Our yacht club celebrated the Marine Corps birthday Friday night and by extension all services and the member veterans. About 70 people attended with 35 of those veterans. Complete with our national anthem and the Marine Corps Hymn and cake cutting ceremony with the oldest and youngest veterans participating. I recounted the story of General PX Kelly telling of his visit to a blinded marine after the Beirut bombing of October 1983. General Kelly was at the wounded marine's bedside who at the time could not see or speak. Not to be fooled the marine took the general's arm and walked his hand up to his collar and slowly felt each of the four stars on the collar. Now convinced it was General Kelly, the Commandant of the Corps, the marine motioned for something to write on. On a pad of paper the marine wrote and handed it to the commandant. The paper read, "Semper Fi". I heard General Kelly tell that story at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball at the Sheraton Hotel, November 10, 1983 in Newport, Rhode Island. There were probably 400 officers and spouses in the room and as he told this story if a mouse ran across the floor it would have sounded like a herd of elephants. There was not a dry eye at the club Friday night including yours truly.