Marine Corps Mess Night
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Marine Corps Mess Night refers to a time honored tradition in the United States Marine Corps of dining in with formal mess dress. Except for the annual celebration of the Marine Corps Birthday, no social function associated with the smaller of America’s naval services is more enjoyed, admired and imitated than the mess night.[1]
[edit] Script for Mess Night by Col. Bartlett
Scenario: a mess night arranged by Headquarters, 6th Marines and held at the Officers’ Club, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Company guidons line the wall of the dining hall, while the colors of the regiment and its three battalions are arranged behind the head table along with the flags of the United States and the United Kingdom (a Royal Marine officer, serving an exchange tour with the regiment, is present). The anteroom is decorated with enlarged photographs of the colorful history of the regiment, and with captured weaponry brought home from Operations Desert Storm.
1800: the officers of the regiment are all in the anteroom, and those desiring refreshments have them in hand.
1805: the commanding officer of the regiment arrives.
1810: the guests of the mess arrive; sponsors greet them and see to their liquid refreshments.
1815: the guest of honor arrives, to be greeted by both the President of the Mess (commanding officer) and the Vice President of the Mess (adjutant, who wears a Sam Browne belt and sword as a symbol of his office for the evening). The Vice President of the Mess sees to the liquid refreshments for both the guest of honor and the President of the Mess.
1900: a steward sounds “six bells.” Those officers and guests desiring to avail themselves of the bathroom facilities do so before the beginning of the dinner.
1910: a bugler sounds “adjutants’ call” and the band plays “Sea Soldiers.” The members of the mess and guests, less those seated at the head table, proceed into the dining room, find their seats and stand behind their chairs. The band strikes up “Stars and Stripes Forever.” and those seated at the head table proceed into the dining room and position themselves behind their assigned chair.
The Vice President of the Mess is seated at the extreme right and farthest from the head table. The remaining officers are seated according to ascending seniority toward the head table. At the head table, the President of the Mess sits in the center with the guest of honor on his or her right. The next senior officer sits to the left of the President of the Mess, and then by seniority the remaining officers alternate from the right of the guest of honor to the left of the President of the Mess. No matter his or her rank, the chaplain is always seated at the head table.
Vice President of the Mess: “Sir, all officers present.”
President of the Mess: “Seats.”
President of the Mess: “Grace.”
Chaplain: offers a brief, non-sectarian grace.
Stewards: pour the water.
Stewards: serve a small plate with a spring roll on it (cha gio). This Vietnamese hors d’oeuvre is to remind everyone that after the Marines landed in 1965, their primary mission was to root out the Viet Cong infrastructure in the rural areas.
Stewards: remove the small plate.
Stewards: serve bowl of Hanoi beef soup (Pho Bo Ha Noi). This favorite of Vietnamese from the north is to remind everyone that when the 3rd Marine Division redeployed from Southern I Corps to Quang Tri Province astride the Demilitarized Zone, it faced the trained regulars of the North Vietnamese Army or NVA.
Stewards: remove the soup bowl and spoon.
Stewards: serve a small plate with shrimp tempura on it and pour a chilled white wine. This course is to remind diners of the War in the Pacific.
Stewards: remove the small plate and wine glass.
President of the Mess: “Parade the main course.”
To the accompaniment of a fife and drum, a steward brings a plate with a token piece of the main course to the President of the Mess who pronounces “I proclaim this meal fit for human consumption” or “I commend this meal to the enjoyment of the mess.” The steward retreats from the dining room to an additional musical accompaniment.
Stewards: remove the main course and white wine glass.
Stewards: serve a salad of fresh fruit. This course reminds diners of Marine Corps deployments to the Caribbean between the Spanish-American War and World War Two.
Stewards: remove the salad plate.
Stewards: serve a dessert of French pastry and Camembert. Reminds diners of the Marine Corps’ service in France during World War I. Coffee is poured.
Stewards: remove the dessert plate.
Stewards: place the Port decanters on the table, and everyone charges their glass. The President of the Mess pours for the guest of honor, and then passes the decanter to the left. When it reaches the end of the head table, a steward retrieves it and places it at the extreme right of the head table where it continues to be passed to the left until everyone has a charged glass. At the other tables, decanters of Port are passed counterclockwise.
President of the Mess: “Mister Vice, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
Vice President of the Mess: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
Officers and guests stand
Band: plays “God Save the Queen.”
Officers: “Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.” Everyone takes a sip of Port.
Royal Marine Officer: “Mister President, the President of the United States.”
President of the Mess: “Mister Vice, the President of the United States.”
Vice President of the Mess: “Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States.”
Officers and guests stand
Band: plays “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Officers: “The President of the United States.” Everyone takes a sip of Port. Officers and guests may continue to enjoy their Port, and the decanters are passed around the tables.
At this juncture, toasts must be rendered to each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, if a member of that branch is present; each toast is followed by the appropriate song of that branch.
Stewards remove the Port decanters and glasses, and replace them with decanters of Fortitudine punch and punch glasses. The procedure is the same as for the serving of the Port, described above.
Lieutenant Jones: “Sir, permission to address the mess.”
President of the Mess: “Granted.”
Lieutenant Jones: “In 1917, the 6th Marines deployed to France and became one of the four infantry regiments in the Second Division, American Expeditionary Forces. In the next year and a half, it participated in four campaigns: Chateau-Thierry, Soissons, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne. Members of the regiment earned three Medals of Honor; one out of every two Marines suffered wounds.
President of the Mess: “Mister Vice, the regiment.”
Vice President of the Mess: “Ladies and Gentlemen, the 6th Marines.”
Officers and guests stand
Band: plays six bars of “Mademoiselle from Armentieres.”
Members of the mess: “The 6th Marines” followed by a sip of punch.
Captain Smith: “Request permission to address the mess.”
President of the Mess: “Granted.”
Captain Smith: “In 1942, the 2d Division deployed from Camp Elliott to New Zealand. During the next three years, it participated in amphibious operations in the Solomons, Gilberts, Marshalls, and Okinawa.”
President of the Mess: “Mister Vice, the 2d Division.”
Officers and guests stand
Vice President of the Mess: “Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2d Division.”
Band: plays six bars from “Victory at Sea.”
Members of the mess: “The 2d Division,” followed by a sip of punch. Officers and guests may finish their cup of punch, if desired.
Stewards: remove carafes and punch glasses.
Mister Vice: approaches the head table with a steward pushing a serving cart; on it is a punch bowl and sufficient glasses. He serves the guest of honor first, then the others seated at the head table, and finally the President of the Mess. The punch served this time is “1775 Rum Punch.”
Stewards: serve punch glasses and carafes of punch. Officers pass the carafes around the table counterclockwise.
President of the Mess: “Mister Vice, the United States Marines.”
Vice President of the Mess: “Gentlemen, long live the United States and success to the Marines.”
Officers and guests stand
Band: plays “The Marine Corps Hymn;” at the completion of the music, officers and guests respond with “the Marines” and drink the punch all at once.
President of the Mess: “Ladies and Gentlemen, the mess will adjourn for ten minutes.”
Bugler: Sounds “officer’s call,” and everyone returns to the dining room.
Stewards: serve brandy and coffee.
The mess committee elected to forego the ritual cigar because the facility is a “no smoking” building, as are most government buildings.
President of the Mess: introduces the guest of honor.
Guest of Honor: remarks.
President of the Mess: “Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me at the bar.”
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text in the public domain from the United States Marine Corps.
- Bartlett, Col. M. Hdqtrs USMC A Marine Corps Mess Night
