Birthday of the Marine Corps

November 10th is the 236th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

I had the great privilege of serving on active duty in the Marine Corps for three years back in the early Seventies. Apart from my family members, a few close friends, and the 4th of July, the only other birthday I point to each year is the birthday of the Corps.

It’s worth noting that the Marine Corps birthday is a big deal to Marines. It’s been celebrated for as long as this nation has existed. Marines have been mounting up, moving out, and following their commanders into every clime and place since those first young men stepped forward at Philadelphia’s Tun Tavern in 1775. And they’re still stepping forward, thankfully. Indeed, they’re still performing brilliantly—the very best and brightest and bravest this nation possesses, as good now as they’ve ever been.

These young men and women who wear the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor belong to the United States of America, to us, to all of us, and we should stop and thank God for them. Countless generations of Marines have said goodbye to loved ones, endured harsh weather and debilitating disease, faced and defeated determined enemies, shed their blood, lost their buddies and sometimes even their own lives, and in the process honored us and the Corps they served by keeping us a free nation. Their sacrifices, their courage, their magnificence is what I remember and celebrate every November 10. It’s a small act for such an incredible lineage of honorable, gallant, and victorious service.

I feel blessed to have worn a uniform upon which the world-renowned initials USMC were etched.

Happy birthday, Marines.

And by the way, Thank You.