BLUFFDALE, Utah — The U.S. Marine Corps community in Utah is smaller than in many other states, but like the others, they will be joining in this year's 250th birthday celebration honoring the Corps.
The local festivities kick off Friday at the Marine Corps ball, where it’s not uncommon for Marines to invite their significant others, such as spouses, or in some cases, a celebrity. But one Utah Marine has everyone talking thanks to a viral social media video that has everyone talking.
“It’s a lottery ticket,” explained Gunnery Sgt. Stephen Corson.
Actually, it’s just a 0.5 to 2 percent chance that Corson will have a celebrity date to take to the ball.
“It’s like a Marine Corps thing. People are always just inviting different celebrities, and I had joked about it in the office, like I’ll invite somebody," said Corson.
Who’s the lucky lady?
“I was like, I’ll invite Ella Langley," he said. "Nobody believed I would do it. It took me about three weeks before I actually made the video and threw it up. I had to think about it a bit. I didn’t want to come off too bad. I think it came out pretty funny. That was the goal. To make somebody laugh.”
Over 1.6 million TikTok views and 150,000 likes later, Corson admits there's still a small chance Langley will be "Choosing Utah.”
“It’s probably about .2 percent now. It’s never zero, I guess," he said.
Corson isn’t just offering his date a nice night out; the Marine Corps Ball comes with tradition.
Inside the ball, Staff Sgt. Brenden Cole Jones shared how Marines focus on customs, ceremonies, and celebrations.
“The main reason we do it is to get the Marines together, gain camaraderie, and it’s not only about the Marines, but also about the spouses as well, because our spouses sacrifice a lot as well,” he explained.
All Corson is asking is that Ella come to see that tradition for herself. But he’s running out of time, and hoping to get that RSVP soon.
“Wednesday, Thursday, Friday," he said of the deadline. "That’s 72. About 79, 80 hours.”
