Marines celebrate semiquincentennial at their birthplace in Philadelphia.
Above the steps leading to the Philadelphia Museum of Art stands a statue of Rocky Balboa, heroic Hollywood fighter, his gloved fists defiantly uplifted. But it was a mile and a half away, on a section of Second Street, where thousands of real heroic fighters gathered on Nov. 10.
Those heroes are United States Marines. Though some last wore their uniforms decades ago, nearly all will issue a quick and direct correction to any ill-informed person who might refer to the veterans with the modifier “former,” or even worse, “ex.”
“The great equalizer is that we were all United States Marines,” Maj.Gen Patrick J. Hermesmann said at the Marines’ block party celebrating the 250th birthday of America’s 911 force. “And whether we’re a male, a female, regardless of race, creed or religion, our common bond is that we’re Marines. Our common bond cuts through whether you’re in the ground combat element and you’re a grunt, whether you’re a logistician, whether you’re in aviation, those are all nice. They’re all little parts of our world. But the common thread remains, we are United States Marines, and when the Corps made each and every one of us, they made us for one purpose and that purpose was to fight.”
The massive celebration of the Marines’ semiquincentennial was appropriate for the City of Brotherly Love, which is the very place that the Corps was created in 1775. Though the original Tun Tavern was razed in 1781, Marines organized the Tun Legacy Foundation which is committed to building a replica affectionately known as “the Tun,” near the original birthplace.
Adding to the birthday festivities there were not one but two formal balls. The Tun Legacy Foundation hosted the 100th Marine Corps Ball at the very site that Lt. Gen. John A. Lejeune welcomed Marines on Nov. 10, 1925.
“On Nov. 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of the Continental Congress,” Lejeune said at the first formal birthday celebration of the Corps, 150 years old at that time. “Since that date, many thousand men have borne the name Marine. In memory of them, it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our Corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history.”
Comedian and Marine Rob Riggle, a member of The American Legion, emceed this year’s ball at the Bellevue Hotel, in the same ballroom as the first celebration. “My first Marine Corps Birthday Ball was the 215th,” Riggle said. “It was a long time ago… How long? I don’t know. I’m not here to do math. I’m going to leave that to the Air Force. I came here to drink whiskey (and) to make fun of the Air Force, and their less successful spin-off, the Space Force.”
Joking jabs aside, Riggle went on to express his admiration for all the military branches before introducing former New Jersey Superior Court Judge and Homecoming Navy Marines Corps 250 Chairman of the Board George S. Leone.
“Marines know exactly when their birthday is,” Leone said. “We knew we had to celebrate today, the day of 10 November 2025. Now, there is no better place to celebrate the Marine Corps birthday than Philadelphia, where the founders created the Continental Marines on 10 November 1775.”
Retired Gen John F. Kelly attributed Marine birthday traditions to the consistent acknowledgement of its history. “First of all, we always celebrated the same day,” Kelly told The American Legion. “The other services moved theirs around.”
He then reflected on a conversation he had with a junior Marine in Iraq. “About 450 miles from where we left Kuwait, the young Marine looked at me when the shooting stopped, and said, ‘Sir, do you think the Vietnam guys would be proud of us?’ The kid is maybe 19 or 18. And I said, ‘Why do you ask?’
“‘Because my grandpa was a Vietnam Marine, sir, and he never felt as though his nation was proud of him.’
“I said, ‘First of all, you’d be proud of your grandpa. You can bet our nation is proud of you.’”
Medal of Honor recipient and retired Maj. Gen. James Livingston believes Marine traditions are important for its younger members. “We really need to talk about who we are and what we want to be. We need to tell the American people our story and, most of all, we need to tell the young Marines this story. I’m glad to see it amplified in Philadelphia this weekend and rebuilding the Tun is just an example of that amplification.”
The amplification of tradition was also noted by Livingston’s fellow Medal of Honor recipient, retired Col. Harvey “Barney” Barnum. “The Marine Corps is very attuned to remember traditions and remember the birthday of our Corps, where we were, where we came from and what America expects of us,” Barnum said.
Livingston, a member of American Legion Post 147 in James Island, S.C., and Barnum, a member of Connecticut’s Post 2, are not just the embodiment of The American Legion’s pledge to preserve “the memories and incidents of our associations in all wars,” but they symbolize the heroism that has existed among America’s bravest veterans that predates the Revolution.
“Marines come in two variations,” Barnum said. “Lean and mean; and skinny and mean. As our young Marines serving in hot spots around the world are proving daily, they are driven by the attack. Tenacious defense. They got short hair, and they always go for the throat.”
Richard V. Spencer served as the nation’s 76th Secretary of the Navy. When asked if he was a Marine, the 71-year-old quickly retorted, “Am a Marine!”
At least for this day in Philadelphia, he wasn’t alone.
- Honor & Remembrance