Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46By YM/Pvt Brandon Beeler North Idaho (ID) I am so happy to tell you what an awesome commu- nity we have. Our parents were asked to help the Young Marines find a new home that would accommodate us bet- ter.We all loved our old home and were thankful to Dalton Gardens Church of Christ for allowing us to use their church for our meetings and ceremonies, but we were quickly outgrowing the space. My parents are people who volunteer often. My dad, a U.S. Army veteran, is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. and he is the District Commander for all of North Idaho. He and my mom (who is the VFW Auxiliary President) decided to ask the two VFW Halls closest to us to help. VFW Commander Russell Thomas met with Mr. and Mrs. Lan- glois,Mr.and Mrs.Jenkins,Gunny Langlois and others from our unit. They showed them the Hall and explained that it can be our home. Next thing I know, my mom is all smiles and telling me she has a secret that she won’t tell. I found out her secret the very next day. The secret was that we were given free range at the Hall! It is ours to turn into our home, as we would like. Also, Mrs. Langlois finally has an office with a door we can knock on. It is so great.At our first meeting there we went over rules and discussed what we should do to show the VFW and its members our appreciation (I think Mr. Langlois thought about it before we showed up that day, as he sent instructions to all of us to wear jeans and our black unit shirts). We set out on a mission to make the Hall look clean and like it was lived in. We pulled weeds, raked, mowed, cleaned the bathrooms and scrubbed the floors. We did a lot and have more to go, but when parents showed up, they and the VFW Commander were in awe.What’s funny is we were thanked for our hard work, when our hard work was intended as a thank you to them.So I guess everyone is thankful! I know I am. It couldn’t have happened at a better time, summer time and new re- cruits... Oh, did I mention we also have a huge class- room to study in? North Idaho: We’re Thrilled to Have a New Unit Home I Met Mr. Beamon, One of the Very First Young Marines By YM/PFC Michael Manley Atlantic Coast Last August my unit, the At- lantic Coast Young Marines, had the honor of meeting Mr. Samuel Beamon. Mr. Beamon was among the original Young Marines of the very first Young Marines unit located in Waterbury, CT. Mr. Beamon was later a crew chief on a Sea Knight helicopter in the USMC. We were lucky enough to have Mr. Beamon visiting NAS JAX, so he reached out to my unit commander asking to meet us. Ms. Gibbons, our unit commander, is all about giving us op- portunities to learn new things and meet new people. What better person to talk to than an original Young Marine? Mr. Beamon was awesome! He told us we are in the finest youth group in America and talked about how the Young Marines started.He told us about his experiences in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He was a crew chief and a helicop- ter mechanic. Mr. Beamon told us that he later served as a Lieutenant in the Waterbury, CT Police De- partment. He passed around his police badge for us to look at. After Mr. Beamon was fin- ished telling us all of his fas- cinating stories, he took ques- tions from all of the Young Marines in my unit. I asked him what type of helicopter he flew on. That’s how I found out that he flew on a CH-46 Sea Knight and he showed us his Sea Knight patch. After everyone was done asking questions my unit commander, Ms. Gibbons, had an Atlantic Coast Young Marines shirt presented to him by YM LCpl Spath MJ. Mr. Beamon was so proud to receive the shirt that he put it on right at that moment. Mr. Beamon took a picture with us at the end in front of the American flag. Before he left he shook all of our hands and reminded us that we can be anything that we want to be. It was a great day that I will never forget. Sam Beamon (center) standing tall among the Atlantic Coast Young Marines during a recent visit to Jacksonville. 12 YOUNG MARINES ESPRIT ONLINE