Photo By Christine Cabalo | Retired Master Gunnery Sgt. Bob Talmadge shakes hands with Lance Cpl. Julian...... read more read more
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KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii - Service members and civilian guests cheered for more than 35 re-enactors who recreated Marine Corps history during the 2014 Birthday Pageant held Nov. 6, 2014, at Dewey Square.
Marines and sailors spoke about the Corps’ famous leaders and battle achievements while wearing historically accurate uniforms and firing antique weapons.
Audience members saw why Marines are nicknamed “leathernecks,” as re-enactors wore several earlier versions of the Marine uniform with strips of leather worn around the neck. The piece of fabric was used to protect against slashes to the throat in combat.
“I feel protected, but it’s hard to get used to,” said Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Sickmeier, who wore a leatherneck strap while representing a Marine from the Mexican-American War. “When you have it on, there’s definitely some restricted movement.”
Marines representing time periods starting from the Revolutionary War to the present day acted during the pageant. Some of the rifles used were loaded with gunpowder and fired off with hot sparks and smoke.
Both men and women during the pageant spoke about their roles in the Marine Corps in the period they represented. Cpl. Sarina Ledesma, who wore the historical uniform for the World War I female Marine, said it was hard to imagine doing physical activities in the older uniform. The vintage skirt runs down to her ankles.
“The uniform is itchy because of the fabric,” she said. “But it’s the same type of thing we wear now, except we have a shorter skirt.”
Opha Mae Johnson, officially recognized as the first female Marine, joined in 1918. Ledesma said she’s learned the female Marines of that time period were only allowed to do office work.
Pageant coordinators paid close attention to both uniform details and historical facts in each person’s speech. They recreated the historic look of every era with accurate firearms, accessories and drill movement.
“We’ve done some research and where we can, we’ve used the surviving drill instructions from that era,” said Staff Sgt. Manuel Martinez, the staff noncommissioned officer in charge at Installation Personnel Administration Center and one of several pageant coordinators. “Current Marines keep their fists closed for drill, but they were open-handed before. Some of the Marines from earlier times have bigger weapons, so we’ve modified their movement.”
Pageant volunteers also recreated the famous Joe Rosenthal picture of the second American flag raised at Iwo Jima during World
War II.
Cpl. Duncan Hasler was one of six pageant volunteers representing the flag-raising group of five Marines and one Navy corpsman. Although several Marines carried weapons, Hasler said he represented Pfc. Franklin Sousley, whose vintage rifle is the most visible in the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo.
“I’ve held (an M1 rifle) before but it was a civilian version of the rifle,” he said. “This was the rifle the Marines used prior to changing to the M16. The World War II Marines were iron men and used iron weapons.”
The contribution of sailors and the rise of the Marine Corps-Navy team were also celebrated. Veterans of more recent eras were recognized at the ceremony, then able to meet with participants after the pageant finished.
The Marine Corps began celebrating its creation with uniform pageants and other birthday events every Nov. 10 under Marine Corps Order No. 47. The order was officially approved in 1921 from then Marine Corps Commandant Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune, according to the Marine Corps History Division website. Modern protocol for the annual celebration was formalized in the Marine Drill Manual in 1956.
The MCB Hawaii pageant is held annually with the volunteering of active-duty Marines and sailors as well as with civilian help.
Several local antique weapon collectors loan their firearms for use in the MCB Hawaii pageant. Richard Keogh, an Army veteran and retired MCB Hawaii civilian contractor, has helped coordinate the pageant since the 1980s.
“What I like to see are Marines being Marines,” Keogh said. “They’re not just standing there, but getting into the character of the Marine of the period they are representing.”
| Date Taken: | 11.07.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.19.2014 21:03 |
| Story ID: | 148320 |
| Location: | KANEOHE BAY, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, MCB Hawaii birthday pageant celebrates 239 years of history, by Christine Cabalo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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