MY YM UNIT I Miss My Fellow Young Marines By YM/Pvt Isaiah Rodriguez Excelsior High Desert (CA) Hello,Young Marines. I miss you all and hope you all do your best to excel in your objectives. The Young Marines taught me many things in my time there.I learned discipline,teamwork,leadership,and bear- ing. I will continue to train and I hope I can come back soon. Semper Fidelis, Excelsior High Desert Young Marines! Write A Story Write a story and call it yours. After a while, take it down, erase it and write it again. In a few years, throw it away and start over. When you’re ready to share, sit down and call it that. When time is up, tuck it away. When there is no more to talk about, share it with the closest person to you. Grow old with that story, Make the most of it. Bring life to your story. Most of all, have fun with that story. When life is no more, take that piece of paper and turn it into the best book of your life. --By YM/MSgt Nina Staben Tampa Bay (FL) 6 YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE By YM/GySgt Martin Ragas Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office (LA) On 16 September 2016, the Jef- ferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Young Marines participated in a ceremony honoring our wounded warriors. The event was hosted by American Legion Post 377 from Kenner, LA. The five Young Marines in the color guard team proudly presented the U.S. Colors to open the ceremony. Before presenting, Young Marines assisted with seating guests, and later mingled with veter- ans in attendance. The honored guest was USMC veteran Tyler Plaisance. We assisted former Marine Plaisance with getting out of his vehicle and into the building. Ty- ler was stationed at a fire base in Fallujah, Iraq. He was standing watch as a gate sentry when a suicide bomber approached his area and detonated an ex- plosive device resulting in serious injury to him and subsequently leaving him without the use of his legs. The event was a fundraiser to assist in obtaining an action track wheelchair for Tyler. This chair pro- vides greater mobility and access that a standard wheelchair cannot. These chairs cost approximately $13,000, which is a small price for a person who served his country and in so doing made such a great sacri- fice.Tyler is an American hero and we wish him and his family nothing but the best. Thank you, Tyler. JPSO Young Marines thank a hero. JPSO: We Help Honor and Give Thanks to a Hero Florida: We Attended Our First Swamp Cabbage Festival By YM/PFC Owen Ingalls Imagine School North Port (FL) The cheering and clapping is deafening. Music fills our ears, and the smells of any kind of food imaginable fill the air. The whole town is here for the parade. Everyone is celebrating at the 2017 Swamp Cab- bage Festival. Late last February 25th, the Imag- ine School (FL)Young Marines at- tended a great big party in the his- toric mid-state town of LaBelle, FL. Early that morning,we assembled and boarded a yellow bus bound for the swamp. After a long haul to LaBelle, we climbed off the bus and walked the parade route. We had a platoon of Young Marines, a color guard,and even a drill team.We started the march,and it turned out to be a relatively short parade, compared to some others. It was fun, and kind of amusing to watch the people of LaBelle try to figure out who we were (they all thought we were ROTC). I hope they form a unit, that would be amazing. After that we were dismissed for about an hour at the carnival.It was a great experience. The Swamp Cabbage Festival is a two-day event that is nothing but food, fun, and culture. After the parade, there was a fantastic carnival with everything from corn dogs to paella to crispy, breaded gator bites (yes, real alligator. It tastes like chicken, but is way juicier and has a ton more flavor).A place like LaBelle can always be trusted to have good food during the Swamp Cabbage Festival. We truly enjoyed ourselves and hope that we will make the Swamp Cabbage Festival an annual event. Last February, YM/Pvt Matt Rupert and YM/ Pvt Mark Rupert of the Atlantic Coast (FL) Young Marines met a Marine who is a WWII hero. In July, 1945, Mr. Edgar Harrell was one of only 317 survivors who were aboard the USS Indianapolis when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine in July of 1945. He spent 4 days in shark-infested waters await- ing to be rescued. Out of 1,197 men, only 317 survived. -- Submitted by Kim Gibbons, Unit Commander, Atlantic Coast Young Marines Meeting a WWII Hero