Friday is Mike Martioski’s big day.

He’ll celebrate a birthday at his home in Manchester. His wife will prepare something special for the occasion. Lobster, steak, veggies and what Martioski called “a super sweet dessert.” There will be a birthday cake and family, perhaps even a few old friends if they’re available to stop over.

“We really love to do this,” Martioski said. “This is a big deal.”

Martioski, who is a liaison for the U.S. Marine Corps, won’t turn 42 until April 22. In a sense, though, he turns 248 years old on Friday, because that’s the Marines’ birthday, and that means Martioski and thousands of his brothers and sisters across the globe will celebrate as if they had been born on this date.

Some feel as though they were.

“I celebrate the Marines’ birthday more than I do mine,” Martioski said. “It’s significant for all of us, including family. My wife may say happy birthday to me on my birthday or make a small cake, but for the Marines, it’s a thing.”

The Marines will raise their flag at the State House Friday morning at 8 a.m. Later, at 5:30 p.m., a fundraiser will be held at Mojolaki Country Club in Franklin for a formal birthday party. 

The Gary S. Dillon Detachment, the featured guest, has partnered with the Twin Rivers Food Pantry in Franklin to raise money to provide food for those in the community who need it.

Dillon graduated from Concord High School in 1979 and the University of New Hampshire in 1983 before joining the Marines. He died during Operation Desert Shield in 1990 when his helicopter collided with another over the Arabian Sea. He was 29.

It’s Dillon’s birthday today as well. And no matter where they might be serving on this particular day, current and former Marines enjoy major feasts and parties when turning a year older.

“Wherever we are, it happens,” Martioski said. “If Marines are far away like serving in Iraq, they celebrate on this day.”

Martioski’s party today will be less stressful than others he attended 20 years ago. He enlisted at 18 years old, right out of high school.

He served with the Marines from 2000 to 2004, training at Camp Pendleton in California. He was an infantryman with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.

He deployed to Iraq twice. He went in with the first wave at the start of the war in 2003. He spent his 21st birthday – that ‘other’ birthday – in “a fighting hole. Dig in and get ready.”

“I crossed into Iraq during the invasion,” Martioski said. “When we first went in, for the first few days, it was quiet. It was weird, kind of like me driving from New Hampshire to Vermont. And then all hell broke loose.”

He described firefights that lasted 10 seconds or 10 minutes. Other units, he said, engaged “for most of the day.”

“We’re driving and getting shot from all over the place,” Martioski said. “You could not turn in a direction without someone shooting at you. Then it would be quiet again. It depended on where you were.”

His vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device. Shrapnel slammed into his skull and the back of his left shoulder. He called it a traumatic brain injury, but, he said he was fortunate.

“It’s still a significant issue,” Martioski said. “Mood disorders and memory loss. But I’ve seen other guys who were not as lucky.”

He lost friends, killed in battle.

Now he’s home in Manchester with his wife. His oldest son spent five years in the Marines and was discharged this year. He’s got his “other” birthday as well on November 10.

“There’s a whole bunch of history involved with our Corp,” Martioski said. “We think our history and our birthday, we take seriously. At my house, we celebrate the same way as the (current) Marines do. That’s important to us.”

Also on Friday will be the celebration of another special day. Veterans Day, honoring all U.S. veterans, annually falls on Nov. 11, which is Saturday, but many remembrances will be held the day before.

The State Veterans Home in Tilton will mark the occasion from 11 a.m. to 11:50 on Friday. Speakers will include Gov. Chris Sununu and U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Margaret Hassan.