U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Oliver Schoen, data systems administrator, and Gunnery Sgt. Miguel Lopez, data systems chief, Headquarters Company, Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz, participate in a 249-mile run as a part of a celebration of the upcoming Marine Corps Birthday, in Hagåtña, Guam, Nov. 6, 2024. To celebrate the Marine Corps’ 249th Birthday, Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz collectively ran 249 miles during a 24-hour period. (Ryan Little.U.S. Marine Corps)
The nation’s third-oldest branch of the military is celebrating its 249th birthday this Sunday, Nov. 10.
Older than the United States itself, the service’s founding is dated to a 1775 resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress that ordered “two Battalions of Marines be raised” as a landing force for the colonies’ naval fleet.
Like the Navy, which celebrated its 249th birthday last month, the Marine Corps disbanded in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War. It was re-established in 1798 and has remained in service ever since.
In the post-World War II era, the largest Marine deployments have been for the Korean War, in which over 150,000 Marines served; for the war in Vietnam, where force levels in the country peaked at 85,000 Marines in 1968; the Gulf War, which saw 92,000 Marines deploy from 1990 to 1991 for Operation Desert Shield; and the Global War on Terror, chiefly through the 2003 deployment of 76,000 Marines for operations against Iraq.
The Corps’ last major deployment remains salient to many: its 249th birthday comes just days after the 20th anniversary of the battle for Fallujah, in which Marines filled the leading role for U.S. forces — a fact alluded to by the Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Eric M. Smith in his birthday message.
But Smith’s message to the Corps did not only look back. “The road ahead is far from certain, but our ethos will never change — Every Marine a Rifleman and Everyone Fights,” it reads.
It was this steady and forward-facing view that Marines demonstrated in celebrating this year’s birthday in recent weeks. Cheerful balls and cake-cuttings were held literally across the country, from Hawaii to Virginia.
U.S. Marines with Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, present the birthday cake during their 249th Marine Corps birthday ball ceremony in Honolulu, Nov. 1, 2024. The Marine Corps birthday ball ceremony is held to honor past, present, and future Marines. (Grace Gerlach/U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. Marines with I Marine Expeditionary Force present the ceremonial birthday cake during I MEF’s 249th Marine Corps Birthday Ball at Harrah’s Resort Southern California in Valley Center, Calif., Nov. 2, 2024. (Ezekieljay Correa/U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. Marines with Marine Forces Reserve present a birthday cake during the ceremony of the 249th Marine Corps Birthday Ball at the Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Nov. 2, 2024. (Edward Spears/U.S. Marine Corps)
Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 4 staff celebrated the United States Marine Corps’ 249th birthday during a ceremony in the atrium of their headquarters in Naval Station Norfolk’s historic building N-23 in Norfolk, Va., Nov. 7, 2024. (Dominique M. Lasco/U.S. Navy)
Celebrations were not limited to the U.S. mainland. At Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz in Dededo, Guam, Marines and sailors collectively ran 249 miles in a 24-hour period to honor the birthday. Balls were also held at the U.S. Africa Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, and at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan.
U.S. Marines and Sailors with Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz, participate in the last mile of a 249-mile run as a part of a celebration of the upcoming Marine Corps Birthday, at MCB Camp Blaz in Dededo, Guam, Nov. 7, 2024. To celebrate the Marine Corps’ 249th Birthday, MCB Camp Blaz collectively ran 249 miles during a 24-hour period, symbolizing the commitment to excellence, endurance, and the unbreakable bond that unites the Marines. This event concluded on Nov. 7 with the Marine Corps 249th Birthday Cake Cutting ceremony. (Brayden Dnaiel/U.S. Marine Corps)
The USAFRICOM community joined Marines at U.S. Africa Command Headquarters at Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany, to celebrate the 249th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps on Nov. 1, 2024. (David Kimery/U.S. Africa Command)
U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Alissa Tarsiuk, the commanding officer of Combat Logistics Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, serves the ceremonial cake during CLB 31’s Marine Corps Birthday Ball, at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Oct. 24, 2024. (Peter Eilen/U.S. Marine Corps)
