Bob Houser, 93, a United States Marine Corps veteran of both World War II and the Korean War era, uses a ceremonial sword to slice the first piece of birthday cake which he shared with Tim Shaw, 43, who has seven deployments to Iraq from 1997 to 2015. The American Legion Harold Kerr Post 173 celebrated the USMC’s 242nd with the traditional sharing of a piece of cake among the oldest Marine in the room and the youngest. The Marine Corps had its first recruiting drive Nov. 10, 1774, in Tun Tavern, a pub and brewery in Philadelphia as revolutionary sentiment mounted throughout the American colonies. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES)