Local Youth Escorts WWII Veterans to Iwo Jima

The Young Marines, a national youth organization, has announced the "Director's Pick" - YM MSgt Adrian Gandara, 17, of Miami, Florida to travel with the Young Marines to Guam and Iwo Jima. He is a member of the Pfc. Bruce W. Carter Young Marines under the command of Fred Brooks. Gandara is a senior at Miami High School.

"The moment I got the call I was in complete shock, because it's more than a dream for me," Gandara said. "When my good friend and mentor Oscar Pinate received the Director's Pick a couple years ago, he challenged me to work hard and try to get Directors Pick, and that's what I did."

As "Director's Pick," Gandara will escort WWII veterans on the annual Reunion of Honor trip to Guam and Iwo Jima. The year 2017 marks the 72nd anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima and the 73rd for Guam. Annually, American and Japanese veterans come together for remembrances of their fallen brothers and to recall the fierce battles that took place on the two islands during World War II.

"I'm very excited to travel to Guam and Iwo Jima," he said. "Not everyone has the chance to do this. It's once in a lifetime."

Gandara will join Col William P. Davis USMC (Ret), national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines; the six regional winners of "Young Marine of the Year;" the two winners of Jimmie Trimble Scholarships; adult volunteers and other dignitaries from Young Marines headquarters.

He joined the Young Marines at age eight, and currently, he is in his ninth year in the program. Gandara presents programs in local schools about living a drug free lifestyle. He won Top Ten in his leadership class for Young Marines, and he was his unit's Young Marine of the Year.

Outside of the Young Marines, he participates in water polo and wrestling. He is an avid mountain biker.

This year, Gandara enlisted in the Marine Corps as part of the Delayed Entry Program. Two weeks after high school graduation, he will leave for boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina.

"I joined the Young Marines to better myself both physically and mentally," Gandara said. "It's made me a better person in my community. Today I have discipline, and I show the utmost respect to everybody."

He is the son of Lisbeth Colon and Raciel Gandara.

About the Young Marines

The Young Marines is a national non-profit 501c(3) youth education and service program for boys and girls, age eight through the completion of high school. The Young Marines promotes the mental, moral and physical development of its members. The program focuses on teaching the values of leadership, teamwork and self-discipline, so its members can live and promote a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

Since the Young Marines' humble beginnings in 1959 with one unit and a handful of boys, the organization has grown to 275 units with 9,200 youth and 2,760 adult volunteers in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Okinawa with affiliates in other countries.

For more information, visit the official website at: http://www.YoungMarines.com.