SALE LAKE CITY — Sunday marks the 249th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.
“It’s one of those traditions that makes the Marine Corps special and set us apart,” said Major Kyle King, a commanding officer at the Marine Corps' Salt Lake City recruiting station.
Salt Lake City Marine community members have been celebrating.
“It’s our 249th birthday,” said Marine veteran Marshall Parnell.
The Corps was formed on Nov. 10, 1775.
"The Continental Congress authorized two battalion Marines to be formed, and since that day, Marines have been making history, fighting our nation's battles, responding to humanitarian crises and doing just about whatever the President or the Congress may ask us to do,” said King.
King said Marine vets have a strong sense of brotherhood, which makes celebrating the birthday incredibly special.
“We [the Marines] were born in a bar, very proud that we’re older than the country,” said Parnell. "Continental Congress decided there'll be a United States Marine Corps, and we’ve been this country's fighting force ever since."
Commemorating the past, the present, and the fight that continues every day.
"This is when we remember the Marines at Iwo Jima, Midway, Okinawa, Bellwood, all of the Marines that have served in the past that have made this country so great,” said Marine Corps canvassing recruiter Brenden Cole Jones. "The pride that I feel for serving every day I get to wake up and put on this uniform."
“People need to be reminded that freedom is not free, and we need Marines to keep the rights that we’ve worked hard to have in the past,” said Parnell.
Honoring one another for being always faithful to our nation.
"Our core values and the pride of belonging to a group of elite warriors is what we think is most important to us. We say that every Marine is a rifleman, and that’s been proven over and over again, whether in peace times or any war,” said King.
A time to also remember the fallen, and the United States Marines' rich history.
"The foundation of what you stand for, right? So America, we stand for freedom and freeing the oppressed,” said Jones.
Stressing that the USMC is a force like no other. “For America's adversaries: remember the Marine Corps history, and this is not an institution that you wanna play around with,” said Jones.
They're proud to be observing the special day.
“Happy birthday Marines,” said Parnell.
Committed to the continued success of serving the United States of America.
“A quarter of a century, the Marine Corps has been working hard and doing what they’ve been doing, again for another 250 years we are going to continue to win, fight and make our country proud,” said Jones.
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A short story from Commandant Sgt. Bryan C. Nicholes of the Dannie O. Phillips Detachment 1332, Marine Corps League:
"The Marine Corps Birthday: What It Means To Marines"
"Marines young and old and all over the world still celebrate that day, and remember the role being a Marine played in their lives.
"Everyone has a birthday, and on Sunday 10 November 2024 the United States Marine Corps will celebrate its birthday. For the last 249 years, the Marine Corps has had the reputation of being the smallest, and the toughest branch of the U.S. military, and it is something that anyone who has ever been called Marine holds dear with a sense of pride, including myself.
"In November 1986, my drill instructors called me “Marine” for the very first time in my life, and it is a title I have long cherished.
"My journey started at the age of 18, on a bus ride to Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California. It was September 1986. I’d slept on the flight from Seattle into San Diego, where I and five other Washingtonians had shipped out for boot camp. I would realize hours later how smart sleeping on the plane had been.
"My first step off the bus from the airport landed me on a set of yellow footprints with a young sergeant yelling in my face. I was a little intimidated, but three months later I was a different man.
"We went through field training, Marine Corps history, rifle marksmanship training, first aid training and had fire watch at night.
"Before light’s out each night we’d all lay in our bunks and hear the bugle playing loudly, and we’d all say the Marine’s prayer that ended with, “Goodnight Chesty, wherever you are.”
"I still remember my father, a Vietnam veteran, picking me up from the airport after graduation from boot camp, His eyes locked on mine and he smiled. I knew how proud he was of me in that instant.
"Like all new Marines, I went home, then went to my school and was eventually assigned to a duty station in California.
"We all had the same nick-names too: Devil Dog when it was coming from a senior Marine, or Jarhead, from our peers.
"Along with the training, field ops, and missions we did as a unit, we also had fun, and that included celebrating the Marine Corps Birthday at the Marine Corps Ball on Nov. 10 of each year.
"We'd celebrate the names of Maj. Samuel Nichols, who birthed the Marine Corps in Tun Tavern, Lt. Presley O’Bannion, who took on the Barbary Pirates, Lt. Dan Daley, who led the Marines at Belleau Wood in World War I and won the Medal of Honor twice. We’d remember the battles at Iwo Jima, and Guadalcanal in World War II, and we’d celebrate being Marines with our brother, sisters, and friends.
"Marines young and old and all over the world still celebrate that day, and remember the role being a Marine played in their lives.
"While many like myself, have packed away their old uniforms and awards, there are some who never left that way of life. I am still serving the war fighter as an Army civilian and loving that I can serve our active brothers and sisters."
"On Nov. 10, Marines all over the world will raise their glass in a toast again for birthday number 249. Some will reflect on the history.
"But many more will remember their friends and take some pride in the eagle, globe and anchor, the Marine Corps motto - Semper Fidelis: Always Faithful - as well as the uniform and camaraderie they all shared when they were so very young. I know I will.
"Semper Fidelis."
