From left, Gunnery Sgt. Roy Matthews and Maj. William Seelmann cut the Marine Cake as many gathered at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics on Thursday November 10, 2011, to celebrate the 236th birthday commemoration of the U.S. Marines.

Richard Gwin/Journal World Photo Marines gathered at the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics on Thursday, November 10, 2011, to celebrate the 236th birthday commemoration of the Marine Corps.

Marines of the past, present and future congregated at the Dole Institute of Politics on Thursday to mark the 236th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps with cake, a video message from their commandant and a message from a fellow Marine.

A video message from the commandant of the Marine Corps highlighted the response of the Marines to the national crises at Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“It’s not a job, it’s not a career,” guest of honor Col. Mike McCoy, commander of the Marine Corps detachment at Fort Leavenworth, said of the Marine Corps. “It really is a passion.”

McCoy commands a group of Marines about the size of a platoon on an Army post that is about a couple of divisions strong. For 236 years, he said, the Marine Corps has stood ready when the nation is least ready to respond to a crisis. And they’ll continue to do that, he said.

In a cake-cutting ceremony — cut with a sword in the traditional fashion — cake was served first to the guest of honor, the Marine who enlisted the longest time ago (four men tied for the honor, all of whom entered the service in 1942) and then the Marine who enlisted the most recently.

“This occurs everywhere,” said Erv Hodges, a former Lawrence mayor and retired lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps who helped organize the event.

It’s primarily a recognition of those who have gone before, and their sacrifices, he said, with a nod to the new generation of Marines. It’s also about the camaraderie among Marines and reinvigorating old relationships, he said.

“After all, the most important guy around is the guy beside you in some cases,” he said.

Jim Weaver, a Lawrence resident who served as a corporal in the Marines in Vietnam from 1966 to 1969, said that even though he served for a relatively short period of his life, the Corps had a tremendous impact on his life. He wore a shirt emblazoned with the familiar refrain, “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”

“There’s a huge spectrum of people that show up for this,” he said. “You’ve got everything from the high-and-tights to the long-haired hippies. But we’ve all served, and it allows us to share something in common.”