Summary The Young Marines is a youth education and service program for boys and girls, ages eight through the completion of high school. A nationwide organization, the Young Marines promotes the mental, moral, and physical development of its members. The program focuses on character building, leadership, and maintaining a healthy drug-free lifestyle. Although the Young Marines is the United States official focal program to the Department of Defense for Drug Demand Reduction, the Young Marines is not a recruiting force for the Corps.
Alachua County’s group is named after Corporal Milton A. Lewis, United States Marine Corps, who attended Gainesville High School. Corporal Lewis was fatally wounded on August 7, 1942, on the Island of Tulagi in the Battle of Guadalacanal. He was the first Alachua County resident to die in Combat in World War II and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for valor. | | |