Title: Marine Corps Ball
Informant info: Michael Rodriquez. Informant attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Informant enlisted in the Army in 2003 and was a member of the 1st Battalion 8th Marines Bravo Company, which is an infantry military unit. He was stationed out of camp Lejeune North Carolina. Informant served in Iraq from June 2004 to December 2004. He was awarded a Purple Heart. He was from a military family, as well. Informant is 31 years old.
Type of lore: Customary, Ceremony, Tradition
Language: English
Country of Origin: USA
Social / Cultural Context: Informant was asked if there were any ceremonies related to the military. He replied that there was the Marine Corps Ball on the Marine Corps birthday. Informant claims that there is a ceremony every year where the people either still in the military or retired wear their dress blues to. It occurs on the birthday of the marine corps. He claims that there is a ceremony during the ball where the youngest and oldest active military member will cut the cake.
Associated file:
Transcript: “Every year we have the marine corp ball, which is on the marine corps birthday. We have that and even like when you’re out it’s a pretty serious thing. so Im like not in any more but each year theres a marine corps ball I usually get invited to the one here in Hanover. Been doing that for a couple of years because the Dartmouth Grad student thing. And then um theres another one over in New London. I did my undergrad at Colby-Sawyer so I know the people over there. So, you carry that on and the oldest and the… we always read the commandants message most of the time it’ll be the current commandants message. Sometimes like if the person running whatever sort of Marine Corps birthday in your area doesn’t like the New Commandant will sometimes read the old Commandant’s. You’re not supposed to do that but sometimes it happens. But ya you get in your dress blues.”
Informant’s comments: He seemed to not really care for the idea of not reading the current commandant’s message.
Collector’s comments: Informant talked about the youngest and oldest tradition later and how they cut the cake together.
Tags/Keywords: Cake, Military Ball, Youngest, Oldest