From the 214th to the 250th: A Marine’s Journey Through Birthday Celebrations
I feel there is no way to fully capture the vastness and depth of the Marine Corps’ meaning to all those who have earned the title Marine. But as I reflect on when I celebrated my first Marine Corps Birthday as a motivated, inspection-ready, School of Infantry student aboard Camp Geiger in Jacksonville, North Carolina, I devoured the “Chow Hall” lobster, steak, baked potato, and green beans with reckless abandon.
The 8-layer cake commemorating the 214th Birthday of the Marine Corps remains vivid but, as a young Private First Class the significance of the Corps’ Birthday did not resonate.
Catapult to the dusty desert of Camp Fallujah Iraq in 2006, the prime rib, crab legs, corn and baked potato meal was accompanied by a single layer sheet cake commemorating 241 years of service, warfighting and sacrifice. This forward operating base birthday seemed unthinkable and almost unreasonable.
Recognizing the Marine Corps Birthday in a “Dining Facility” while forward deployed? Absolutely! This was perhaps one of the most poignant birthdays because we were unable to gather as a Marine Expeditionary Force (which would have been a mass casualty event if the enemy attacked) but we gathered in our Conex Hut sandbagged office, as a small unit of Public Affairs professionals and in the spirit of General Lejeune, “Regardless of location – Marines pause to observe our birthday by sharing a cake and usually, a holiday meal.” Unbeknownst to me, 2006 would be the last Marine Corps Birthday shared with (freshly promoted) Major Megan McClung, who was killed December 6, 2006 by an IED in Ramadi, Iraq.
In 2025, we honor 250 years of service, sacrifice, innovation and warfighting – passing honor, courage and commitment from one generation to the next.
About the Author
Riccoh Player is a Cleveland, Ohio native and decorated U.S. Marine Colonel (Retired) with extensive operational experience including multiple combat tours spanning more than three decades, including Operations: Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Shining Hope, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan.
His command assignments include: Platoon and Company Commander at 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines; Detachment Commander, Defense Information School; Commanding Officer, Headquarters and Support Battalion, School of Infantry-East;Commanding Officer, Headquarters and Service Battalion and COVID-19 Task Force Commitment, Parris Island. His Staff and other assignments include PAO to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld; CMC National Fellow, Chicago Tribune; OLA Fellow, Oversight and Investigation Committee; Master Instructor, Defense Information School; Chief of Staff, Force Headquarters Group, Marine Forces Reserve; and Marine Corps Press
Secretary, at the Pentagon.
Riccoh earned a BS in Corporate Communication from Ithaca College (1989); a Master’s in Public Administration from Webster University (1999), and a Master’s of National Security Strategy from the U.S. Army War College (2013)
