USMC birthday ball

It's been almost a month now since I attended the one best event I've been to in the last 5 years. The last time I attended a Marine Corps Birthday ball celebration was Nov. 13, 2000 in Prim Nevada, just under a year before I was to get out of the service on not so great of terms.

This year I had the privilege of being able to attend the MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) Camp Pendleton USMC 230th birthday celebration, at the Flamingo Casino in lovely Laughlin Nevada.

I remember the balls of years past with fond memories. While in boot camp I had the incredible luck to be a "little friggin nasty recruit," and at the same time see the birthday ball ceremony and all the Marines that participated in the MCRD San Diego Birthday Ball. It was an uplifting experience to see how sacred this celebration was to the Devil Dogs, and that I might be able to attend one as a full fledged Marine one day.

My next birthday ball was in Okinawa Japan at camp Fosters NCO club with Combat assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. The preparation for the ball was extreme to say the least. My buddies and I were able to get drunk as all hell, causing a nice ruckus and did not get reprimanded for it.

The next time I attended the Ball was in Prim Nevada at the Prim casino. My buddy Dave and I got thoroughly smashed and drove the back roads from 29 Palms California, stopping an uncountable amount of times before arriving there to piss in the middle of the deserted desert highway, and also spent that ball drunk as fuck, thrashing boots and having a merry old time.

There are differences I noticed between the MCAS Ball and an infantry units ball, but the basic Idea remains the same. The Marine Corps ball is a time where you Honor all those who went before you in the Corps. You celebrate all that is right with the Marine Corps; the discipline, Honor, Courage, and Commitment of the Corps. The Marine Corps Ball is basically the party representing getting through the year alive, Honoring fallen brothers of past and present, and of demonstrating your love for the Corps all in one unforgettable night. You get drunk as all hell, harass the boots, eat good food, and tell stories of how it was when you were a boot, even though every one knows them already.

I attended this last ball with pride, and did so in typical Marine Corps fashion.

This is the Guest of Honor, a retired infantry Colonel after he gave me a wet kiss on the head. He was a great Marine, Four purple hearts and numerous other medals.

This pre flight check list is a little different from a pilots. It consists of various types of Rum, including Bacardi 151, and some Crown Royal.

My Brother inlaw and Don sharing in "Marine Corps Love"

My Girl and my brother in law Celebrating the birth of the prestigious Marine Corps.

And Finally my sister and brother inlaw in proper celebration of the 230th Marine Corps Birthday.