PDA

View Full Version : Happy Birthday Marines!


DaSharkie
11-10-2009, 09:45 AM
To GunnyV, Vinnie B, and the other Marines - past, current, and future. And to our beloved Docs, our battlefield saviors and friends.......

Happy 234th.


This year's Commandant's statement:

http://www.mclwestchester.org/More/CommandantsBirthdayMessages.as px

A BIRTHDAY MESSAGE FROM THE COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS

United States Marines represent the best young men and women our Nation has to offer. To be a Marine is to be a member of America's warrior class - to be one of the few who steps forward with the courage and conviction to face whatever dangers await. Our Nation expects her Marines to be ready when the Nation calls; to leave family and the comforts of home behind; to march into battle and thrive under austerity; and to come home under a victory pennant.

From Al Anbar in the west of Iraq, to Helmand Province in the south of Afghanistan, our Corps of Marines can always expect to be found where the fight is toughest. Such is our history. Today, as we write the final chapter on our victory in Iraq, we will increasingly take the fight to the enemy in Afghanistan and add new pages to our legacy in places called Delaram, Now Zad, and Garmsir. One day, we will return to our naval heritage and patrol the high seas with our Navy brothers. Such is our future.

As we celebrate our Corps' 234th Birthday, we first pause to reflect and pay tribute to those Marines who have given the last full measure in defense of freedom. We extend our deepest gratitude to our Marine Corps families - the unsung heroes who endure hardship and sacrifice so that we are able to go forward and accomplish any mission. We extend our appreciation to our countrymen who have answered our every need. And we celebrate the magnificent men and women who willingly and selflessly continue to go into harm's way to protect this great Nation.

To all who have gone before, to those who wear the uniform today, and to the families that give us the strength to forge ahead - I wish you all a heartfelt Happy 234th Birthday!

Semper Fidelis,

James T. Conway
General, U.S. Marine Corps

doughesson
11-10-2009, 11:26 AM
Happy Birthday,United States Marine Corps!

MarcusKspn
11-10-2009, 11:29 AM
Now drop and give us 234

gunnyv
11-10-2009, 01:07 PM
Happy Birthday, Brothers. Good to be home for this one.

MGunns V

DaSharkie
11-10-2009, 03:22 PM
Now drop and give us 234

I'll give you 21 - after that I can't keep track.

FireMedic049
11-10-2009, 05:40 PM
Now drop and give us 234

Can I do that on an installment plan?:D


Happy Birthday my fellow Devil Dogs. Semper Fi.

CaptainGonzo
11-10-2009, 10:18 PM
Ooooooooh rah!

VinnieB
11-11-2009, 02:25 AM
Happy Birthday Devils

MalahatTwo7
11-11-2009, 08:08 AM
May you have 234 more!

DaSharkie
11-11-2009, 09:02 AM
May you have 234 more!

Well, James Forrestal said that raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi would guarantee the Marine Corps for another 500 years.......You undercut that estimation Malahat. ;)

DaSharkie
11-11-2009, 11:06 AM
From today's Boston Herald. A Marine Aviator that died a bit over a week ago had a pregnant wife. She gave birth to a boy, yesterday. On the Marine Corps Birthday.

In 18 years, this boy will have a good chance of being a Marine I think.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1211030

Fallen Marine’s new son born on Corps’ birthday

By Ira Kantor | Wednesday, November 11, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage

Photo by Ted Fitzgerald
The wife of fallen Marine Capt. Kyle Van De Giesen brought their second child into the world yesterday - a health baby boy - on the United States Marine Corps’ 234th birthday.

“How great is that?” proud grandmother Ruth Ann Van de Giesen said from her daughter-in-law’s hospital room last night. “We’re just very happy that Megan has come through it, that the baby is healthy, everything that Kyle had wanted. We just miss him dearly and we’re just very happy and we feel very blessed.”

Megan Van De Giesen, 28, the widow of Kyle Van De Giesen of North Attleboro, gave birth to a 6-pound, 8-ounce boy named Colin Joseph at 4:55 p.m. yesterday at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, just days after the newborn’s father was buried.

Family from both sides later filled the room. Ruth Ann Van De Giesen told the Herald baby Colin resembles her son’s other child, 18-month-old Avery Grace, but “he’s changing by the minute.”

“He is absolutely perfect,” she said. “He’s got a full head of dark hair and a nice loud voice.”

Van De Giesen, a North Attleboro High School star quarterback and graduate from St. Anselm College was killed Oct. 26 in a midair helicopter collision in Afghanistan. Van De Giesen, who also served two tours of duty in Iraq, was buried Friday in Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.

Nov. 10 is a day for celebration for Marines at home, at sea and even in combat zones. It marks the day in 1775 the Continental Congress passed a resolution forming the Continental Marines, drafted in Tun’s Tavern in Philadelphia.

Kyle’s mother told the Herald she didn’t learn it was the Marine Corps birthday until after she was en route to the hospital yesterday. Shecalled the birth “full circle,” as her daughter-in-law was born at Newton-Wellesley hospital nearly 29 years ago.

“Megan did a wonderful job,” she said, “And of course it’s bittersweet, but we’ve got a lot of family here, and in California all the Marines out there are celebrating Colin’s arrival as well.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1211030