On Tuesday the Marine Corps turned 245 years old.
From the standing up of two battalions of Marines recruited out of a Philadelphia tavern to a force of 186,000, the Marine Corps has grown alongside America, finding distinction in the many wars America has fought.
To honor the Corps' historic past, Marines traditionally gather around Nov. 10, to hold balls celebrating their collective birthday.
From Las Vegas to Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan, debaucherous celebrations by Marines in dress blues have become legendary (at least in the minds of Marines).
But in 2020 with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Corps has put a temporary halt on the revelry, stripping the celebrations to their roots.
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Austere celebrations are not unknown in the Corps. Marines have celebrated the birthday in combat zones, like Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam, using cakes from military field rations, while Marines were bunkered down into defensive fighting positions.
“For most of us who have had the opportunity to deploy in times of crises, our most precious memories of this birthday have been in austere or hostile locations,” Lt. Gen. David Bellon, command of Marine Forces Reserve, wrote in a letter to his command.
“These memories inevitably include very intimate birthday celebrations led by small unit leaders but earned and felt by all. This year will be no different,” he added.
The reserves will hold small parties, in compliance with federal, state and local guidelines, where Marines will cut a cake and read 13th Marine Corps Commandant Gen. John A. Lejeune’s message, Maj. Roger Hollenbeck told Marine Corps Times.
The 1st Marine Division will also hold austere small unit cake cutting ceremonies to celebrate the birthday this year, 1st Lt. Cameron Edinburgh told Marine Corps Times in an email.
“In an effort to preserve the safety of our Marines, Sailors, their families, and our shared communities, we are not holding our traditional Marine Corps birthday balls this year,” Edinburgh said.
Some of the events will be live streamed by the unit so people can follow online, he added.
Some units around the Corps have added unique physical training events to this year’s celebration.
“While we aren’t hosting a formal ball this year, (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) Parris Island, (South Carolina) recognized the Marine Corps birthday and our long and storied history during our annual birthday pageant on November 4th,” Capt. Bryan McDonell, a spokesman for the recruit depot, told Marine Corps Times.
“Individual battalions are also recognizing the birthday in various ways. For example, 1st Recruit Training Battalion ran 245 miles in teams over the course of three days to celebrate 245 years and finished the run as a battalion in honor of the birthday,” McDonnell added.
The recruit depot is not the only place around the Corps where Marines are running a collective 245 miles.
Marine Special Operations Command and Headquarters Marine Corps both ran 245 miles relays to celebrate the Corps’ birthday.
The final leg for headquarters Marine Corps was run by Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger and Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Troy Black, according to Maj. Eric Flanagan, a spokesman for the commandant’s office.
In addition to a cake cutting ceremony, Marines assigned to Marine Barracks Washington, along with Berger and Black, conducted a wreath-laying ceremony on the graves of roughly 30 Marines buried in the National Capital Region, Capt. Katie Kochert, a spokeswoman for the unit, told Marine Corps Times.
Marines from II Marine Expeditionary Force will hold a brief cake cutting ceremony at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia, where they are currently holding a MEF-wide exercise, Capt. Angelica Sposato, told Marine Corps Times.
Marines from III Marine Expeditionary Force held their birthday ceremony slightly early. Holding an outdoor socially distanced event on Nov. 5, according to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.
“Tradition matters, it defines who we are as a Corps. Though far from home we always take the time to remember our birthday,” Lt. Gen. H. Stacy Clardy, commanding general of III MEF, said in a video about the ceremony.
“There were no birthday balls in Iraq or Afghanistan,” said Sgt. Maj. Michael Woods, III MEF sergeant major. “What mattered most was the Marine to our right and to our right. Whether in combat, aboard a ship or forward deployed in defense of our nation Marines celebrate our birthday."
