Mike Parker: Marine Corps celebrates 251st birthday

Mike Parker: Marine Corps celebrates 251st birthday

The Marine Corps hymn begins with this stanza: “From the Halls of Montezuma / To the shores of Tripoli; / We fight our country’s battles / In the air, on land, and sea: / First to fight for right and freedom / And to keep our honor clean; / We are proud to claim the title / Of United States Marine.”

The Marine Corps started as the Continental Marines during the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress formed this branch by resolution on November 10, 1775, and first recruited volunteers at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Marines served as landing troops for the recently created Continental Navy. The Continental Marines were disbanded at the end of the war in April 1783 but re-formed on July 11, 1798. Despite the gap, Marines still celebrate November 10 as the Marine Corps Birthday.

The Marine Corps achieved fame in several campaigns referenced in the first line of the Marine Corps Hymn: “From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.” In the early 19th century, First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon led a group of seven Marines and several hundred Egyptian Mameluke soldiers in deposing the dictator of Tripol...