INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE –
On Nov. 10, 2024, there was only one Marine Corps unit that had the privilege to recognize itself as the first unit in the world to celebrate the Marine Corps birthday – the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit – and also the very last unit in the world that day.
The elements of the 15th MEU aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) were able to celebrate the 249th birthday for two straight days since both yesterday and today were Nov. 10 aboard the ship, something that would make even Chesty Puller envious.
How is this possible?
Like the timeless 1993 movie “Groundhog Day,” where actor Bill Murray experiences the same day over and over again, Marines and Sailors aboard Boxer realized they had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to re-live their most important holiday as Boxer steamed toward the eastern edge of the international dateline. They began planning how to celebrate one Nov. 10, reset the clocks a full 24 hours, then wake up again on Nov. 10.
Marines and Sailors who have served on ship know the pleasure of regularly shifting time zones while underway. As a ship transits east or west in the world’s oceans and seas, the ship’s local time shifts backward or forward an hour, sometimes as often as every day. As a ship crosses east across the IDL, tomorrow becomes yesterday as clocks rewind 24 hours.
The last time a Marine unit is known to have achieved this rare double birthday at sea phenomenon was by the 11th MEU, by coincidence also deployed aboard Boxer, in 2019.
The well-timed crossing of the IDL is how the 15th MEU was both the first and last unit to celebrate the Marine Corps’ 249th birthday.
The Holiday
All “devil dogs” across the globe know how important the Marine Corps’ birthday is – some might say it’s more important than their own birthdays. Marines, past and present, active or no longer serving, ensure to celebrate the birthday to the fullest, making it a worldwide event.
Each year, Marines celebrate our holiday through unit-wide PT events, donning their world-renowned dress blue uniforms during a formal ball, passing cake between the oldest and youngest Marines in the unit, and – most importantly – making it known to every sister service that it’s the Marine Corps birthday. Marines can get quite rambunctious, but for good reason. They carry themselves in such a high regard because they know they are the finest warfighters in the world.
“We’re tied by a legacy that’s rich in history and tradition and it’s instilled in each one of us who has earned the title Marine,” said Sgt. Maj. John Schlaud, sergeant major of the 15th MEU. “As we celebrate the Marine Corps birthday we honor the brave and professional warriors who have gone before us, and strive to build a culture they would be proud of, unlike any other fighting organization to exist.”
The Celebration at Sea
To keep things simple, the 15th MEU applied an appropriate naming convention to distinguish the two Marine Corps birthdays, dubbing them “10A” and “10B”... Marines aren’t exactly known for extravagance.
The highlight of 10A was the aviation combat element, composed of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 165 (Reinforced) and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 225, showcased their aircraft in respect for the 249th birthday. As VMM-165’s UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper aircraft conducted close air support with live ordnance, reconnaissance Marines fast-roped onto the flight deck, all topped off by VMFA-225’s F-35B Lightning II afterburners roaring across the Pacific Ocean to demonstrate the ACE’s lethality for the Marines and Sailors gathered to watch on the flight deck.
“It’s awesome that we have the ability to show what we are capable of, especially on a day like today,” remarked Sgt. Austin Scott, a UH-1Y crew chief assigned to VMM-165, 15th MEU. “There was no better day to fly.”
As Marines woke up in the morning with the rising sun on 10B, elements of the MEU competed against one another during physical competitions aboard Boxer. As units counted each other’s burpees, deadlift repetitions, and shuttle-run times, they challenged each other and sweated together on the perfect day to PT.
“As Marines, we love to PT,” said Capt. Christopher Adams, a communications officer with the 15th MEU and the lead organizer for the PT challenge. “Naturally, we love to compete to make ourselves better, and I can’t think of a more perfect day to bond and grow as a unit than our own birthday.”
Once the workouts were tallied and a winner announced, nearly 1,000 Marines of the 15th MEU crowded the hangar bay to watch the most recognizable moments of the Marine Corps birthday – the cutting of cake, passing of wisdom between young and old, birthday messages, and a rousing speech.
In keeping with tradition, Col. Sean Dynan, the commanding officer of the 15th MEU, used a sword to cut the first piece of cake and presented it to the oldest Marine present, U.S. Navy Capt. Tate Robinson, the commodore of Amphibious Squadron 5, the 15th MEU’s Navy counterpart command aboard Boxer. Robinson then passed his slice to Lance Cpl. Carson Pash, a machine gun team leader assigned to Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1/5, and the youngest 15th MEU Marine.
How was the commodore, a Navy officer, the oldest Marine?
Robinson began his military career as a Marine Corps rifleman in 1991. After his enlistment, he transitioned from Marine Corps dress blues to Navy dress whites as a nuclear surface warfare officer.
Once a Marine, always a Marine.
Dynan also read an award citation for the grandfather of U.S. Navy Capt. Brian Holmes, Boxer’s commanding officer, who served as a Marine lieutenant colonel on the island of Peleliu in World War II.
“It’s no coincidence that the relationship we have here on this ship and this amphibious force is as strong as it is,” said Dynan. “There’s an understanding of who we are, the sacrifices we make and what we have to do together.”
The 15th MEU commander went on to reflect about what it means to be a Marine.
“We are here to celebrate a purpose that requires dedication, discipline, hard work and sacrifice,” said Dynan. “That purpose requires and demands honor, courage and commitment. That purpose has one very clear and simple end state. It’s if you get in a fight…”
“WIN!” the Marines thundered back in unison, their shouts booming throughout the hangar bay and surrounding decks.
After two nonstop days of festivities and excitement, the Marines and Sailors came together to relax and unwind for a “steel beach” event, a ship-wide social event featuring food and games to commemorate the end of 10A and 10B.
As the birthdays concluded for the 15th MEU, the celebration is over, but their mission is not. The MEU is still underway as a crisis response force, ready to fight and win or to be somebody’s hero.
The Marine Corps prides itself as being the world’s premier 911 force – first ones in, last ones out. For the 15th MEU, this was true on the 249th birthday in a literal sense as the first unit in and the last unit out. Marines and Sailors aboard Boxer will forever remember the esprit de corps at sea during one of the most unique Marine Corps birthday celebrations in the world – twice.