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U.S. Marine Corps Battle Color Detachment Ceremony coming to Ramona High on March 13; public welcome

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By Bill Tamburrino

The U.S. Marine Corps Battle Color Detachment Ceremony will be coming to Ramona on March 13.

The ceremony features the U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the Silent Drill Platoon and the Marine Corps Color Guard. They will perform at Ramona High School at 10 a.m. The public is welcome.

The Silent Drill Platoon is a 24-man rifle platoon that performs a unique precision exhibition. It first performed in the Sunset Parades of 1948 and received such an overwhelming response that it became a regular part of parades at the Marine Corps Barracks at Eighth and I streets in Washington, D.C.

The Marines execute drill movements with their hand-polished, 10-and-a-half-pound M1 Garland rifles with fixed bayonettes. The Marines are selected individually from the U.S. Marine Corps Schools of Infantry at Camp Pendleton and at Camp Lajeune, N.C. They serve a two year ceremonial tour while they also train in the field as infantrymen.

Throughout the year, they perform in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators at Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., and numerous events across the country and abroad.

The Marine Color Guard ceremoniously upholds the tradition of safeguarding the national and unit flags and organizational colors (the flag of the United States of America). The Color Guard is comprised of four Marines. One bears the U.S. of America flag, one the flag of the U.S. Marine Corps, and two bear rifles that flank the formation.

The Commandant’s Own is the only Drum and Bugle Corps in active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. Members of this unit are only one of two Marine Corps units authorized to wear the distinguishable “Scarlet Coat” when in dress uniform.

The USMC Battle Color Detachment has performed for heads of state, and school officials say it is an honor and a privilege to have them to perform in Ramona.

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