Small group celebrates Marine Corps Birthday

You probably knew Saturday was Veterans Day, but did you know November 10 was another important milestone for some of our servicemen? In 1775, the Second Continental Congress decided to raise two battalions of Continental Marines on that day. Though the day of celebration has moved to a couple different dates, the Marine Corps Birthday Ball has been celebrated on November 10 since the 1920s.

On Saturday, Jacki and Mark Thompson, a Wright County native who enlisted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines in 1977 and spent 20 years at sea, hosted a small celebration in their home near Morse Lake. While the evening did not include a dance, the Thompsons included several important traditional elements of the celebration, including cutting a birthday cake with an officer’s sword and leaving a dining place empty to honor the fallen. 

“We moved back here a year and a half ago, and we decided to start this tradition,” Jackie said. The Thompsons hope to get a fuller list of Marines in our area to invite next year. 

For the full story, see the November 16 edition of the Monitor.