NEW ORLEANS -- Last year, the Marine Corps Ball was the place to take a celebrity date.
Mila Kunis got invited. Justin Timberlake got invited. Linda Hamilton, of Terminator fame, flipped the script by asking yours truly.
Timberlake had such a good time he even blogged about his ball date with Marine Sgt. Kelsey DeSantis, who is now in the reserves.
“I knew I would have an evening that I wouldn’t forget … Something I could tell my friends about,” blogged Timberlake on his website in 2011. “What I didn’t know was how moved I would be by the whole experience.”
So why aren’t Marines asking out stars to this year’s ball?
The Marine Corps Birthday Ball is a tradition that spans back to 1925 in Philadelphia. There, Marines held the first official Marine Corps ball. It was a first-class event that included attendees such as then Secretary of the Navy Curtis D. Wilbur, former Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. John A. Lejuene, national leaders and other military dignitaries.
During the ball there is a solemn ceremony that allows Marines to pay respects to their fallen, missing and captured comrades. Even cutting the cake is a ceremonial event. The oldest Marine present passes a piece of cake to the youngest Marine present to symbolize the passing of history and tradition to a new generation of Marines. A guest speaker usually shares a story of inspiration.
The ball is a time when Marines are encouraged to eat, drink and celebrate their proud history. It is a time where disciplined Marines are allowed to let loose and boogie on the dance floor.
This year, Marines all over the world will commemorate their inception with the 237th Marine Corps Birthday Ball. What better way to celebrate the occasion than with a celebrity date?
That is what one Marine thought.
Lance Cpl. Stephanie A. Butler asked Washington Nationals’ right fielder, Bryce Harper, to be her date to the Marine Corps Ball in California.
“I love baseball, I love the Nats, and I love watching all season,” said the military police Marine with Security Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force. “Plus he’s close to my age; there’s no generation gap. I thought that it would be cool to have someone the same age. It’s the one night everybody is motivated and I wanted to share that with somebody.”
So Butler asked, figuring the worst case scenario was not getting any response at all.
Instead of sending her ball invitation to Harper on YouTube — like the ball invites of 2011 — she brought her proposal to the Major League Baseball player’s Facebook page.
“Although I grew up in the Northern Virginia, D.C. area, I am currently an active-duty Marine stationed in Camp Pendleton,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Even from across the country, I enjoyed watching the Nats play, I even got to see you guys when you played the Dodgers. You've been a breath of fresh air to the Nationals this season. Congratulations on your recent Divisional Championship! Bryce Harper, on November 9th will you go with me to the Marine Corps ball??”
Butler’s invite started to create buzz after she fielded questions from a local country music radio station. NBC called her. Then before she knew it, an anonymous Twitter account had posted her proposal to Harper on that site as well.
“Somebody must have put up there,” she said. “I don’t even have a Twitter.”
Despite all the exposure Butler received, she said the outcome was mainly positive.
Everybody was supportive, well, except for one blogger.
He entitled his post, “A U.S. Marine causes the Washington Nat's baseball team to lose.”
The blogger later responded that he was just kidding.
Butler said she received more attention than she intended.
“People were ‘blowing up’ my phone like, ‘I heard you on the radio,’” she said.
Although Harper hasn’t yet responded whether he’ll accept the invitation, Butler still plans to celebrate one of the Corps’ oldest ceremonies.
Even if no celebrities attend this year’s ball, it will still be a “star-studded” event. After all, the general will be there.