USMC 235th Anniversary: Marine Corps Birthday 2010?

Today November 10, 2010, marks the 235th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Happy Birthday USMC! Many significant events are here and now on Nov 10.
There’s really nothing quite like a Marine. “The Few, the Proud,” indeed. It takes a certain kind of person to become a Marine, because theirs is a mission that takes them most in harm’s way.

Around the world, Marines celebrate the day with a cake tradition: The guest of honor gets the first piece of the birthday cake decorated with the U.S. Marine logo, the oldest Marine gets the second and then the youngest Marine gets the third.
I like to read facts like these. What are other interesting facts about the Marine Corps?

To start, Marines historically have taken disproportionate casualties, a trend that has continued during the global war on terror. The Marine Corps makes up less than 11% of the U.S. military, but more than 23% of the Americans killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan are Marines.

The US Marines were formed by Samuel Nicholas on November 10, 1775 to serve as a navy-deployed infantry force. Since then, the Marines have owned the theory and practice of amphibious warfare, and have fought in every military conflict in which the US has engaged.

The Marines' history division reveals that the Nov. 10 date was formally commemorated in 1921 -- 151 years after the Second Continental Congress raised two battalions of Continental Marines in 1775. That makes the Marine Corps nearly eight months older than America itself.

The United States Department of Defense reported that the holiday was first celebrated in July, until the current date of the holiday was established in 1921 to coincide with the day that the United States Marine Corps was first formed.

Originally called the Continental Marines when it was established by the Continental Congress, Marine Corps members have fought in every war the United States has engaged in. Holiday Insights reported that the Marine Corps was formed during the Revolutionary War.