the few officers of any service who commanded a platoon, a company, a battalion, a regiment and a division under fire. In combat at Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, and Iwo Jima, he won nearly 30 decorations including the Bronze Star, Silver Star and Navy Cross.
Or the speaker could cite still another West Tennessee hero, Capt. Brent Morel, from Bartlett, who attended the University of Tennessee-Martin. He was killed in Iraq on April 7, 2004. For his heroic actions leading his unit in the brutal urban combat of Fallujah, he was awarded the Navy Cross.
The ceremony closes with the playing of the Marine Hymn, and as the stirring notes begin to fade, you will almost see the faint figures representing 235 years of Marines march across the room. America has to have the Army to win big land battles and garrison territory; we have to have an Air Force to defend our skies; the Navy is required to protect our shores and project global power; but America doesn't have to have a Marine Corps. The Marine Corps only exists because the American people want her Spartans, warriors who meet adversity, thrive on challenges and willingly make the ultimate sacrifice. Happy birthday Marines.