Young Marines Host Drill Event for West Milton Memorial

[West Milton, Ohio, May 11, 2019] The Miami Valley Young Marines recently learned about the incomplete status of the veteran memorial located at the West Milton Municipal Park and decided to take it upon themselves to help fix that. The memorial currently honors veterans from the Revolutionary War through the Vietnam Conflict, but has room to expand to honor our newest veterans.

To help raise the nearly nine thousand dollars the Young Marines put together and event titled Drill Heroes: Knockout Drill for a Cause. This event ran from 11:00AM - 2:00PM at the West Milton Municipal Park and drew a crowd of over 100 Young Marines, veterans, and families.

Those in attendance were treated to hot dogs, raffles, and a fun-spirited knockout drill competition. Knockout drill is a fun form of drill practice where members must perform various military drill movements correctly. If a drill movement is performed incorrectly or performed when it shouldn’t be then that member is eliminated. This continues until only one competitor remains.

“It was a great way to raise funds while also supporting a great cause,” said Jordyn Webb, unit gunnery sergeant of the Miami Valley Young Marines. “We loved meeting so many veterans and Young Marines from other units who wanted to help us in honoring our local veterans.”

Everyone in attendance also got a special treat in meeting the 14th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, SgtMaj Alford McMichael. He flew in from Washington, DC to be the special guest judge of the event and help make this inaugural event much more special.

The unit plans to make this an annual event until all of the money required to finish the memorial is collected. If you would like to learn more about the event, you can visit their website at miamivalleyyoungmarines.com/drill-heroes. The next event is tentatively planned for May 23, 2020.

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 264 units with 8,950 youth and 2,600 adult volunteers in 39 states, the District of Columbia and Okinawa with affiliates in other countries.

For more information, visit our website at www.miamivalleyyoungmarines.com or the National website at www.youngmarines.com.