Local Young Marine Awarded Jimmie Trimble Scholarship

Young Marines Master Sergeant Dev R. Patel, 17, was selected by the Young Marines, a national youth organization, to receive the Jimmie Trimble Scholarship from the American Veterans Center. The scholarship was presented on Saturday, November 5, at a banquet held at the American Veterans Center in Washington, D.C.

A resident of Fredericksburg, Patel is a member of the Lance Corporal Caleb Powers Young Marines unit located in Fredericksburg, Virginia; unit commander is Stan Kennedy.

In addition to the monetary prize, Patel will travel to Guam and Iwo Jima next spring for the Reunion of Honor which, in 2017, is the 72nd anniversary of the battles. He will join nine other youth members of the Young Marines as they escort WWII veterans back to the island of Iwo Jima which is open just one day a year.

"YM MSgt Patel is an outstanding Young Marine," said Bill Davis, national executive director and CEO of the Young Marines. "He exemplifies the qualities we look for in our Young Marine leaders and will be a great representative and ambassador of our program as he aids the veterans who we travel with to Guam and Iwo Jima next year."

"This scholarship is the culmination of all my efforts in the past six years," Patel said. "I am very excited to take part in this historic and revered tradition and honoring the veterans of the (Guam and Iwo Jima) battles. The honor is one I heartily accept, and I am prepared to have the experience of a lifetime alongside fellow Young Marines."

Patel joined the Young Marines in 6th grade at age 11. He most values the friendships he’s made in the program.

“The Young Marines has given me some of my best friends," Patel said. "I have traveled the country with these comrades and attended leadership schools with them. These experiences are one of a kind, and only the Young Marines can create these emotional bonds."

Patel is a senior at Massaponax High School in Spotsylvania, Virginia. He is ranked first in his class of 500 students. He has received dozens of awards and honors, among them are the Award for High Honors from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth, the Academic Excellence Award (several times) in the Commonwealth Governor's School, and the regional top score in the National Latin Exam. In addition, he is a first-degree Black Belt.

After graduation, he plans to pursue a medical career in the military. He wishes to study medicine with an emphasis on neurology while participating in the Reserve Officer Training Corps. He would like to attend the University of Virginia, Johns Hopkins University or an Ivy League institution.

He is the son of Rajesh and Vanita Patel. His sibling Yash Patel is a Private 1st Class in the Young Marines.

"My love of serving others was bolstered by the Young Marines and the emphasis on community service," Patel said. "As a result, I have spent more than 200 hours volunteering at a local hospital where I solidified my career path, all thanks to the Young Marines. I appreciate the Young Marine program for everything it has taught me. The mentors, the schools, and the environment have defined who I am as a person, and I am extremely thankful that I found the program."

Remembering Jimmie Trimble

Jimmie Trimble was a star athlete. He played football, captained the basketball team and stunned crowds with his baseball pitching. He caught the attention of Senators' owner Clark Griffith who invited him to a tryout during his senior year of high school. Griffith gave him a $5,000 signing bonus and agreed to pay for a four-year scholarship at Duke University.

But rather than playing professional baseball, Trimble wanted to first serve his country. A private with the Third Marine Division, he was sent to Guam following the liberation of that country.

When the campaign for Iwo Jima was announced, he wanted to get in on the action. He volunteered for a dangerous mission and was killed by a suicide bomber who jumped into his foxhole.

Two months after his death, Baza Garden Baseball Field, Third Marine Division's home ground on Guam was renamed Trimble Field.

"Private Trimble was an outstanding member of the Third Marine Division All-Star baseball team," Major General Graves Erskine, division commander, said at the time. "His name will not be forgotten and his brave spirit will continue to inspire us in the tough battles that lie ahead."

Sixty years after his death, on March 12, 2005, a crowd of 1,000 people gathered at a new baseball field on Guam to see it named Trimble Baseball Field.

"As part of the Yona, Guam, community," said President Bush in remarks read at the dedication, "this baseball field will serve as a lasting tribute to Private Trimble, a talented baseball player and outstanding Marine whose exemplary service in combat reflected how he lived his life with character and courage."

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 281 units with 9,600 youth and 2,400 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.