Two Days of Service, One Story of the Nation

November 10, 2025.Reading time 9 minutes.

A collaboration between Lewis McLain & AI

Each autumn, as cool air settles and flags flutter in shorter daylight, our nation observes two consecutive days that together form a quiet bridge of gratitude and memory. On November 10, we mark the birthday of the United States Marine Corps; on November 11, we observe Veterans Day. One day celebrates the birth of a fighting tradition; the next honors all who have borne the uniform. Side by side, they invite us not just to remember—but to reflect on the meaning of service, sacrifice, and citizenship.

The Birth of the Marines: November 10, 1775

On November 10, 1775, the then-Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and resolved that “two Battalions of Marines be raised” to serve aboard the fleet, “for service of the United Colonies.” United States Marine Corps University+2HISTORY+2

At the time, America was still a collection of colonies, the outcome of war was uncertain, and the idea of a dedicated corps of Marines—trained both for land and sea operations—was an experiment in military adaptation. The first recruits were mustered at places like Tun Tavern, symbolizing the marriage of common citizen-warriors and emerging national identity.

From those beginnings grew a tradition of adaptability: shipboard security, amphibious landings, expeditionary missions; Marines have served on every continent, in every major American war. Wikipedia+2United States Marine Corps University+2

In 2025, the Corps marks its 250th anniversary, a milestone that invites both acknowledgment of legacy and reckoning with what the future of service demands. U.S. Marine Corps+1

In Marine units world-wide, the birthday is observed with precise ritual: the oldest Marine present takes the first slice of cake, hands it to the youngest Marine present; the Commandant’s birthday message is read; toasts are made to absent comrades. Military.com+1
These rituals are more than formalities—they are acts of continuity.

Real Story:
Consider the Marine on Guadalcanal in November 1942. On the Corps’ birthday, 10 November, far from home, under stress of jungle, shortages, and enemy fire, the men did what traditions require: they paused, shared what little they had, remembered those absent, and reaffirmed their bond. It’s one of many unheralded moments that give the birthday its meaning. Facebook

Veterans Day: November 11 – The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month

If November 10 celebrates a founding, November 11 commemorates a broader covenant. At 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918, the guns of the First World War fell silent. The armistice ended a conflict whose scale and terror reshaped modern warfare. National Archives

Originally known as Armistice Day, the observance focused on “the war to end all wars.” But by 1954, as America’s armed forces and global commitments expanded, Congress and President Eisenhower transformed the holiday into Veterans Day: a recognition of all veterans—those who served in wartime and in peace, across all branches of the military.

Veterans Day differs subtly from Memorial Day (which honors the fallen). Veterans Day honors those who served and returned—but it also carries the weight of remembrance for those who did not. It invites us to see veterans not as abstractions, but as neighbors, colleagues, family.

Real Story:
In a Veterans Day memoir, a veteran wrote:

“I’ve always held the proposition that Veterans Day was my day of rest… my day to sleep in, visit the fallen heroes I personally know… Mostly, I’ve always felt inadequate to what Veterans Day represents.” The American Legion

His humility underscores a deeper truth: many who served struggle to match their internal sense of worth with the gravity of the holiday. Their service, after all, cannot be neatly packaged into celebration.

Another story: an Iraq-War veteran, after returning home, walked over 7,000 miles across America in his “Drum Hike,” carrying a drum and a message: We remember you. His journey became a living tribute to fellow veterans, their families, and the burdens they bear. Wikipedia

Two Days, One Narrative of Service

These two days—November 10 and November 11—are not independent—they form a continuum. On November 10 we honor the formation of a fighting tradition; on November 11 we honor the men and women who embodied the wider tradition of service. The one day sets the stage; the next acknowledges the cast of thousands who stepped into that tradition.

Imagine: A Marine unit celebrates its birthday in barracks or aboard ship. The next morning, veterans of that unit march in a local parade, families stand by sidewalks, a high school band plays “Taps.” The sense of lineage is palpable: from first strike in 1775 to the present deployments; from formation to reflection.

The Living Legacy

To observe these days well requires more than flags and speeches—it requires curiosity, humility, relationship. We must ask: Who served? What did they leave behind? What are we to do with their legacy?

From that Marine cutting cake on November 10 to the veteran pulling on a cap on November 11, the heritage of service lives in individuals: the recruit sweating through boot camp; the service-member overseas missing home; the veteran adjusting to civilian life; the spouse waiting, the child growing up under a parent’s absent uniform.

Here are a few threads worth following:

Adaptation: The Marine Corps began as a duo of battalions serving with the Continental Navy. Over 250 years it transformed, but its core remained: ability to land on shore, fight both at sea and on land. United States Marine Corps University
Sacrifice: Veterans’ stories are filled not just with action, but with waiting, transition, reintegration, hidden burdens.
Citizenship: Service isn’t only military. Veterans’ experiences remind us that freedom, order, and democracy require custodian-citizenship: men and women willing to act, then return, then live responsibly.

From Tun Tavern to Arlington

Picture the Philadelphia tavern, 1775: a few men signing enlistment papers, uncertain of the cause, committed, nonetheless. Picture the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery: a sentinel place of national vow. Between those moments lie 250 years of war, peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, training, deployment, and return.

Each observance—birthday or holiday—is a chapter in the same book. The cake-cutting ceremony? A ritual of continuity. The Veterans Day parade? A street-level pulse of civic gratitude.

Closing Reflection

On November 10 they raised the flag of a corps.
On November 11 we stand beneath that flag and say: we remember you.
Two days. One story.
Freedom purchased. Gratitude received. Responsibility renewed.

This year, as the Marine Corps marks its 250th anniversary, and as Veterans Day once again calls on us to pause, we are invited to ask: What will we do with their legacy? How will we live as those who’ve been defended did so—with courage, honor, commitment?