Monday, November 8, 2021

Gen. Lejeune's Marine Corps Birthday Message



On November 1, 1921, Marine Corps Order No. 47 (Series 1921), regarding a Marine Corps Birthday Message was issued by Major General John A Lejeune, USMC, Commandant of the Marine Corps. The annual reading of General Lejeune's Marine Corps Birthday Message is a tradition that is near and dear to the Marine Corps and has been upheld for 100 years. 

Marine Corps Order No. 47 (Series 1921), Marine Corps Birthday Message, reads as follows: 

The following will be read to the command on the 10th of November, 1921, and hereafter on the 10th of November of every year. Should the order not be received by the 10th of November, 1921, it will be read upon receipt.

On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of the Continental Congress. Since that date, many thousand men 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.

The record of our corps is one which will bear comparison with that of the most famous military organizations in the world's history. During 90 of the 146 years of its existence, the Marine Corps has been in action against the Nation's foes. From the Battle of Trenton to the Argonne, Marines have won foremost honors in war, and in the long eras of tranquility at home, generation after generation of Marines have grown gray in war in both hemispheres and in every corner of the seven seas, that our country and its citizens might enjoy peace and security.

In every battle and skirmish since the birth of our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.

This high name of distinction and soldierly repute we who are Marines today have received from those who preceded us in the corps. With it, we have also received from them the eternal spirit which has animated our corps from generation to generation and has been the distinguishing mark of the Marines in every age. So long as that spirit continues to flourish Marines will be found equal to every emergency in the future as they have been in the past, and the men of our Nation will regard us as worthy successors to the long line of illustrious men who have served as "Soldiers of the Sea" since the founding of the Corps.

John A. Lejeune,
Major General, Commandant
United States Marine Corps

Ever since Gen. John A Lejeune released the first official Marine Corps Birthday message on November 1, 1921, this same birthday message is read at each Marine Corps birthday celebration in whatever clime and place Marines are deployed. It is one of our traditions as Marines. It is part of what gives Marines our sense of esprit de corps. It is part of what forms our sense of pride, honor, fellowship, solidarity, and loyalty to our Corps and our fellow Marines.

Happy Birthday, Marines! 

Tom Correa


1 comment:

  1. Wait a minute. Ain't he that guy that has a camp named after him I can't stand to hear about? That General Lejeune? And am I not talking about Camp Lejeune in North Carolina where most of the military personnel and their families spent 34 years between 1953 and 1987 living in hellish conditions and bathing, drinking, and even breathing in the toxins that ultimately made them sick? That Lejeune? Yikes! I knew it, I JUST knew it!

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