US Marine Corps celebrating 249th birthday

The Marine Corps celebrates its birthday on Nov. 10, which marks when the Continental Marines were founded on that day in 1775 during the Revolutionary War.

This year is the 249th anniversary of the founding, when Captain Samuel Nicholas set up the first Marine Corps recruiting headquarters at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Penn., looking for "a few good men," according to the Marines official website .

The Marine Corps is one of the smallest services of the military, and recruited roughly 28,000 members in its most recent class.

Marines specialize in land, sea and air operations, known to be "the first in and last out."

Older than the United States itself, the Marine Corps is the nation's third-oldest branch of the military, according to Stripes.com , the U.S. military's news organization.

Like the Navy, which celebrated its 249th birthday last month, the Marine Corps disbanded in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War. It was re-established in 1798 and has remained in service ever since, Stripes.com reported.

Ahead of the anniversary, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia, unveiled new exhibits this fall.

The exhibits, "Forward Deployed" and "Afghanistan and Iraq," help guide visitors through the history of the Marines Corps from the end of the Vietnam War to the present day.

The annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball was also held this year in New Orleans on Nov. 2.

The anniversary also falls a day before Veterans Day, Nov. 11.