The Young Marines unit from Gettysburg, PA was one of 28 Young Marines units throughout the United States who traveled to Hawaii this past week to participate in the remembrance ceremonies of the 82nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor. The Young Marines is a national youth organization for boys and girls from age eight through high school graduation.
Hundreds of Young Marines performed community service activities while in Oahu, Hawaii. They met, greeted, and escorted World War II Veterans at various events.
Among the events in which the Gettysburg Young Marines participated were:
* Community service work on the Mālama Pu’uloa Community Project at Kapapapuhi Point Park. https://www.malamapuuloa.org/
*Wreath laying ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific “The Punchbowl” in memory of all the brave men and women who are interred at the site
*Klipper Ceremony, Marine Corps Base Hawaii
*Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade, Honolulu
A significant honor for all the Young Marine units was to lead the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade, on Thursday, December 7, in Honolulu. Young Marines performed a color guard and carried the banners of the 12 capital ships that were attacked. They also assisted with many of the floats in the parade. The parade’s objective is to honor the heroes and survivors of Pearl Harbor and World War II, to pay tribute to veterans, active-duty military members and military families, to celebrate freedom, and to keep in remembrance the heinous events of Sunday, December 7, 1941.
“Because of the pandemic the last couple of years, we didn’t have the usual Young Marines participation in all of the remembrance events, so it is doubly meaningful that so many Young Marines are again present here this year,” said Col William P. Davis USMC (Ret), national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. “It is an honor and lasting memory for each Young Marine to participate in the anniversary, meet and listen to veterans tell their stories, and memorialize veterans who are no longer with us.”
The participating Young Marines units were:
ARIZONA
Desert Young Marines, Glendale, AZ
Route 66 Young Marines, Ash Fork, AZ
Kingman Young Marines, Kingman, AZ
CALIFORNIA
San Bernardino Valley Young Marines, Rialto, CA
Antelope Valley Young Marines, Palmdale, CA
Quartz Hill Young Marines, Lancaster, CA
Temecula Valley Young Marines, Lake Elsinore, CA
Sacramento Young Marines, Sacramento, CA
North San Diego Young Marines, Vista, CA
Southland Young Marines, Pomona/Azuza, CA
CONNECTICUT
Natchaug River Young Marines, Danielson, CT
KENTUCKY
Northern Kentucky Young Marines, Latonia, KY
HAWAII
Pyramid Rock Young Marines, MCBH Kaneohe, Hawaii
IDAHO
Captain Art Jackson Young Marines, Nampa, ID
MARYLAND
Hamilton Young Marines, Baltimore, MD
MICHIGAN
Lenawee County Young Marines, Adrian, MI
Lapeer County Young Marines, Lapeer, MI
NORTH CAROLINA
Swansboro Young Marines, Swansboro, NC
OREGON
Camp White Young Marines, White City, OR
PENNSYLVANIA
Gettysburg Young Marines, Gettysburg, PA
Washington County Young Marines, Washington, PA
Spartan Young Marines, Willow Grove, PA
SOUTH CAROLINA
Upstate Young Marines, Greenville, SC
TENNESSEE
Music City Young Marines, Nashville, TN
VIRGINIA
LCpl Caleb John Powers Young Marines, Fredericksburg, VA
Quantico Young Marines, MCB Quantico, VA
WEST VIRGINIA
Tri State Young Marines, Weirton, WV
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Potomac River Young Marines, Washington, DC
All Young Marines units raised funds at the local level to supplement the costs of traveling to Hawaii. These youth members used their creativity, and applied the program’s core values – leadership, teamwork, and self-discipline – to implement unique and effective fundraising efforts to attend this educational and patriotic event.
Young Marines History
Since the Young Marines’ humble beginnings in 1959 with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to over 238 units with 6,400 youth and 2,750 adult volunteers in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Japan (Okinawa), and affiliates in a host of other countries.
For more information on the Gettysburg Young Marines, visit the website:
For more information on the Young Marines, visit the website at https://www.YoungMarines.org.