TULSA, Okla. — Marines from across Oklahoma celebrated their history at the 249th annual Marine Corp Birthday Ball in downtown Tulsa.
“Well, it’s always exciting because there’s always memorable things happening at the Marine Corp Ball,” said Marine Corps League member Keith Wiseman. “Between the pageantry with the colors coming out, the dress blues, active duty marines with their swords, doing all the ceremony stuff that we love, it’s just a way of us basically showing off a little being able to show everybody what the Marine Corp is made of, what we can do when we dress up a little bit besides being the fighting force that the Marine Corp is known for.”
Besides the pageantry, another important part of the Marine Corp Ball is the ability for marines and other military members to show off their patriotism.
“A lot of patriotism being shown. It’s part of what the ball is all about is really showing our patriotism, getting together, not only to have a good time, but also to be able to let everybody know that what we stand for and being the premier fighting force for the US, it’s our job to get out there and make sure we communicate that to everybody and make sure that everybody that comes here…expresses how they feel about our military and our service and our country,” said Wiseman.