Celebrate The Marines Milestone 250th Birthday Monday At TC's Too In Oak Lawn

OAK LAWN, IL — Hundreds of Marines are expected to pass through TC’s Too, 9906 Southwest Highway, Oak Lawn, Monday, Nov. 10, to toast the U.S. Marine Corps on its milestone 250th birthday.

The few and the proud, along with their friends and family, are invited to stop by anytime Monday for a beer or a drink when the bar opens at 2 p.m. The Emerald Society Bagpipes and Drums will be making the rounds and are expected to show up between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. when the program starts.

The birthday bash runs all evening. There will be a prize for the oldest and youngest Marine in attendance, topped off by a toast and the cutting of the birthday cake with a saber. Keeping the program moving along will be attorney John Russell, doing master of ceremonies duty.

From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli, the Marines have long maintained a reputation as an elite amphibious fighting force. Founded as the Continental Marines on Nov. 10, 1775, the USMC is the second-oldest branch of the U.S. military. Preceded by the Army by only a month.

The Marines traditionally mark its birthday in November, celebrating its 1775 origin with the Second Continental Congress.

The tradition of the Marine Corps birthday party was started over 30 years ago by Joseph Olson, the original owner of TC’s. The original bar at 97th Street and Cicero before relocating at TC’s Too, at Southwest Highway and 99th Street in Oak Lawn.

“My dad started the tradition,” Bob Olson said. “He was in the service, but not the Marines. He had a lot of friends who were Marines, so that’s how it got started.”