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So okay, as for Origins and Birthplace?
Birthday: November 10, 1775
Birthplace: Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
First Commandant: Capt. Samuel Nicholas
Celebrated annually on November 10, the day before Veterans Day, we Marines hold this day as a special day of reverence and celebration. Marine see our Corps' Birthday with a deep feeling respect mixed with awe, wonder, or devotion. We treat the day as being a sacred tradition that is precious and fundamentally worthy of high honor.
We celebrate our Birthday by publicly or privately honoring, praising, or recognizing our Corps and the achievements of our fellow Marines with sheer joy. Through our festive celebration which includes our time honored ritual, we reestablish our loyalty and dedication to our Corps and each other.
During our birthday ceremony, a traditional cake-cutting is performed using a Mameluke sword, where the oldest Marine present passes a slice to the youngest Marine. The ceremony uses specific protocol and symbolism to connect past and present generations of Marines.
The Mameluke sword is used to cut the birthday cake, The cake is cut with a curved Mameluke sword to remind Marines that they are a band of warriors committed to carrying arms so the nation can live in peace. The sword's heritage dates back to 1805, when Ottoman viceroy Prince Hamet presented a similar blade to Marine First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon following the Battle of Derna in Tripoli.
According to the official "U.S. Marine Corps Cake Cutting Script," the very first piece of cake is actually presented to the guest of honor. The second piece is given to the oldest Marine present, who takes a bite and passes it to the youngest Marine present.
Marine Corps symbolism is vital to maintaining our sense of "Esprit de corps." This is what gives Marines a shared sense of unity, pride, camaraderie, and devotion. The passing the cake from the oldest to the youngest Marine represents the transfer of knowledge, experience, and esprit de corps from seasoned veterans to the newest generation.
While Marines have celebrated their November 10 birthday since the 1920s, Commandant Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. officially standardized the cake-cutting ceremony in 1952 and added it to the Marine Corps Drill Manual in 1956. And believe it or not, between 1798 and 1921, Marines recognized July 11 as their birthday. This marked the date in 1798 when President John Adams signed a bill recreating the Marine Corps after it had been disbanded following the Revolutionary War.
According to National Museum of the Marine Corps historical records and a 1918 newspaper clipping, the July 11 anniversary passed "as usual with no fuss". There were no balls, cake-cutting ceremonies, or organized field celebrations during the 19th century. But, while Marines did not throw birthday parties in the 1800s, there was acknowledgment of the July 11 anniversary. Those acknowledgements took place wherever Marine detachments were deployed at the time.
Notable 19th-century stations and campaigns active during July included:
The Barbary Coast (1801–1805). Marines served aboard frigates in the Mediterranean and marched across the Libyan desert during the First Barbary War.
The Halls of Montezuma (1847). During the Mexican-American War, Marines were stationed across occupied Mexican territories and aboard naval blockades in the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean.
Arctic and Pacific Expeditions (1850s–1870s). Marine detachments accompanied naval expeditions to uncharted waters, including Commodore Matthew Perry's opening of Japan (1853–1854) and various Arctic exploration and rescue missions.
The Spanish-American War (July 1898). On the Corps' exact 100th re-establishment anniversary, July 11, 1898, Marines were actively deployed in Cuba following the seizure of Guantánamo Bay and in the Philippines during the capture of Manila.
Marines quietly observed July 11, 1798, which marked the date the Corps was re-established after the Revolutionary War, until October 21, 1921, when Major Edwin North McClellan sent a memo suggesting the Corps officially celebrate its original November 10 founding. He proposed making it a formal holiday to remind both Marines and the public of the Corps' long service.
The Corps' "1921 Turning Point." The modern tradition began on November 1, 1921, when Commandant John A. Lejeune issued Marine Corps Order No. 47. This order officially shifted the commemoration to November 10, 1775, and directed that a historical message be read to every command.
The First Formal Birthday Ball (1925). The tradition became a major public event on November 10, 1925, in Philadelphia, which marked the Corps' 150th anniversary. Commandant Lejeune unveiled a memorial plaque at the original site of Tun Tavern, followed by a parade, a dinner for 1,200 guests, and a formal Military and Naval Ball at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. Thus, the Corps' tradition of celebrating our birthday with a Birthday Ball on November 10th was born.
Once the November 10th tradition took hold in the 1920s, Marines began celebrating in very creative ways around the globe. Since 1921, Marines have celebrated their November 10 birthday in some of the most extreme and unusual locations on Earth and even beyond it. Regardless of whether they have a dress blue uniform or a proper bakery, Marines traditionally improvise a cake, cut it with whatever blade is available, and pass the first piece from the oldest Marine present to the youngest.
Some of the more interesting activities that Marines have come up with to celebrate their Birthday includes:
The Sham Battle in Virginia (1923). Marines at the Navy Yard in Norfolk celebrated by staging a 20-minute "mock battle" on the parade ground in front of local citizens.
The Cuban Baseball Game and Boxing Match (1923). At Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Marines delayed their celebration to November 12 due to a special Liberty trip, marking the occasion with water sports, a 9–8 baseball victory over a Cuban team, and four boxing bouts.
The Barrack's Dance at Fort Mifflin (1923). Marines stationed at Fort Mifflin in Pennsylvania hosted one of the very first birthday dances inside the historic Revolutionary War-era fort
It was not until World War II, the Korean War, and later conflicts in the 20th century that the famous tradition of Marines cutting birthday cakes in bizarre, remote, or active combat zones truly emerged. Marines celebrate the U.S. Marine Corps birthday on November 10th wherever they are. Yes, whether in formal ballrooms, local dives, or austere combat zones, we take time t honor our Corps and those who have earned the title Marine.
Throughout World War II, Marines on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Peleliu marked November 10 in muddy trenches and jungle foxholes, often using "K-rations" and machetes or Ka-Bar knives in place of an NCO sword to cut a symbolic birthday "cake." And yes, Marines have marked the occasion in wildly unpredictable, rugged, and unconventional settings. For example:
The Frozen Chosin Reservoir (1950). In Korea, Marines celebrated their 175th birthday in bitter, sub-zero winter conditions while advancing into the Chosin Reservoir, weeks before being encircled by Chinese forces.
Operation Deep Freeze I (1955–1956) was the first major U.S. military-led expedition to Antarctica. It was organized to establish permanent research bases in support of the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Marines supporting Operation Deep Freeze and scientific research missions at McMurdo Station and the South Pole held a formal cake-cutting ceremony in sub-zero temperatures surrounded by ice sheets.
Actually, it's still done. Marines hold formal birthday cake-cutting ceremonies every November 10th regardless of weather or location, including during freezing cold-weather deployments and Arctic exercises. Whether stationed in sub-zero field environments or attending a formal ball, units uphold the exact same ceremonial protocol to honor the founding of the Corps on November 10, 1775.
And yes, Marines have celebrated our Birthday in orbit aboard Space Shuttles and the ISS. In fact, several NASA astronauts who are also U.S. Marines, including John Glenn, Jack Lousma, and Randy Bresnik, have celebrated the Marine Corps Birthday in space, reading the birthday message and floating ceremonial items in zero gravity.
During the Iraq War, Marines marked the 234th Marine Corps birthday right inside the grand halls of Saddam Hussein’s former Al Faw Palace in Baghdad. It's true. In 2003, right inside Saddam Hussein’s Palace following the invasion of Iraq, Marines stationed in Baghdad and Tikrit held full Marine Corps Birthday formations and cake-cutting ceremonies inside the marble halls and bombed-out courtyards of former presidential palaces.
In Fallujah, and in other outposts throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, Marines have cut a ration-style birthday cake (often improvised) using an NCO sword right in the middle of a war zone. Observation Post (OP) Rock, Helmand Province, in Afghanistan. In those small, isolated firebases or observation posts like OP Rock which placed Marines in high-tension, stark mountain terrain cut off from heavy support, Marines celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday.
To most Marines who have been there, Marine Corps Base Twenty-nine Palms (The Combat Center), in California, is considered one of the most miserable duty stations in the Marine Corps. The Mojave Desert base features brutal dry heat, desolate terrain, and Lake Bandini which is an open-air wastewater pond that smells intensely in the heat. But yet, the Marines there make sure to celebrate their Marine Birthday.
At China Lake, California: A remote naval air weapons station sitting right next to Death Valley, known for having a massive civilian research population and very few Marines. Those few Marines celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday.
In small out of the way outposts, such as in Bouknadel, Morocco, small detachments of Marines have been stationed at isolated U.S. Navy antenna and communication sites tucked away in foreign regions. Marines celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday.
In Pituffik Space Base, which was once called Thule Air Base, in Greenland, located about 900 miles from the North Pole, service members here experience months of near-total darkness and sub-zero Arctic temperatures while monitoring missile warning systems. Marines celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday.
Legend humorously describes how the most chaotic place to hold a Marine Corps Birthday celebration is none other than Tun Tavern itself. Supposedly, the entire celebration began over heavy amounts of colonial ale in 1775.
That led to a long-running joke that Marines would celebrate their birthday anywhere -- as long as there's a sword, a cake, a party, and a place to tell sea-stories.
To all my fellow brother and sister Marines out there,
Happy 351st Birthday Marines!
Tom Correa
The Frozen Chosin Reservoir (1950). In Korea, Marines celebrated their 175th birthday in bitter, sub-zero winter conditions while advancing into the Chosin Reservoir, weeks before being encircled by Chinese forces.
Operation Deep Freeze I (1955–1956) was the first major U.S. military-led expedition to Antarctica. It was organized to establish permanent research bases in support of the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Marines supporting Operation Deep Freeze and scientific research missions at McMurdo Station and the South Pole held a formal cake-cutting ceremony in sub-zero temperatures surrounded by ice sheets.
Actually, it's still done. Marines hold formal birthday cake-cutting ceremonies every November 10th regardless of weather or location, including during freezing cold-weather deployments and Arctic exercises. Whether stationed in sub-zero field environments or attending a formal ball, units uphold the exact same ceremonial protocol to honor the founding of the Corps on November 10, 1775.
And yes, Marines have celebrated our Birthday in orbit aboard Space Shuttles and the ISS. In fact, several NASA astronauts who are also U.S. Marines, including John Glenn, Jack Lousma, and Randy Bresnik, have celebrated the Marine Corps Birthday in space, reading the birthday message and floating ceremonial items in zero gravity.
During the Iraq War, Marines marked the 234th Marine Corps birthday right inside the grand halls of Saddam Hussein’s former Al Faw Palace in Baghdad. It's true. In 2003, right inside Saddam Hussein’s Palace following the invasion of Iraq, Marines stationed in Baghdad and Tikrit held full Marine Corps Birthday formations and cake-cutting ceremonies inside the marble halls and bombed-out courtyards of former presidential palaces.
In Fallujah, and in other outposts throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, Marines have cut a ration-style birthday cake (often improvised) using an NCO sword right in the middle of a war zone. Observation Post (OP) Rock, Helmand Province, in Afghanistan. In those small, isolated firebases or observation posts like OP Rock which placed Marines in high-tension, stark mountain terrain cut off from heavy support, Marines celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday.
To most Marines who have been there, Marine Corps Base Twenty-nine Palms (The Combat Center), in California, is considered one of the most miserable duty stations in the Marine Corps. The Mojave Desert base features brutal dry heat, desolate terrain, and Lake Bandini which is an open-air wastewater pond that smells intensely in the heat. But yet, the Marines there make sure to celebrate their Marine Birthday.
At China Lake, California: A remote naval air weapons station sitting right next to Death Valley, known for having a massive civilian research population and very few Marines. Those few Marines celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday.
In small out of the way outposts, such as in Bouknadel, Morocco, small detachments of Marines have been stationed at isolated U.S. Navy antenna and communication sites tucked away in foreign regions. Marines celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday.
In Pituffik Space Base, which was once called Thule Air Base, in Greenland, located about 900 miles from the North Pole, service members here experience months of near-total darkness and sub-zero Arctic temperatures while monitoring missile warning systems. Marines celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday.
Legend humorously describes how the most chaotic place to hold a Marine Corps Birthday celebration is none other than Tun Tavern itself. Supposedly, the entire celebration began over heavy amounts of colonial ale in 1775.
That led to a long-running joke that Marines would celebrate their birthday anywhere -- as long as there's a sword, a cake, a party, and a place to tell sea-stories.
To all my fellow brother and sister Marines out there,
Happy 351st Birthday Marines!
Tom Correa
