Marine Corps Birthday 2026: Tuesday, Nov. 10 Is the 251st Anniversary

The Marine Corps celebrates its 251st birthday on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, according to a Nov. 6 news release from the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA). DeCA writes that the Corps marks “its 251st birthday Nov. 10.” Nov. 10 is not on the federal holiday list of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and Veterans Day follows one day later, on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Countdown to the Marine Corps birthday

The clock needs JavaScript. The first option counts to midnight on your own device, an assumption about when the day begins. The Eastern Time options count from a fixed instant: on Nov. 10, 2026, clocks are on standard time, so Eastern Time is five hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Date and 251st anniversary

Item	Detail	Source
Birthday	Nov. 10, 2026, a Tuesday	DeCA, Nov. 6, 2026
Anniversary	251st	DeCA, Nov. 6, 2026
Founding	Established by the Continental Congress in 1775	DeCA, Nov. 6, 2026
Federal holiday on Nov. 10	Not on the 2026 list	OPM, Federal Holidays
Veterans Day	Wednesday, Nov. 11	OPM, Federal Holidays

The DeCA page does not print the year. The year 2026 follows from the arithmetic: 1775 plus 251. The weekday is computed from the calendar. For the date itself, see when Veterans Day falls and the November 2026 printable calendar.

Why Nov. 10 is the Marine Corps birthday

DeCA’s release says the Corps was “Established by the Continental Congress in 1775.” The release gives Nov. 10 as the day the Corps marks its birthday. It does not explain why that day was chosen, and this story does not add a reason the source lacks.

How Nov. 10 differs from Veterans Day on Nov. 11

The two days are separate. OPM’s federal holiday list shows “Wednesday, November 11” as Veterans Day in 2026, and its 2026 section does not list Nov. 10. So the Marine Corps birthday is not a federal holiday, and the federal holiday comes on Nov. 11. Our Veterans Day 2026 guide covers what closes on Nov. 11, and the Veterans Day printables include an activity sheet and quiz. For events, see Veterans Day parades 2026 by city.

What is not confirmed for Nov. 10

• Ceremony or message time. The Commandant’s birthday page and marines.mil blocked access when this story was written, so no message text, speaker or release time is listed.
• Closures. DeCA’s release gives no commissary hours, closures or sales for Nov. 10. Check your local commissary or installation.
• Birthday balls. Local ball dates found in search results conflict with each other, so none is listed. Use the host’s own page.

Print the Marine Corps birthday activity sheet

The one-page sheet carries the Nov. 10 date, the 1775 founding fact from DeCA, the list of unconfirmed items and lines for a note to a Marine.