Naugatuck Celebrates Marine Corps Birthday

It’s a tradition nearly as old as the Marine Corps itself: Marines around the globe gather on Nov. 10, cut a cake to honor the Marine Corps birthday and toast success to its mission. 

Sunday marked the 238th birthday of the Corps. Per a tradition that goes back some 200 years, the youngest and oldest Marine found at myriad celebrations worldwide eat cake that has been cut with a mameluke sword or a k-bar knife, traditional Marine Corps weaponry.

In Naugatuck, at least two Marine Corps birthday celebrations were held in at least two local restaurants Sunday: DeeMan’s Bar & Grill and Jesse Camille’s Restaurant.

Local attorney and Naugatuck resident Andrew Morrissey, who was a Marine Corps captain, helped lead the celebration at Jesse Camille’s along with Jim Goggin, the borough’s tax collector and a Marine Corps veteran. They have held celebrations for the Marines for more than 10 years in Naugatuck.

“On any base or anywhere where more than two marines are gathered, it goes back a couple of hundred years that there is to be a celebration on Nov. 10, our Marine Corps birthday,” Morrissey explained. “So, if you are at a base like Camp Pendleton (California) or Camp Lejeune (North Carolina), it’s a formal ball. Dress blue, there are gowns: it’s the highlight of the social year at the Marine Corps." 

Goggin put together an idea of a local ceremony years ago when John Woermer operated the Old Corner Café in Union City. Goggin said while they did not want to throw an extravagant ball, they wanted to organize an informal event to honor the Corps’ birthday.

Every year, they read the commandant’s message, and it is traditional to read Gen. John A. Lejeune’s birthday message, originally delivered to Marines in 1921. Part of it reads: 

"In every battle and skirmish since the birth or our corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion, until the term marine has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue."

Morrissey usually serves Marine Corps “grog,” an alcoholic beverage for which the recipe is found in the Marine Corps officer’s guide.

“It comes from when New England was blockaded, and we couldn’t get sugar, so they mixed rum with Maple syrup to help sweeten it up a little bit,” Morrissey explains.

In its first year, the local event kicked off with between six and 10 people. In some years over the past decade, as many as 80 people have gathered, Morrissey said. All are invited to celebrate, regardless of whether they are Marines, he said.

“It’s definitely a more informal affair than a Marine Corps birthday found at a base,” he said. “We don’t wear uniforms, it’s very casual. ...We cut the cake, toast success to United States and say, 'long live the Marines.'" 

On this Veterans Day, please remember the sacrifices of our Marines and all United States veterans. Semper Fidelis.