Richmond, Va. –
Marines, airmen, soldiers, sailors, veterans and Defense Logistics Agency Aviation employees celebrated the Marines' 243rd birthday Nov. 5, with a ceremony in the old Center Restaurant on Defense Supply Center Richmond, Virginia.
Marine Corps Col. A. J. Manuel, DLA Aviation Marine Corps logistics lead, gave opening remarks and DLA Aviation Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Linda Hurry was the guest speaker. In Manuel’s speech, he highlighted the 100th Anniversary of World War I and the famous Battle of Belleau Wood.
"We’re in this joint environment,” Manuel told the audience of roughly 100 people. “It’s a team effort.”
“We recognize the 18 active and reserve Marines serving at DLA Aviation, as well as former active duty and retired Marines who work as DLA civilians,” Hurry said. “Like Semper Fidelis and ‘every Marine a rifleman,’ which define who every Marine is and what we expect them to be, Readiness, Resourcefulness, and Perseverance bolsters our Marines at DLA and inspires them to never give up in their pursuit of material solutions for their fellow Marines in the fleet.”
For 243 glorious years, the Marine Corps has courageously fought in every place where they could take a rifle. Known for being “the first to fight,” the Corps was born in a small brewery called Tun Tavern in the city of brotherly love on Nov. 10, 1775. On that day, two battalions of American Marines were created and would be known as the fiercest fighting force the world has ever seen.
The Corps is older than the United States itself, predating the Declaration of Independence by a year.
It also has two birthdays – The Marine Corps was disbanded in 1783 after the Revolutionary War and didn’t exist for 15 years. It made its return on July 11th, 1798, and branded itself as the Corps we’ve come to know today.
Prior to 1921, the Marine Corps celebrated its birthday on July 11. It wasn’t changed until after Maj. Edwin McClellan, the officer in charge of the Historical Section at the Headquarters of the Marine Corps, sent Commandant John Lejeune a memorandum requesting the original November 10 date be declared as a Marine Corps holiday. Lejeune issued Marine Corps Order No. 47, Series 1921, which declared “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.” He directed that the order be read to every command each coming year on Nov. 10 as the official birthday of the Marine Corps. It wasn’t until 1956 that these procedures would be placed in the official Marine Corps Drill Manual.
“We have much to celebrate regarding our partnership with the Marine Corps, which grows stronger every year,” said Hurry. “Marines are a shining example of the positive relationship that exists between us.”
Marines are known to celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday regardless of where they are stationed or in what conditions they currently live. By tradition, this day is celebrated whether they are home or halfway around the world in some hostile environment.
“Happy Birthday Marine.”
Things you might not know about the U.S. Marine Corps (Facts taken from wearethemighty.com, mantelligence.com, ajc.com, military.com and biography.com)
1. The Marine Corps is its own branch of the U.S. military, but unlike the Army, Navy and Air Force, they do not have their own department within the Department of Defense. The Marine Corps falls under the Department of the Navy, and the highest ranking officer of the Corps, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, is the commanding officer of the Marines and answers to no other military officer.
2. They’re nicknamed Leathernecks, referring to the stiff leather collar that they wore as part of their uniform during most of the 19th century. The leather was intended to protect their neck and throat from bayonet and sword attacks; sailors would attempt to insult Marines by calling them Jarheads, claiming that the tall stiff collar of their dress blue uniform made it look like the Marine’s head was sticking out of a Mason jar; and Devil Dogs, coming from the Germans during World War I in their official reports as “teufel hunden,” against all odds in a battle lasting weeks, the Marines drove the Germans back as the final effort to save Paris after the Germans had forced the French army into a full retreat.
3. The first American to orbit the earth in 1962 was a Marine named John Glenn. He circled the Earth twice more. During his orbit, he was travelling at speeds greater than 17,000 miles per hour.
4. Before Semper Fidelis, Latin for “Always Faithful,” the Marines motto was “By land, by sea.”
5. Comedian Drew Carey served eight years in the Marine Corps where he would tell jokes to his fellow Marines, jumpstarting his comedy career.
6. Donnie Dunagan, the little boy who voiced Bambi became the youngest-ever drill instructor in the Marines and served three tours in Vietnam.
7. Carlos Hathcock, the Marine sniper who shot an enemy sniper through the enemy’s own scope, shot him in the eye and killed him.
8. Native Americans serving in the Marine Corps are allowed to use Peyote for religious ceremonies as long as they are not on duty within 24 hours of being ready to ship out.
9. A Marine horse named “Reckless” carried 9,000 lbs of ammo on her own during one battle in Korea, received two purple hearts, and was promoted to Staff Sergeant with a 19-gun salute.
10. During the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War, a code reader mistook the code for mortar shells (“snacks”, they were called), and literally sent hundreds of crates of Tootsie Rolls to the Marines who were out of mortar rounds.