Photo gallery: Local Marines celebrate 246th birthday of the Marine Corps with birthday ball in St. George

Color Guard presents flags during 246th annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball in St. George, Utah, Nov. 14, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Bill Fortune, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — In celebrating the 246th birthday of the Marine Corps this month, area chapters of the Marine Corps League gathered Saturday night for a special birthday party and ball in St. George.

Cake is presented during 246th annual Corps Birthday Ball in St. George, Utah, Nov. 14, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Bill Fortune, St. George News

More than 150 U.S. Marines convened in the Garden Room at the Dixie Center in St. George for the annual birthday ball, a tradition that has endured in one form or another since the day the resolution officially forming the Continental Marines was approved in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1775. The first recorded birthday ball was held in 1925 in Philadelphia.

Every year, the Marines celebrate the event with a great deal of pomp and time-honored traditions during a gala sponsored by Utah Dixie Detachment 1270, Marine Corps League, William G. Fortune, spokesman for the detachment said.

Several people were honored for the length and bravery of their service, while others were recognized who recently passed away.

A traditional Marine Corps cake ceremony honored the eldest attending Marine, D’Arcy Grisier, and the youngest serving Marine, Manny Maez, with the first bite of cake, a concept that symbolizes the passing of traditions to the next generation of Marines.

Danny Greathouse, of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, and commander of the Vietnam Veterans organization was the guest speaker amid a crowd of veterans that included all other branches of military service who were also in attendance.

Photo gallery 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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