The few and the brave stuck out city’s first full day of snow to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps Monday morning.
“Snow is just another layer of camouflage,” joked Kevin Barszcz, a U.S. Navy veteran and director of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Office of Veterans Affairs, to some laughs from the group of about a dozen gathered.
It was the kickoff to a day of celebrations by current and former Marines celebrating the birthday of their military branch.
James Quinn — a former sergeant who served in Okinawa, Japan, as well as North Carolina as an aircraft firefighter — said he was most looking forward to the night’s festivities, which included a ceremonial cutting of a cake with an NCO saber by either the oldest or youngest Marine in the given group.
That means the honor is generally handed to a World War II veteran or someone in their 40s.
“It’s neat to see the old timers and listen to them tell their stories,” Quinn said. “And I’m a little jealous seeing the young guys because they have their whole lives ahead of them.”
Patty Sullivan sings the national anthem at an event while former 11th Ward Ald. James Balcer and current Ald. Gil Villegas (36th), both Marine Corps veterans, hold their hands over their hearts at an event honoring the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.
Violet Miller/Sun-Times
Antonio Muñoz, commander of Bridgeport VFW Post 5079, said the group had been “putting a little more into” its food drives and other charitable work for other veterans while they wait on the potential return of SNAP benefits and face cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs. He said it was good to have a positive reason to gather and celebrate.
“To be around fellow Marines is the best feeling to have. The camaraderie…we have, it’s like being in the barracks again,” Muñoz said.
Quinn is a member of the Canaryville Veterans Motorcycles Association, which has also been putting on coat drives to try to give back to struggling veterans. He said, in part, it’s his way of giving back to the Marines who showed him the ropes and helped him when he was new in the service.
“I remember that feeling of family away from home,” Quinn said. “There’s just a feeling of community after service. So I feel an obligation to give back whenever I have the opportunity.”
But as the group goes to celebrate this year, there’s a troubling backdrop. A threat of National Guard troops being deployed to Chicago continues to loom, and Quinn said it “didn’t make sense” to him.
If he were to be called to serve again: “It wouldn’t be to come back home and patrol my own streets.”
Quinn urged those actively serving, and potentially those taking orders they don’t agree with, to “keep your heads up and do the right thing.”
“And here’s to 250 more years,” he said.
