During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia and determined a need for a unique military force that had the flexibility to conduct operations on both land and sea.
A resolution was written by John Adams, who would later become our nation’s second president after George Washington. According to the Journal of the Continental Congress, an excerpt of the resolution reads as follows: “Resolved, That two Battalions of marines be raised … that they be enlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present war between Great Britain and the colonies, unless dismissed by order of Congress: that they be distinguished by the names of the first and second battalions of American Marines …. ”
The resolution was signed on Nov. 10, 1775.
Monday marks a remarkable milestone — the 250th birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps. Throughout its storied history, countless men and women have earned the title of Marine.
This Love of Learning column honors a selection of those warriors who call the Philomath area home, sharing their experiences and reflections on what it means to be part of the few and the proud.
Glenn Byington
Glenn Byington was an outstanding football player for Philomath High School back in 1934-35. He was a triple-threat fullback.
According to a Corvallis Gazette-Times article published Nov. 4, 1935, Glenn ran for two touchdowns in the first half and tossed a pass to his younger brother, Wayne Byington, who lateraled the ball to a teammate for a third touchdown as the Warriors downed Waldport, 18-0, in a slippery game played in frigid weather.
Glenn graduated from Philomath High School in May 1936 and went on to play for Oregon State College as a tackle (Oregon State University did not become the official name until 1961). He was on the OSC varsity roster during the fall of 1941. The Beavers, a member of the Pacific Coast Conference, went 8-2 that year.
On Nov. 29, 1941, the Beavers defeated Oregon by a score of 12-7 at Hayward Field in Eugene. The victory clinched the PCC championship for the first time in school history and resulted in an invitation for the Beavers to play in the Rose Bowl, which was scheduled for New Year’s Day 1942 in Pasadena, California.
A week after the Beavers victory in Eugene, however, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States suddenly found itself at war.
The United States War department originally cancelled the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, fearing the stadium may also be prone to a similar enemy surprise attack. The Rose Bowl Committee debated what to do but eventually opted to move the Rose Bowl to Durham, North Carolina. Oregon State players rode on a train for five days to complete the journey from Corvallis to Durham.
The Beavers beat Duke, 20-16, and Glenn started at right tackle.
This game remains the one and only time that Oregon State has ever won the Rose Bowl. Two months after the Rose Bowl, he decided he wanted to serve his country and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Glenn trained to become a flight navigator on a Navy cargo plane. He flew daring resupply missions in and out of Guadalcanal. A story written by Jim Lucas from U.S. Marine Corps public affairs in March 1943 stated “Corporal Byington rode into Guadalcanal as a navigator on a Navy cargo transport plane carrying bombs, high explosives, and gasoline, helped to unload them on Henderson field runway, and then took off into hostile skies on the return trip with wounded marines for base hospitals out of the fighting zone.”
After the war, Glenn served in law enforcement in both Oregon and Alaska. Interestingly, in 1954, he became chief of police in Ketchikan, Alaska, where our PHS boys and girls basketball teams travel every other year for a holiday basketball tournament.
Byington also served in the Alaska Army National Guard, achieving the rank of colonel. He passed away at age 74 in 1990 in Juneau, Alaska.
He is not forgotten. Go Beavs!
Code Talkers, Siletz Marines
The Marine Corps Navajo Code Talkers played a critical role during the Battle of Iwo Jima and other battles across the Pacific theater during World War II. They utilized their native language as a code to transmit top secret messages about troop movements, disseminate reconnaissance, and direct artillery barrages. The enemy could not decipher the information that the Code Talkers were communicating over the radio in their native tongue. During the first two days of the Battle of Iwo Jima, six code talkers securely transmitted over eight hundred messages.
Major Howard Conner, signal officer for the 5th Marine Division, reflected on their effectiveness: “Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would have never taken Iwo Jima.”
Fittingly, one of the six Marines immortalized in the iconic flag-raising atop Mt. Suribachi was a Native American. Corp. Ira Hayes, a Pima tribal member from Arizona’s Gila River Reservation, stands at the far-left rear of the image, releasing the flagpole as it rises.
Hayes attended the dedication of the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington County, Virginia, on Nov. 10, 1954, notably the Marine Corps’ birthday. Sadly, a couple months after the dedication, Corp. Hayes passed away in Arizona. His grave rests at Arlington National Cemetery, near the renowned memorial designed to honor him and his fellow Marines. He is not forgotten.
The Siletz Tribe are also immensely proud of their veterans. Whenever I attend the Nesika Illahee Pow Wow in Siletz during the second weekend in August, the Grand Entry procession consists of tribal elders, closely followed by a Veteran Color Guard along with proud veterans who served in all branches of the U.S. Military, followed by countless other members of the tribe dancing in their heritage dress.
I spoke recently with the Siletz veteran representative and Honor Guard director, who told me that more than 70 tribal members have served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Their service deserves our deepest respect and gratitude.
David Bagley
Capt. David Bagley attended 10 weeks of Marine Corps boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego in June 1950.
What was impossible for David to know at the time was that thousands of enemy soldiers invaded across the 38th parallel into South Korea while he was at boot camp. This would begin the Korean conflict. Forces from the United Nations were cornered in what was known as the “Pusan Perimeter” in the southeastern corner of the Korean peninsula.
After boot camp, David served in the 1st Marine Division and was a part of a massive United Nations counteroffensive consisting of an amphibious assault onto the beaches of Inchon. This operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital of Seoul in September 1950. The code name for the operation was “Operation Chromite” led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur from September 15-25, 1950.
David faced the hardships of freezing conditions while conducting continuous combat operations. Many troops were not sufficiently equipped for these frigid conditions and suffered frostbite.
David served in the Marine Corps for 20 years, serving in both Korea and Vietnam advancing in rank from buck private to captain.
Over the last five years, he has shared his Marine Corps experiences with students at both Philomath Middle School and Philomath High School. He was awarded a Quilt of Valor by U.S. Marines in December 2022 at Peace Lutheran Church. He is not forgotten.
Danny Miller
Danny Miller has lived in Philomath for the last five years. He served as a Marine Corps drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruiting Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina, from 1974-76 toward the end of the Vietnam War.
From what I have learned, Marine Corps recruits who live east of the Mississippi River are traditionally trained at Parris Island while recruits who live west of the Mississippi River attend boot camp at San Diego.
When recruits arrive via bus to either of the recruiting depots, they are met by a drill instructor and are ordered to exit the bus with a purpose and step onto a set of yellow footprints arranged in formation on the pavement of the reception station.
Stepping onto these yellow footprints is life changing for Marine Corps recruits.
Once a recruit sets foot on these yellow footprints, drill instructors shout orders to impart discipline and a sense of acting together as a unit. DIs are responsible for transforming civilians into disciplined, physically fit, and combat-ready Marines in 10 to 13 weeks.
Danny took this role extremely seriously since he was aware the Vietnam War was going on and that the recruits assigned to his platoon may face deployment to combat. A number of his recruits were draftees. He needed them to be prepared for whatever future enemy threat they may face.
He shared that “It was an honor and privilege to serve our country as a United States Marine. Once we raise our right hand and swear to protect our Constitution and people, it is an oath that lasts for the rest of our lives.”
He finds living in Philomath less stressful than life as a Marine Corps drill instructor on Parris Island during the Vietnam War. He said “The Pacific Northwest is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. When I first arrived in Oregon and started touring the state, I felt like I was in a National Geographic episode!”
John Mayer
John Mayer had a deep respect for veterans throughout his childhood. As a member of Scout Troop 161, John chose to lead a project building a veterans memorial at the Philomath Scout Lodge. John earned his Eagle Scout rank in 2007. Since that time, over 60 veterans have been remembered. John continues his commitment to maintain and improve this memorial to this day.
He graduated from Philomath High in 2008.
John enlisted in the Marine Corps in February 2012 and shipped off to San Diego for boot camp. After graduating in July 2012, he completed infantry training at Camp Pendleton as an 0311 rifleman. He then served as a driver and gunner on light amphibious vehicles with a light armored reconnaissance battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
In February 2014, John deployed the ground combat element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, aboard the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship. He spent nine months in the Middle East, working with local and allied forces in the countries of Oman, Jordan and Kuwait. He returned to North Carolina in late October 2014.
He shared this reflection:
“Joining the Marine Corps is one of the single best decisions of my life. I had grown up reading about Marine actions at places such as Belleau Wood, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir, Vietnam, and Fallujah so it was a great honor the day I received my Eagle, Globe, and Anchor and became a Marine.
“From the moment I stepped on those yellow footprints at San Diego, my life was changed forever. The Corps forced me to grow up. It taught me resilience and responsibility. I learned to be self-reliant and disciplined. And I gained a deeper appreciation for my country and those who have defended it.”
John left active duty in the Marine Corps in October 2015 with the rank of sergeant but remained in the Individual Ready Reserve through 2019. John then transferred into the Oregon Army National Guard.
John is currently a staff sergeant in Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 162 Infantry Regiment based in Corvallis. He won the Oregon Best Warrior competition in 2021 and was named Noncommissioned Officer of the Year for the entire state.
A few years ago, he also graduated from the extremely rigorous U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Jacob French
Jacob French was a multisport athlete at Philomath High School and graduated in 2017.
He spoke to a recruiter at PHS about enlisting in the Marine Corps and served four years. Last year around this time, I asked him what Veterans Day means to him now after his service as a Marine aboard the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship.
He shared the following reflection:
“Veterans Day has meant many things to me growing up throughout the years of my life. Hearing about family members that had served always drove me to be interested in Veterans.
“As I got older and went to high school assemblies, I was nervous when I first thought about enlisting into the USMC after graduating, but that drive to want to do something more for yourself and the ones you love kept me motivated to enlist….
“I realized what pushed me though boot camp, winter/desert training, deployment to the middle east, or deploying down to the border or even losing family members back home when you’re across the world on an aircraft carrier were the men beside me there to lift me up and encourage me to push on and not give up.
“Veterans Day has meant a lot of things to me in the past, but now after serving for four years and being a Vet for three it means more to me than ever ….”
Since returning to Philomath from his enlistment, Jacob attended Linn-Benton Community College where he made the honor roll and in June 2025 earned an Associate Degree of Applied Science in welding and fabrication technology.
Michael Novak
Michael Novak grew up in Philomath. He played trumpet in the PHS concert band, pep band and jazz band. He was also active in scouting and earned his Eagle Scout rank in 2024. In scouting, he learned camping skills, citizenship and participated in outdoor adventures.
Michael graduated from PHS turning the yellow tassel on June 7, 2025. Just two days later, June 9, he stepped off the bus at the Marine Corps recruiting depot in San Diego and onto yellow footprints.
I asked him what standing on the yellow footprints was like and he said it was “scary.” He went on to elaborate that it felt like “chaos” and that everything he did was “with a sense of urgency.”
He reflected that he went from “partying with my friends” after high school graduation to drill instructors yelling at him in his face. “What did I get myself into?” he wondered.
This would be the first day of the next 92 days of boot camp. He progressed through physical training sessions, marksmanship, drill and challenging obstacle courses.
Boot camp ends with a three-day training event known as the “Crucible.” According to the Marine Corps website, “The Crucible is the final test Marine Corps recruits must complete to earn the title of United States Marine. Held at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, the Crucible is a grueling 54-hour event that pushes recruits to apply the teamwork, endurance, and skills they’ve developed throughout their training ….”
At the end of the “Crucible” recruits are awarded their coveted Eagle, Globe, and Anchor insignia and the title of United States Marine.
When I asked Michael what that felt like, he responded by saying “it felt amazing!” He earned the title of Marine on Aug. 20, 2025, during the 250th year of the USMC.
He graduated from Marine Corps boot camp on Sept. 5 and reunited with his father. It was an emotional and proud moment for them both.
Like other Marines, Michael has since completed Marines Combat Training at Camp Pendleton, which lasted approximately four weeks. Every Marine is trained as a rifleman.
Michael’s military occupational specialty is combat engineers. He flew to North Carolina last month to start his Combat Engineer School at Camp Lejeune.
Once his engineering training is complete, Michael intends to serve in the Marine Corps Reserve and enroll at Oregon State University.
Conclusion
Semper Fidelis is the motto of the Marine Corps. It is a Latin phrase that translates to mean “Always Faithful.” It is clear through the reflections shared here that being a Marine means everything to those who have chosen to become one. The eagle, globe, and anchor are earned, not given. It takes discipline, fitness and commitment to be a member of “The World’s Finest Fighting Force.”
I think we should all be grateful for the service and commitment from our few proud Marines from Philomath and celebrate with them as our nation celebrates the 250th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Semper Fi!
(Eric Niemann is a former mayor and city councilor in Philomath. He can be reached at Lifeinphilomath@gmail.com).
Correction, November 10, 2025 9:50 am: This column was updated to correct the score of the 1942 Rose Bowl.