MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune celebrated the 238th Marine Corps birthday with the time honored tradition of the Joint Daytime Ceremony at Liversedge Field aboard base, Nov. 6.
The Joint Daytime Ceremony honored Marines from past and present wars, but also pays tribute to the combined service cooperation aboard the base.
“As the son of a former Marine and a former Marine myself, the Joint Daytime Ceremony provides us all a great time to pause and reflect on the proud history of the Marine Corps,” said John Sollis, director of Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Community Services. “It reminds us of the obligations we swore to uphold.”
Marines know there are expectations because they signed up to be a part of something higher, and the ceremony exemplifies what the expectations are, Sollis added.
After each unit present was recognized, pageant Marines marched out onto the field donned in authentic uniforms from each era, to symbolize every major conflict since 1775.
Following the pageant, Brig. Gen. Robert F. Castellvi, commanding general of Camp Lejeune, presented the first piece of cake to Master Gunnery Sgt. Jerry Morris, battalion maintenance chief with 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, during a traditional cake cutting ceremony. Morris was born in 1960. Morris then presented a piece to the youngest Marine in attendance, Pfc. Austin J. Hawk, a student with Marine Corps Engineer School. Hawk was born in 1996.
The passing of the birthday cake from the oldest to youngest Marine signifies the passing of traditions and knowledge from one generation to the next.
The ceremony concluded with the playing of Taps and the Marines marching off the field.
“The ceremony is the one time of each year the Marines can take stock in their legacy and reaffirm their commitment to carry on the legacy spelled out,” Castellvi. “For me, the special part of today was the playing of Taps. It honors the Marines who have come before us and paid the ultimate price, but we are here to carry on their legacy.”
Castellvi added it’s important for the Marines to learn they can’t know where they’re going, until they realize where the Marine Corps has come from.
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