HR 355 — A Resolution designating November 10, 2025, as the "250th birthday of the United States Marine Corps" in its birthplace of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

PRINTER'S NO.   2512

                  THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 355
                                                Session of
                                                  2025

     INTRODUCED BY HADDOCK, DELLOSO, E. NELSON, C. WILLIAMS, PICKETT,
        McNEILL, WEBSTER, REICHARD, PROBST, DONAHUE, GREINER, VENKAT,
        DOUGHERTY, SAMUELSON, CONKLIN, HILL-EVANS, SOLOMON,
        SCHLOSSBERG, K.HARRIS, FREEMAN, PUGH, BENNINGHOFF, SCHEUREN,
        PIELLI, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, ANDERSON, BRENNAN, PASHINSKI, STAATS,
        SANCHEZ, MERSKI, MENTZER, GUENST, RIVERA, STEELE AND NEILSON,
        OCTOBER 23, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY
        PREPAREDNESS, OCTOBER 23, 2025


                                A RESOLUTION
 1   Designating November 10, 2025, as the "250th birthday of the
 2      United States Marine Corps" in its birthplace of
 3      Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
 4      WHEREAS, The Second Continental Congress established the
 5   Continental Marines on November 10, 1775, to reinforce Naval
 6   forces during the Revolutionary War; and
 7      WHEREAS, Captain Samuel Nicholas established the original
 8   recruiting headquarters in the Tun Tavern on Water Street in
 9   Philadelphia, the city which is now considered the birthplace of
10   the Marines; and
11      WHEREAS, Captain Samuel Nicholas was later promoted to the
12   rank of major after leading five companies of Marines during the
13   branch's first amphibious landing on foreign soil at Britain's
14   Fort Nassau in 1776; and
15      WHEREAS, The 1783 Treaty of Paris marked the end of the
 1   Revolutionary War, and, as the Navy's ships were sold off, the
 2   Continental Navy and Marines ceased to exist; and
 3      WHEREAS, The Fifth Congress formally established the Marines
 4   as the Marine Corps on July 11, 1798, and President Woodrow
 5   Wilson signed an act establishing the Marine Corps Reserve on
 6   August 29, 1916; and
 7      WHEREAS, The Marine Corps adopted a uniform in 1798 that
 8   included a stiff leather collar, or "stock," and Marines gained
 9   the nickname "Leathernecks"; and
10      WHEREAS, In the 1805 Battle of Derna in Tripoli, Libya,
11   Marine forces rescued the crew of the USS Philadelphia; and
12      WHEREAS, In their first large-scale engagement, Marines
13   fought in the 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood that largely prevented
14   the German army from capturing Paris in World War I; and
15      WHEREAS, Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in
16   World War II, Marines engaged in their first major amphibious
17   landing at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands in 1942, capturing a
18   critical airfield site and preventing Japanese efforts to
19   disrupt American supply routes to Australia and New Zealand; and
20      WHEREAS, In order to secure strategic placement air bases
21   suitable for B-29 "Superfortresses," United States Marines
22   invaded Iwo Jima in 1945 to obtain control of the island from
23   Japan, leading to a 36-day battle between 70,000 Marines and
24   18,000 Japanese soldiers and one of the most famous photos of
25   all time as five Marines and one Navy corpsman raised the
26   American flag atop Mt. Suribachi; and
27      WHEREAS, In the fight for South Korea's freedom, 30,000
28   troops from the United Kingdom, Republic of Korea and the United
29   States, including the 1st Marine Division, defeated 120,000
30   Chinese soldiers in the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir; and

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 1      WHEREAS, During the Tet Offensive, United States Marine Task
 2   Force X-Ray reclaimed the American Military Assistance Command
 3   Vietnam compound and other buildings in Hue as part of the
 4   monthlong bloodiest battle of the Vietnam War; and
 5      WHEREAS, After Iraqi forces invaded and refused to withdraw
 6   from Kuwait, the United States and allied partners, including
 7   45,000 Marines, deployed in the Persian Gulf, built up arms and
 8   forces in Saudi Arabia, known as Operation Desert Shield, and
 9   later carried out six weeks of air attacks before a 100-hour
10   ground campaign, known as Operation Desert Storm, which
11   liberated Kuwait; and
12      WHEREAS, Troops from the United States and the United Kingdom
13   attacked Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in response to the
14   September 11 terrorist attacks and as part of Operation Enduring
15   Freedom in October 2001, and 4,000 Marines were deployed to
16   southern Afghanistan as part of a major offensive in the
17   conflict in 2009; and
18      WHEREAS, Marines are known as the "tip of the spear," as
19   their combat-ready units are often the first boots on the ground
20   in evolving conflict situations; and
21      WHEREAS, Around 175,000 active-duty Marines and 33,000 always
22   faithful Marine Corps Reserve members serve our nation with
23   honor, courage and commitment; and
24      WHEREAS, There were more than 2 million Marine Corps veterans
25   living in the United States in 2023; and
26      WHEREAS, Among all 50 states, Pennsylvania has one of the
27   largest veteran populations, as nearly 700,000 veterans call
28   Pennsylvania home; therefore be it
29      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate
30   November 10, 2025, as the "250th birthday of the United States

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1   Marine Corps" in its birthplace of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.




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