CASPER, Wyo. — In yesterday’s parade, the Casper Mountain Young Marines re-enacted the historic Iwo Jima memorial. The children portraying this iconic scene, which features Marines placing the flag on top of Mount Suribachi in the Battle of Iwo Jima, stole the hearts of every onlooker and won the float contest. The theme of the parade being “Our Grand Old Flag,” it is no surprise that this powerful image was able to captivate the audience.
The Iwo Jima float has a lot meaning behind it for citizens, the Young Marine organization, and our country as a whole. Matthew Harvey, a member of the Young Marines who has progressed to the rank of sergeant, describes why this memorial means so much:
“Iwo Jima was important as a battle … because if you think about World War II and that time period, everyone was done with the war. They did not want any part of it … Iwo Jima and the flag raising on Mount Suribachi, that was the first thing that kicked America back into gear. Ever since then, it has been an awe-inspiring sight, not only for marine corps traditions but also for America as a whole. It symbolizes what we can do when we are inspired. The whole country just rallied together and fought back.”
“The float did exactly what we were intending it to do — that is, to really inspire people and get people to think … and hopefully educate kids,” says Juliann Harvey, commander of the Casper Mountain Young Marine unit.
The float itself has a lot of history in Harvey’s life. She first saw it in 2010 at a parade in Colorado. She and her family became interested in the Young Marines and started becoming involved. While she herself does not have any military background, she started the organization in Casper in 2017. Seeing that float for the first time has shaped her and her family’s lives as she started her kids in the program, eventually leading to their stories of joining the military.
The float was made possible by the Young Marines, American Legion, and the Marine Corps League both for Casper and for Colorado. There were five children on the float, one walking beside it, and four children doing the color guard. That was the procession at the beginning of the parade, and the youngest child participating was only eight years old.
Casper Mountain Young Marines is a national nonprofit youth education program for young boys and girls. Their goal is to promote moral, mental, and physical development throughout the program. They focus on character building and leadership qualities that help promote healthy lifestyles. One of their main programs is tackling drug abuse and trying to prevent drug use.
Youth from the ages of eight through the end of high school can be members of the Young Marines. The only requirement is that they maintain good standing with their schools. The members undergo a 26-hour orientation course that is normally spread out through a few weekends. During those grueling hours, children have the opportunity to learn about the history of the United States Marine Corps. They learn essentials to military life such as customs and courtesy, close order drills, physical fitness, and military ranking systems.
After they graduate from this, the kids get to don the Young Marines uniform. They can earn rank and ribbon awards for work that they do in leadership, community service, swimming, academic excellence, first aid, and drug resistance training.
The program is run by adult volunteers, many of which are former, active, or reserve Marines or military veterans in general. These volunteers believe that being a marine has positively affected them, and they want to share this with more people. The unit in Casper is run by only eight volunteers.
The organization does color guard at multiple events including autocross, Douglas drag races, and car shows. They are also actively involved in events that support veterans at Casper College and around town. In addition to these local events, they also plan many trips for the youth to participate in. Last year, they traveled to Custer State Park, Mount Rushmore, and South Dakota National Cemetery. This year, they are planning a trip to Pearl Harbor to participate in a veterans’ parade there. In order to support these big trips, Casper Mountain Young Marines do a lot of fundraising. If you would like to donate, you can access their donation page here.
For more information or how to get involved in the program, please visit their website at https://www.cmym.org/ or attend one of their informational meetings on July 27th or August 10th at Old Town Family Fun & Amusements at 301 West E Street, Casper, WY 82601.
