By Ben Cox
“From the Halls of Montezuma
To the Shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country’s battles
In the air, on land and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
of United States Marine.”
~ The Marines Hymn
The United States Marine Corps will celebrate its 250th birthday on November 10. The Continental Marines were officially formed by the Continental Congress on November 10, 1775.
Their first major battle after being commissioned was during the Battle of Nassau, Bahamas, where they raided the port and captured British ships. They eventually returned to the continent and were a part of the Battle of Princeton the following year. After the Revolutionary War, the Continental Marines were disbanded, and the U.S. Marine Corps was founded in its current form on July 11, 1798.
Just a few years later, the USMC fought the Barbary pirates, immortalizing their actions in the Marines Hymn and with the Mameluke sword that Marines still carry to this day. The brave actions of the Marines do not end there. Many from the Jacksonville area have pledged their oaths to serve through the USMC and are now a part of local veterans’ service organizations.
Each year, the local Marines get together to celebrate the birthday of their branch. As a part of their lifelong commitment or semper fidelis, the brotherhood of those who join the USMC continues long after service has ended.
The annual Marine Corps celebration is now in its third year, “About three years ago, I got together with Jason [Taylor], the co-manager of the AmVets, and said we wanted to do something for the Marine Corps Ball. It’s our biggest celebration of the year in the Marine Corps. Jason and the whole crew were just happy to help us in any way, shape or form. We started about three years ago and it’s very informal. We certainly do the three big events, the cutting of the cake and the reading of the Commandants and the John A. Lejeune speech.”
In previous years, the local celebration was only open to Marines and FMF Corpsman, but due to the special anniversary, they are opening it up to the public. Megginson also anticipates the crowd of Marines to be larger this year. He says the self-funded nonprofit has hosted 45-50 Marines over the past couple of years, but this year he expects that number to grow to about 100.
“This year is special because the Navy, the Army and the Marine Corps are all celebrating their 250th anniversary,” Megginson explains, “It’s unusual because they are opening their celebrations up to everyone. Not to bash the other branches, but the Army and Navy don’t do what we do for our celebrations every year. When there are two Marines, we are required to do things for the Marine Corps birthday. This year, since everybody’s celebrating, we are going to get to go to theirs and they are more than welcome to come to ours.”
Megginson says their special detachment at the AmVets called the Sons of Chaos; Marine Corps detachment is welcome to any area Marines who are members of the Jacksonville AmVets can join and help plan the annual celebration.
To enjoy some chili, stuff on a shingle (sorry, I can’t say what it’s really called) and a cash bar, visit the Jacksonville AmVets Post 100 on Monday, November 10 starting at 6 p.m. while local Marines ring in the birthday to the corps.
