Jim Barrett reads the proclamation at a past Marine Corps birthday ball in Richmond.
United States Marines are reputed to be the toughest of all American servicepeople. The Marine Corps is one of the smallest branches of the armed services while boasting rigorous enlistment requirements and the longest basic training at 13 weeks. An elite fighting force traditionally among the first to respond to a military situation, Marines are known as “The Few. The Proud.”
The Marine Corps is also the only armed service to celebrate its birthday every year with nationwide balls.
Founded on Nov. 10, 1775, the Marine Corps was once a separate service that nevertheless served as naval ground troops; it became part of the Department of the Navy in 1834 but remains a distinct branch. The tradition of honoring its birthday dates to 1921, when Commandant John A. Lejeune summarized the history and mission of the Corps and directed that the information be read to all Marines every year on Nov. 10. By 1923, units were celebrating the founding, and in 1925 Lejeune attended the first formal birthday ball in Philadelphia.
Mary Ann Wilson, current chair of the annual ball for the Richmond-based James M. Slay Detachment No. 329 of the Marine Corps League, is from a family of veterans and says, “I appreciate service to the country.” She has always felt a connection to the Corps, although she was not a member. The day of its commissioning in 1775, the Marine Corps set up its first recruiting headquarters at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia — a meaningful historical detail for Wilson, who was born in the city. “That makes it more exciting for me,” she says.
Wilson’s late husband, Louis, served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and, due to the connection between the sister services, always referred to members of the Corps as “my Marines.” “My husband would say the Navy depends on the Marines and the Marines depend on the Navy,” Wilson recalls.
Mary Ann Wilson salutes the camera at a previous birthday ball.
Chairing the event has been a fun learning experience for Wilson, an associate member of the detachment. Her duties include overseeing all aspects of the ball and keeping information flowing between the different work groups. “The Marines really know what a mission is and know about teamwork. They have said, ‘Let me know what you need me to do, and I will do it.’ That is very different than any other group I have worked with before,” she says.
Richmond’s James M. Slay Detachment is part of the Marine Corps League, a congressionally chartered veteran service organization, and welcomes Marine Corps veterans and retirees as well as naval chaplains and medical personnel who serve the Corps. The organization was named for Col. James M. Slay, who served in World War II. “He was from the Richmond area, and we adopted him as our namesake for the detachment,” says Rich Van Damme, detachment historian.
“Our members are from different wars and time periods,” Van Damme adds. “We still have some vets from World War II and from more recent conflicts.” Van Damme himself served in the Marines from 1981 to 2001 and retired as a major.
Because the Corps is smaller than other branches of the military, Marines “have always done more with less,” Van Damme says. “We look at the Marines as a small fraternity. We get to see each other all the time.”
The detachment has been holding its annual birthday ball at the Lakewood Retirement Community in Short Pump for the last four years. Many Marines wear their dress uniforms to the event, which always starts with a military presentation of the colors (flags).
Next, the guest of honor is introduced — this year, retired Maj. Gen. Craig Crenshaw, Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs for the State of Virginia — then a proclamation and the Marine Corps commandant’s message to Marines are read.
(From left) Marine Corps veterans Lou Siegel and Joe Kelleher prepare to cut the cake at a past birthday ball in Richmond.
Befitting a birthday party, Marines across the country perform a cake-cutting ceremony at the ball each year. The cake is cut with a sword, and the first piece is served to the guest of honor. The second piece goes to the oldest Marine present, who then passes it to the youngest. “This symbolizes the passing of honor and tradition from the older Marines to the younger Marines,” Van Damme explains.
Celebrating the Corps’ birthday — especially this year’s 250th — brings together all Marines, Van Damme says. “From their first day at boot camp, Marines are ingrained with the traditions of the Marine Corps esprit de corps,” he says. “We are taught our history.”
Wilson says she, too, has learned Marine Corps traditions while planning the ball. For example, she will place a lone table, set for one, at the front of the dining room. “We will have one chair and one empty setting,” she explains. “It is our Table of Remembrance for prisoners of war [and] missing-in-action Marines.”
In addition to honoring traditions, the ball allows detachment members to talk shop and “show off to other services,” Van Damme says. “It’s what the Marine Corps does. We always have people there from other services.”
Wilson has noticed that military officers in the detachment “don’t go by rank. They are team players,” she says. “There is a good mix of pride and humility. It’s very rewarding for me to see the camaraderie with other branches.”
She has greatly valued her involvement with the veterans. “I have learned from their stories and how their training has guided their lives. They have made me feel more patriotic.”
The Virginia War Memorial in Richmond will host a public cake-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on Nov. 7 as part of the Marine Corps’ nationwide semiquincentennial celebration.
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