Marine Corps Reunites at HBS

Expertly wielding a 35-inch sword, a Marine officer sliced up a giant chocolate cake to the strains of Auld Lang Syne to kick off a celebration of the 230th anniversary of the Marine Corps at Harvard Business School (HBS) Thursday.

In a reunion laced with military tradition, 200 current and former Marines and officers gathered to hear about the history of the Corps, which was founded in 1775 at a Philadelphia tavern, and to discuss more contemporary challenges facing Marines in Iraq.

Entering the event, festive Marines in uniform shouted “Happy Birthday” to one another and greeted three Harvard undergraduates in attendance who are planning to join the Marine Corps.

“It’s exciting to see so many people in uniform with the red-blood stripe down their leg,” said Joseph M. Kristol ’09, a Midshipman 4th class in the Naval ROTC. “It’s good to be around real Marines.”

In a bow to their Business School surroundings, the traditional re-telling of the Corps’ history was presented in a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation.

Marines have celebrated the birthday since 1921, when Lt. Gen. John A. Lejeune, a Marine commander during World War I, wrote a summary of the history of the Corps and required that it be read to every Marine on November 10 each subsequent year to commemorate the birthday of the Corps.

The guest of honor and keynote speaker at Thursday’s celebration, Lt. Col. David “Bull” Gurfein, the president of the class of 2000 at Harvard Business School, received the first slice of cake. Gurfein, an investment banker at Goldman Sachs who re-joined the Corps after Sept. 11 and fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, stressed the importance of winning “hearts and minds” to ease the insurgency in Iraq.

Gurfein also played a minor role as a Marine officer at Guantanamo Bay in the 1992 movie “A Few Good Men.”

The second slice was given to the oldest Marine in attendance, John Brock, who was born in 1943. A corporal born in 1984 received the third slice as the youngest Marine in attendance.

A Marine with a traditional officer’s sword, modeled on the Mameluke Sword awarded to a Marine officer by a Turkish viceroy for heroism during the Battle of Tripoli in 1805, sliced the cake.

The event, which also drew current and future Marines from other nearby universities and service members from other branches of the military, commenced with a bagpipe performance outside the Spangler Center.

“I just love the traditions, love the history, love the camaraderie,” said Will A. Aurigemma, a senior at Boston University and NROTC cadet.

That history began when the Second Continental Congress appointed Samuel Nicholas to organize the first two battalions of the Marines Corps on Nov. 10, 1775. According to the PowerPoint presentation, Nicholas recruited his first service members in Philadelphia’s Tun Tavern by offering them beer.

The presentation ended with a more serious discussion of the situation in Iraq. Referring to an operation in Ramadi, the capital of war-torn Anbar province, Gurfein emphasized the dedication of Marines currently serving overseas.

“They believe in their mission,” he said. “They’re doing the best they can to spread democracy around the world.”

The evening’s activities concluded with a round of toasts and a recitation of the Marines’ Hymn. The Armed Forces Alumni Association of HBS sponsored the event.