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thedrifter
08-30-08, 11:09 AM
Marine Corps birthday celebration at Hemet library

By CHARLES HAND/The Valley Chronicle

The 2008 observance of the founding of the Marine Corps in the San Jacinto Valley is scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 10 on the second floor of the Hemet Public Library.

Chuck Johnson, a detective with the Hemet Police Department and a former Marine, said about 35 people have signed up for this year's observance and more are likely to join as the time draws near.

The ceremony will be part of a worldwide celebration that will be marked by balls, parties, and dinners, and by the official cake cutting.

At each location, a cake will be cut to mark the founding of the Marine Corps. The first piece goes to the oldest Marine present and the second piece to the youngest Marine present.

The cake cutting is preceded by the reading of the 1921 order from then-Commandant Gen. John A. Lejeune establishing the annual celebration.

Johnson said the Marine Corps is the only branch of the military service that celebrates its birth the way the Marines do.



Nov. 10 is the date on which the Continental Congress created the Marine Corps in 1775.

The Lejeune order summarizes the history, mission, and tradition of the Marine Corps.

Johnson is forming the 10 November Association to mark the birthday celebration, to which all Marines and former Marines are invited.

While other aspects of the birthday celebration are open, the reading of the Lejeune order and the cake cutting are Marine-only affairs.

Anyone interested can sign up at the Hemet Police Department at Latham Avenue and Buena Vista Street or at the Simpson Center.

Though the reading of Lejeune's order in 1921 officially launched the birthday celebration, they did not turn into a real party until 1923 when the Marine Barracks at Fort Mifflin, Pa., hosted a formal dance.

That same year, the Marines at the Washington Navy Yard arranged a mock battle on the parade ground and those stationed at Guantanamo Bay played a Cuban baseball team, a game the Marines won 9-8.

The first formal ball was held in Philadelphia in 1925. Guests included the commandant, the secretary of war, and other military and elected officials.

Before moving to the Ben Franklin Hotel and the ball, Lejeune unveiled a plaque at the Tun Tavern to mark not only the birthday, but the birthplace of the Marine Corps.

In 1952 another commandant, Gen. Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr., formalized the cake-cutting ceremony, which, before then, had been an informal part of the observance.

One of the more personal benefits of the celebration, said Johnson, is its ability to bring out Marines who may have served decades ago, but who have not been around fellow Marines since.

“It got these guys out who haven't been on base for 50 or 60 years,” he said.

Johnson can be reached through the Police Department at 765-2400.

Ellie