The Daily News
Dowagiac, MichiganMarine Corps' 231st birthday observed here
By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Monday, November 13, 2006 10:41 AM EST
The name of Cpl. Jason Dunham was invoked from Dowagiac to Washington over the weekend.
Locally, more than 50 former Marines and their spouses gathered at Elks Lodge 889 Saturday night for the 18th annual observance of the U.S. Marine Corps' 231st birthday.
Nationally, President Bush dedicated the new Marine museum on Friday.
Bush said he would present America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, posthumously to Dunham, who died when he jumped on a grenade in Iraq and spared the lives of two comrades.
Dunham, of Scio, N.Y., died April 22, 2004, of wounds suffered when his patrol was ambushed near the Syrian border.
"He and his men stopped a convoy of cars that were trying to make an escape," the president said in his Quantico, Va., speech. "As he moved to search one of the vehicles, an insurgent jumped out and grabbed the corporal by the throat."
Friday would have been Dunham's 25th birthday. Dunham's parents were among an estimated 10,000 people attending the museum dedication. They will be presented the award, which is voted by Congress, at the White House.
Dedication of the National Museum of the Marine Corps on a 135-acre site began with a 21-gun salute to Bush.
The design of the museum's building, which slants upward toward the clouds, reflects the famous image of five Marines and a sailor raising the American flag over Iwo Jima during World War II.
Bush was joined by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace and Gen. Michael W. Hagee, commandant of the Marines.
In Dowagiac, Marines heard Maj. David Hudak, 40, of Battle Creek. He is an inspector instructor with the Engineers Support Company, 6th Engineers Support Battalion, 4th Marines Logistics Group. He assumed his duties in July 2005.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1986 and attended recruit training at Parris Island, S.C.
After graduating from Kent State University in Ohio, Hudak was selected for Quantico. In April 1996, following completion of basic school, he continued his training at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and deployed to the Mediterranean. In 1999, Hudak received orders to Parris Island.
In March 2002, he attended advanced officers training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., then served in Okinawa, Japan., the Philippines, in Iraq in support of the global war on terror and in disaster relief operations in Sri Lanka. He and his wife Heather have three sons.
Hudak, who also spoke earlier Saturday at a Veterans Day observance in Kalamazoo, said, "This is a particular pleasure, speaking to Marines about Marine things. I don't have to worry about offending some other service members when I stick my chest out to speak proudly about Marines and the Marine Corps."
Like Cpl. Dunham, "Generation after generation, in battle after battle, Marines have distinguished themselves," Hudak said. "Old breed, new breed, it doesn't matter as long as it's Marine breed.
In many regards, the Marine Corps as an institution is timeless. Sure, it changes and adapts to technology and innovations and it even bends some with generational and cultural changes, but what makes a Marine a Marine in 1920 is pretty much what makes a Marine in 2006."
"I went to recruit training in 1986," he said, "and I can vouch that training had not changed that drastically by 2002. Professionalism, commitment and high standards - why mess with success? The Marine breed all starts with recruit training, officer candidate school (OCS) and basic school for officers. They only take place at three locations - Paris Island, San Diego and Quantico, Va. The Marine Corps isn't very large and training conducted is very similar in all three places.
"How to make a Marine has stood the test of time. All Marines start out with common shared hardships. You automatically have something in common with someone in your platoon and any Marine from any generation. It's a concept that continues to set the Marine Corps apart from other services."
In recent years, however, the Army "has caught on" and modified its basic training, Hudak said. "I said I wasn't going to do it, but I can't help myself. I'm at the point of going on a short tirade on the Army.
The U.S. Army is genuinely the greatest and most capable army in the world, but at times they make it easy for us to poke fun.
"What is the Marine Corps? A lightweight expeditionary force and readiness. So following the Cold War, what does the Army do? Become more lightweight and expeditionary. The Marine Corps developed The Crucible.
The Army discovered a need for a similar type of culminating event at its recruit training. A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from a retired Army general bemoaning the fact there is not a single official museum for the U.S. Army in an attempt to drum up support to establish one.
At times, I wonder if they ever have an original idea ... there's a lot of envy out there in the Army for the Marines.
One thing the Army cannot copy is our tenacity and commitment to professionalism. Enforcing standards sets the Marine Corps apart. As Gen. Lejeune said in a line I always enjoy hearing, 'In every battle or skirmish since the birth of our Corps, Marines have acquitted themselves with great distinction until the term Marines came to signify all that is high in military efficiency and soldierly virtue.' Think about that. Talk about timeless. That statement was made in 1921 ... Semper fidelis (always faithful)."
Master of ceremonies was Dowagiac attorney Tom Swisher, a Marine sergeant in 1971-73.
Marine Corps' 231st birthday observed here
