Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

On the evening of Nov. 10, 2024, the Gaffney-Oglesby Marine Corps League Detachment 1328 held a ceremony at the Western New Mexico University Intramural Gym to celebrate the 249th birthday of the Corps.

Lorraine Anglin led the signing of The National Anthem after the colors had been brought in.

Master of Ceremonies Master Gunnery Sgt. Dean Bearup noted that the U.S. Army, the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy are older than the establishment of the United States of America, which became officially a country in 1776.

The Marine Corps began in Tun Tavern on Nov. 10, 1775.

In 2009, Grant County Marines came together and formed the local League, Detachment 1328 with 29 people.

Bearup said the detachment considers it an honor to serve as the Color Guard and to offer last respects to veterans of any U.S. Armed Service as they are laid to rest at Fort Bayard National Cemetery or other cemeteries in the region, including Lordsburg and Deming. "Last year, we honored 95 of them. As of today, this year we have honored 75, with three more next week."

Bearup said they participate in community with the Allingham-Golding American Legion Post 18 to honor deceased veterans.

"We invite any veteran to join us in the Marine Corps League or the American Legion or both," he continued.

He noted that the guests in the room at the celebration that evening totaled 336.5 years of military service. "When we raised our right hand, it was the right time for each of us. Our lives are led by unknown sources."

On a change of subject, Bearup noted that the annual Marine Corps-hosted Toys for Tots in Grant County had begun. He asked people to donate toys and/or money for the bulk purchase of toys for those children in the community, who would not have a Christmas present, if not for the Toys for Tots. The organization began in 1947, when a Marine veteran noticed that some families did not have the wherewithal to provide toys for their children for Christmas. "This community always goes above and beyond in providing gifts for disadvantaged children of our community. Robert and Danna Lopez head up the committee each year to gather the toys and distribute them. You can find the white boxes with the red train logo in various businesses and churches around the community. Last year, the group handed out more than 4,000 toys for 2,100 kids. Six hundred families benefited from the organization. These gifts were the only ones the children would receive for Christmas."

Bearup also announced that the university each year, provides the location and the food for the birthday banquet. WNMU President Joseph Shepard picks up the tab for the food out of his personal account. That evening Q's Bistro provided the liquor at the bar. Bearup said the money that participants pay for the event goes back to the Marine Corps League for its projects, one of which recently was a check for $2,500 sent to a Marine Corps League in North Carolina to help with recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene.

The company that provides the food service to WNMU students, Aramark, made the meal for the attendees at the birthday celebration. Bearup recognized them.

After the dinner, the ceremony began. Bearup asked veterans from each branch of the U.S. Armed Services to stand. The veterans included Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. "If it wasn't for the support of all our service families, we couldn't do what we do."

Danna Lopez read the meanings of the various items at the POW-MIA table, while her husband Robert Lopez pointed out each one.

Bearup recognized and honored Gold Star Mother Mary Cowan by presenting her a rose.

Marine veteran Janice Short read Lt. Gen. John A. Lejeune's Commandant's message from just after World War I. He requested it be read each year on Nov. 10.

Ron "Doc" Oglesby, a medic for the Marines, read the current Commandant's Eric M. Smith's message for 2024 for the Corps' 249th birthday.

The cake for the traditional cake cutting ceremony was created and provided by Beverly Bean. Robert Lopez cut the cake with a ceremonial sword. The first piece went to the guest of honor, Capt. John Trott. The second piece went to the oldest Marine present, which was Robert Schloss, born Aug. 3, 1938. Schloss took one bite and presented the rest of the piece to the youngest Marine present, Andrew Tate. The ceremony exemplifies passing on the knowledge of the older Marine to the younger one.

The guest of honor Capt. Trott served as the keynote speaker. He served five years in the combat environment with three times being sent to Vietnam between the years of 1964-1974.

"It's a pleasure to be here," Trott said. "It's the first time my wife and I have been here. It's beautiful, and we'll be back."

He talked about the history of the Marine Corps, with its founding in 1775 at Tun Tavern in Boston, MA, before the beginning of the American Revolution. The First Continental Congress took place in 1774. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress members made the resolution raise up two battalions of Marines as a landing force to ensure that colonists had the same rights as those in England.

After the Treaty of Paris, the Navy and Marine Corps went out of existence for five years. They were brought back to deal with Barbary Pirates. In 1834, the Department of the Navy was formed. In 1911, two months of training was made mandatory. Mare Island was on the West Coast and Parris Island was set up for training on the East Coast. San Diego later became a training base in 1923.

During World War I, the Marines served in battles, such a Belleau Woods and the Argonne Forest, where they became known by the nickname "Devil Dogs."

Between World War I and World War II, Marines served all over the world.

Japan said it would take 1 million men 100 years to conquer the island of Tarawa. Marines took it in four days.

Trott said his three tours of Vietnam were the most physically and mentally challenging times of his life.

"Why do we do this?" he rhetorically asked. "I guess we each had our own reasons."

He said there are three types of people in the world. There are the sheep, who have wolves among them that behave like terrorists and prey on them. Then you have the sheep dogs that protect the sheep. The sheep dogs are the first responders, the police, the firefighters, the EMTs. Marines take all of the sheep dogs, put them together, train them to be aggressive and send them out to take care of the wolves.

The Marines leave their families at home. When the battle ends, they return to their homes to be a sheep again. But they must find an activity and a purpose in life, but "some have trouble. It's hard for them to find the same camaraderie in civil life."

"When the Marine Corps sent me home from my deployment, my family didn't know I was coming. It was late at night, and my brother opened the window to let me in. The next morning, my brother was still asleep. I woke up and went walking out to the kitchen, where my dad was drinking a cup of coffee and my mother had just finished emptying the dishwasher. It took at least half an hour to clean up the mess."

He said he had to trust that his NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and young officers were well trained. "And they were. They stayed on the radar and led the squads."

Trott then said: "I'm probably going to embarrass someone. We all have people we respect and have admiration for. I have two groups—helicopter pilots and Navy corpsmen. Ron Oglesby was a corpsman in my company. We called him Doc Bo. Doc Bo would go through hell and high water to rescue a wounded Marine. He will tell you it was just going his job, but he did things no one else would do.If a man in my company was wounded and a Marine and a corpsman got to him, we had 100 percent survival. There's a special place in heaven for Navy Corpsmen and helicopter pilots."

"Being a Marine is a state of mind, kind of like a calling," he concluded. "God Bless all Marines."

Oglesby came to the podium,"Captain forgot to tell you, that if it had not been for his leadership, a bunch of his men wouldn't have made it back. We brought up the rear, and he got us in and out safely. I had the greatest respect for him. I still have so much respect for him, I still have to call him Captain."

Bearup returned as emcee. "We had a Marine transfer into our detachment in 2018. We do a lot of things the public knows about and a lot they don't know about. This Marine was a mover and shaker. He expected us to do things we wouldn't otherwise have done. We have a new award in honor of Gunnery Sgt. Garry Gibson, whom we lost last year. We call it the 3G award. It has demanding requirements. It goes to a role model with passion and strong standing in the community. This year, the award will go to Lt. Cmdr. Joe Drake."

Drake received a handmade knife with his name and honor etched into the blade.

Bearup then concluded the ceremony with five toasts to the veterans of each branch of the Armed Services. He added one more for Space Force.

He reminded everyone of the Veterans' Day celebration the next morning at 11 at the American Legion on 11/11 (Nov. 11).

Participants were invited to remain and dance the night away.

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