BEAUFORT -- With comrades fighting in Fallujah to secure the future of a free Iraq, Parris Island's Marines paid homage to their past Wednesday, the Marine Corps' 229th birthday.

One by one, Marines marched across the Peatross Parade Deck dressed in period uniforms ranging from the blue jackets and baggy white pants of the Continental Marines to the familiar green uniforms worn at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.

More than 200 years earlier, on Nov. 10, 1775, the Continental Marines were established to fight the British during the American Revolution, setting in motion the courage and tradition that continue today on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, on the training fields of Parris Island and in the skies over Beaufort.

"This is a great day for our Corps and a great day for our depot," said Brig. Gen. Richard Tryon, the commanding general of Parris Island and the Eastern Recruiting Region. "(It's) a day to be proud and also a day to be humble. ... It's a day to consider our role and our mission in today's Marine Corps."

And as Marines continue to be deployed around the globe, Tryon said he couldn't stress enough the importance of Parris Island's mission: making Marines.

"It's a mission we can all be proud of," he said. "Just as the sign says on Avenue de France as you drive in, the difference really does start here."

The difference started for Pfc. Isom Hodges earlier this year. The 19-year-old graduated from Parris Island in May, and, as the youngest Marine present at Wednesday's pageant, was part of the ceremonial cutting of the cake.

As is the Marine Corps birthday tradition, the first piece of cake is presented to the oldest Marine present, who then passes it on to the youngest Marine, symbolizing the passage of the Corps' history and traditions.

"It's all about courage, honor and commitment," Hodges said. "That's what the Marine Corps is all about. ... The Marine Corps is just special."

For 51-year-old Col. John Valentin, the depot's chief of staff and the oldest Marine present Wednesday, the pageant is a reminder of the camaraderie and discipline that make the Corps what it is.

Although the Marine Corps continues to change and evolve with new technology and new training methods, there are things that will always stay the same, he said.

"One thing that hasn't changed is how we feel about or Corps and how we feel about our fellow Marines," Valentin said. "That was the same 229 years ago, and it will be the same 229 years from today."