Marines mark another year by celebrating 236th birthday

From the Yuma Sun, Nov 8: Marines mark another year by celebrating 236th birthday
Marines and sailors at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma gathered Tuesday morning to recall the Corps' long and glorious history, and to pay homage to past generations of those who served as part of its 236th birthday celebrations.

The formal celebration, which was held on the MCAS Yuma parade ground, included a pageant of uniforms worn throughout the Corps' history, a traditional message from the Corps 13th Commandant, and the traditional cake-cutting ceremony.

“We are celebrating all the Marines from the American Revolution through the fight in Afghanistan today, and everything in between,” said Col. Robert Kuckuk, commander of MCAS Yuma. “All of those people who toiled for their country, gave up their personal comfort and freedoms in order to wear the eagle, globe and anchor and earn the title of U.S. Marine. Every year we get to revel in our history. We all come together and we thank goodness, and thank God the creator, that we get to be members of this organization whose sole purpose in life is to protect the freedoms that other people have gone and fought for over the course of the history of this great country.”

Sgt. Daniel Malta, from the MCAS Yuma public affairs office, opened the ceremony by sharing a brief history of the Marine Corps with those who attended, while the Marine Hymn played softly in the background.

“The word ‘Marine' spans time, places, people, personalities and exploits,” Malta said. “It is the honor, courage and commitment of those who have preceded us who have set the standards and made the Corps the proud fighting organization it has been since its inception in 1775. We have faith in our God, love for our country, dedication to our Corps, belief in ourselves, and a heritage that sets us apart from any other.”

A reading of a special birthday message from Gen. James F. Amos, commandant of the Marine Corps, was also part of the celebration. In his message, Amos said while the Marines have been in engaged in continuous conflict the past 10 years against enemies who would threaten the security of the country, while it has come at a cost, there was much to be proud of.

“This past year in operations around the world, including humanitarian disaster relief, counter-piracy, theater security cooperation, special operations, counter-insurgency and many more, you continued to solidify our place as America's expeditionary force in readiness,” Amos wrote in his statement. “As we celebrate our 236th birthday, let us look forward to future challenges, whatever they may be, and reaffirm to be America's premier crisis response force; to be the first to fight, always ready for the toughest and most challenging assignments.”

During the uniform pageant, which commemorated the long lineage of men and women who have filled the Corps' ranks for more than two centuries, Marines dressed in uniforms took position on the parade field as their eras were read aloud. The uniforms dated from the time of Continental Marines to the present day.

“We use the uniform pageant to highlight our history and quickly move through, what we all as Marines, consider somewhat an illustrious history, while showing the uniforms we wore over time,” Kuckuk said.

What is important to remember about all the battles Marines have fought in is that they were all fought by young people who most likely had no idea where the places were before the fighting began, Kuckuk said.

“Now we look back at some of the greatness and heroism that took place, and all those kids were probably still in high school the year before,” Kuckuk said. “That is the kind of people you are dealing with and the kind of tradition we celebrate.”

Following the pageant, a Navy corpsman rappelled 100 feet out of a SAR HH-1N Huey helicopter to deliver the ceremonial sword that Kuckuk used to cut the birthday cake. The first slice was presented to the oldest Marine on the air station, Lt. Col. Charles Carroll, 52, who then passed it to the youngest Marine, 18-year-old Pfc. Kyle Wilson.

Following the cake-cutting, Pfc. Abraham A Cabrera, who was born in Agua Prieta, Mexico, officially became a U.S. citizen in a naturalization ceremony.

The Marine Corps' official birthday is Nov. 10, 1775, when the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution that “two battalions of Marines be raised.”

DAR holds tree dedication

From Sun Journal: DAR holds tree dedication
Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated a balsam fir Tuesday that was planted on the grounds of the Franklin County Courthouse in Farmington. Donated by Dutton's Nursery of Morrill, the tree replaces a spruce planted by DAR members in 1938 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Franklin County that died. From left are DAR members Nancy Flick, Joanne Page, Connie Hiltz, Joan Patterson, Chapter Regent Marcia White, Theo Ross, Ann Ladd, Wilma Rector and Belle Foss. Not pictured but present were Melanie Farmer and Julia Nouvertne. The tree stands behind the women who want to put up a marker near the tree. A plaque honoring the original tree hangs inside the courthouse.

Save Princeton Battlefield, the Turning Point of the American Revolution

From the Princeton Patch: Save Princeton Battlefield, the Turning Point of the American Revolution

To the Editor,

The Battle of Princeton was FAR more important than most people realize, it truly was a TURNING POINT OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. General Washington knew that winning this battle was ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL. Many of the soldiers had completed their commissions at the end of 1776 and the Continental Congress had run out of funds to finance the war.

The week before the battle Washington sent General Cadwalader to Princeton who drew a map, now known as the “Cadwalader Spymap,” showing not only the physical features, including Bainbridge House and Nassau Hall, but markings indicating the location and number of British soldiers on the Post Road (Rt. 206). The map includes the Saw Mill Road, the “backroad” that Washington used to move the entire Continental Army into Princeton undetected. Interestingly, it appears that General Cadwalader did not physically examine this road because the map doesn’t include clearly important buildings on the road - the Quaker Meeting House, or the Thomas or William Clarke Houses.

Today, MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than the road, however, is the location of the winning COUNTERATTACK. Clear evidence dating back to the mid-1940s when Princeton Battlefield Park was set up, shows where the Counterattack took place. The original boundaries of the Park were to include the location of the Counterattack. Archaeological evidence and the mapped features of the original accounts of soldiers in the Battle have confirmed the location of the COUNTERATTACK just outside the Park boundaries.

The site of the Counterattack is NOT an appropriate location for a housing development. Instead it should be sold to the State of New Jersey for incorporation into the Park as originally intended.

Daniel Thompson
Princeton Township, Member of the Princeton Battlefield Society

N.J.'s Crossroads of the American Revolution awarded $10K by Seward Johnson Sr. Trust

From New Jersey Newsroom: N.J.'s Crossroads of the American Revolution awarded $10K by Seward Johnson Sr. Trust
Donation will enable non-profit to obtain $10,000 in federal aid

The Crossroads of the American Revolution Association announced Monday that it has received $10,000 for operating support and the implementation of a management plan from the J. Seward Johnson Sr. 1963 Charitable Trust.

Crossroads Director Cate Litvack said the money will be leveraged dollar-for-dollar through the National Park Service’s federal matching funds for National Heritage Areas.

The J. Seward Johnson, Sr. 1963 Charitable Trust provides grants to non-profit organizations in New Jersey and selectively in other parts of the nation. Support is given to programs in the fields of oceanography, substance abuse prevention, cultural enrichment, health and healthcare, water and the environment, education, law and public broadcasting. A portion of the trust’s giving is directed toward civic, cultural and educational activities in Princeton and New Brunswick.

Crossroads, founded in 2002, is the federally designated coordinating non-profit organization for the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area which was established by Congress in 2006. Working in collaboration with Morristown National Historical Park and other partners throughout New Jersey, Crossroads is actively pursuing historic and environmental preservation, heritage education, cultural conservation, recreational heritage trails and heritage tourism. New Jersey’s heritage area comprises 213 cities and towns within 14 counties from Fort Lee in Bergen County to Fort Mercer in Gloucester County.

Group moves Port Canaveral battle marker over dispute

Philip Wright (right), chapter president of the Sons of the American Revolution and Ben DuBose, also of the SAR, remove a roadside sign marking the last naval battle of the Revolutionary War. The sign and accompanying monument, currently in front of the Canaveral Port Authority headquarters, is being relocated to Veterans Memorial Park in Merritt Island.

From Florida Today: Group moves Port Canaveral battle marker over dispute
PORT CANAVERAL — The Sons of the American Revolution is taking its cannon and going to a new location, after it could not work out a dispute with Port Canaveral officials.

The organization has had a replica cannon and historic marker on display near the Canaveral Port Authority Maritime Center office building off George J. King Boulevard, commemorating the last naval battle of the American Revolution, which took place on March 10, 1783, a few miles south of Cape Canaveral.

But officials of the Sons of the American Revolution, a lineage society, were concerned about a $50 fee instituted by the port for events like the annual parade the organization held there and the potential for other costs in future years that they feared could reach as high as $1,000.

While the need to reimburse those costs was waived for the 2011 parade, held in March, there was no guarantee that a waiver would be approved in the future, said Ben DuBose, chairman of the Florida State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution Last Naval Battle Committee.

So DuBose and others in the organization felt it was time to move the replica of an 18th-century cannon, the cannon base, the historic marker and a footstone somewhere else. On Tuesday, the items were removed by a crew from Able Monument & Sandblasting of Titusville, aided by DuBose and Philip Wright, president of the 110-member Brevard Sons of the American Revolution chapter. The items are headed for the Brevard Veterans Museum on Merritt Island, where the group plans to have its future parades.

The cannon monument was dedicated in 2007 and was a project of the Brevard chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, six local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Cape Canaveral Navy League. DuBose said the parade, presented annually since 2007, draws an average of 150 marchers and a similar number of spectators.

Port officials noted that, even with this historic display removed, Port Canaveral’s nearby Jetty Park has a granite monument with plaque honoring John Barry, commander of the Continental Navy frigate Alliance in the 1783 battle. The plaque was installed in 1990 and is the site of an annual John Barry Day celebration.

Barry’s ship and another one were carrying Spanish silver coins from Cuba to Philadelphia that would be used to support the Continental Army when they engaged three British ships. The Alliance drove off the British frigate Sybil after a 40-minute battle.

Barry, whose strategy is credited with winning the battle, later would become a commodore and is considered by some historians to be “the father of the U.S. Navy.”

DAR essay contests offered in Hill County schools

From The Lakelander: DAR essay contests offered in Hill County schools
HILL COUNTY � This year, two new essay contests sponsored by the Fort Graham Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, will be available to Hill County students.

The American History essay contest is for students in grades 5-8, and the Christopher Columbus essay contest is open to grades 9-12. Home schooled students are invited to participate at all levels. Students in grades 5, 6, 7 and 8 may participate in the American history essay contest and awards will be given to the winners in each grade level. The title of the essay is "Young America Takes a Stand: The War of 1812."

Students are asked to pretend they were alive during the War of 1812 and had a friend who became famous in history because of standing up for America during that exciting but dangerous time. Describe the person and how he or she stood up for America. Explain why it is important to honor such heroes when we celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812. The deadline for receipt of the War of 1812 essays is Nov. 15, 2011.

Students in grades 9-12 may enter the essay contest entitled "Christopher Columbus: In his own time, in history and today." The student will describe Christopher Columbus as he was understood in three different time periods: What did 15th century people think about his accomplishments? How did 19th-century historians view him? How did Columbus, who had primitive ships and no computers or modern navigation equipment, affect our lives today?

This contest is sponsored jointly by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the National Italian American Foundation. The deadline for receipt of the Christopher Columbus essay is Nov. 21, 2011.

Winning entries at the local level will be entered in the statewide competition and may then go on to win at the divisional and national level. A certificate, gold pin and monetary award is presented to each national winner at Continental Congress in July 2012. Winning essays may appear in official DAR communications.

To obtain a written copy of the official guidelines for the above essay contests, students of public, private and parochial schools should contact their school counselors or call Phyllis Olson at 254-694-4949. Parents of home schooled children are encouraged to contact Mrs. Olson directly to receive detailed information about the contests. Both contests are conducted without regard to race, religion, national origin or sex.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote patriotism, preserve American history, and support better education for our nation's children. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War.

With more than 165,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world's largest and most active service organizations. To learn more about the work of today's DAR, visit www.DAR.org.

American Revolution Association receives $10,000 grant

From New Jersey.com: American Revolution Association receives $10,000 grant

Crossroads of the American Revolution Association, an historical nonprofit organization, has received a $10,000 grant to support national heritage areas tied to the Revolutionary War.

The grant comes from the J. Seward Johnson Sr. 1963 Charitable Trust, which provides funds to New Jersey nonprofit groups with an emphasis on civic, cultural and educational programs in Princeton and New Brunswick.

“We are grateful to the J. Seward Johnson Sr. Trust for their ongoing and generous support,” said Cate Litvack, executive director of the association. “This grant will be leveraged dollar-for-dollar through the National Park Service’s federal matching funds for National Heritage Areas.”

Crossroads helps preserve historic properties and supports historical education and tourism.

New Jersey’s heritage area includes 213 cities and towns and sites such as Princeton Battlefield State Park and the Old Barracks in Trenton.

For more information, visit revolutionarynj.org or call (609) 633-2060.