SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Tens of thousands of military members and their families gathered at Camp Pendleton to celebrate the Marine Corps' 250th anniversary, with an appearance from Vice President JD Vance.
As a former Marine himself, Vice President Vance said he knows firsthand the important role Marines play in protecting our country.
"I had an obligation to act on the feeling of duty — that's something that relates to every single one of you whether you are a private or a general that spirit of service has been the spirit of the Marine Corps for centuries," Vance said.
While the focus was on celebrating the Marine Corps' 250-year history, the Vice President touched on the government shutdown in his remarks as he spoke to a crowd of Marines and sailors.
"I gotta get just a little political because congressional Democrats seems to want to keep the government shut down even though it would mean a lot of you wouldn't get your paychecks. I told the President a couple days ago, 'Sir, we need to figure out how to pay these Marines,'" Vance said.
Before the Vice President's address, other military dignitaries spoke, from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to the Commandant of the Marine Corps to the Secretary of the Navy.
Another big part of this celebration was the demonstration of our military's capabilities in air, land and sea operations. This live fire amphibious demonstration was the reason Governor Gavin Newsom shut down a portion of the 5 Freeway during the event due to safety concerns.
ABC 10News spoke with attendees and participants prior to the speeches about why it was important for them to come to this event.
"The Corporal of the Marines is going to be here, which is awesome. Everyone is super stoked that we have a Vice President who was a marine. It's going to be even cooler to have him here to speak to thousands of Marines at Camp Pendleton," Lt. Kagen Dunlap said.
"I think it's great we can celebrate all that they have done for us," Shannon Giese said.
"We're proud to be Americans. We're excited to show that to be able to show the strength here with the demonstrations. We're really excited and grateful," Laura Blackans said.
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