1st Sgt. David Bragg

Staff Photo by Lesley Onstott Petty Officer 3 Nicholas Madaras, left, helps Seaman Apprentice Jacob Wright correctly put together his uniform before the Naval Ball Saturday at the Walden Club. The group of four U.S. Naval Sea Cadets went through several steps of preparation before presenting the colors.

Before the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence, there was a Navy and Marine Corps.

Saturday night local units of both branches celebrated 234 years of service with their annual military balls.

Reservists who train out of the Chattanooga Naval Operational Support Center, both sailors from the center and Marines with Mike Battery, 3rd Battalion 14th Marines held the events.

Marines marked the evening at the Read House under chandeliers and vaulted ceilings in, what else, the ballroom.

Sailors looked out over downtown Chattanooga from 21 floors up at the Walden Club.

As reservists, the Marines and sailors don’t have the built-in support of a base nearby so they must plan far in advance for uniform tailoring and buying the right ribbons or medals.

Mike Battery 1st Sgt. David Bragg said reservists juggle family, a full-time job and sometimes schooling with their military service, making this night’s event that much more important.

“This job is something you do because you love it,” he said.

Senior Chief Petty Officer William Morrison said the celebration was the first time the majority of the sailors had been together since a detachment of the unit deployed to Iraq this spring.

The Navy birthday is Oct. 13, 1775, but the reserve center command waited for the return of the Seabee detachment so the center could celebrate together, he said. The Marine Corps birthday is Nov. 10, 1775, but due to travel and booking, the event is often celebrated on the weekend before the actual date.

Petty Officer 1st Class Kenneth Hansen, a 14-year Navy veteran, said the event is good especially for younger sailors.

“It’s a chance to see that they’re a part of something bigger,” he said.

The history, tradition, ceremony and interaction with fellow sailors of all ranks and jobs helps fight the often individual tasks of Navy work on drill weekends, he said.

Guest speaker for the Marine ball, retired Sgt. Maj. Ernest Seagle, said the highlight at each ball he’s attended over the last 60 years is talking with younger Marines.

“It’s the one time a year that the old Corps and the new Corps get to compare notes on who’s best,” he laughed.