I sat down with about a dozen of my Marines today and asked them who among them was attending the Marine Corps Ball in two days.
Only one of them said they were; and, they were volunteering as a part of the ceremony.
I asked them if they believed carrying on our traditions and remembering the history of our Corps was important to them. They came back with a resounding, "YES!" I asked them if comradery, brother-hood, and the close nit family they have in their unit was important to them. Again, "YES!"
"So why aren't you going to the ball?"
I got at least a dozen different reasons why they were not going to the ball, ranging from money (they would pay about $35.00 per ticket), to couldn't find a sitter (lots of Marines are going who have teen-aged kids at home), to ... bottom line, they didn't want to.
In one breathe they want the closeness of the family but don't want to do what breeds that closeness.
How much history or tradition or family do you see in this picture? From the rank insignia to the ribbons, from the ceremony to the flags, from the various experiences of each Marine to the detailed parts on the uniforms themselves, this image is rife with tradition.
In the ceremony itself, the oldest Marine gets the first piece of cake and passes it to the youngest. This symbolizes the passing down of not only traditions but practices that make the Corps still one of worlds most elite fighting forces.
Ceremony and tradition are critical to keeping the Corps what it is.
Semper Fi,
m
Only one of them said they were; and, they were volunteering as a part of the ceremony.
I asked them if they believed carrying on our traditions and remembering the history of our Corps was important to them. They came back with a resounding, "YES!" I asked them if comradery, brother-hood, and the close nit family they have in their unit was important to them. Again, "YES!"
"So why aren't you going to the ball?"
I got at least a dozen different reasons why they were not going to the ball, ranging from money (they would pay about $35.00 per ticket), to couldn't find a sitter (lots of Marines are going who have teen-aged kids at home), to ... bottom line, they didn't want to.
In one breathe they want the closeness of the family but don't want to do what breeds that closeness.
In the ceremony itself, the oldest Marine gets the first piece of cake and passes it to the youngest. This symbolizes the passing down of not only traditions but practices that make the Corps still one of worlds most elite fighting forces.
Ceremony and tradition are critical to keeping the Corps what it is.
Semper Fi,
m
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