thedrifter
03-16-06, 07:27 AM
Geoff Oldfather: Marines can't give cash away to Martin students, it seems
March 16, 2006
Dave Martin, a Marine who served two tours in the Corps and one tour of duty in Vietnam, can't figure it out.
With the cost of college, he thought some Martin County high school seniors would jump at the chance to win scholarship money that's almost theirs for the taking.
All they have to do is write a 300-word essay about the Marine Corps.
There are no income requirements and it's not based on grades. The essay can be about anything having to do with the Corps; when and how it was formed, the Corps motto, traditions or a particular campaign. There must be hundreds of possible topics.
This is the fourth year the Marine Corps League, Martin County Detachment 1045, has offered the scholarships to a senior from South Fork or Martin County High School. A committee of League members chooses the best essay from each school and awards that student a $1,000 scholarship to the college of their choice. They're hoping to include a scholarship for a Jensen Beach High school senior next year.
But only one student has submitted an essay. And if that's all they get, the League might have no choice but to discontinue the program.
"We're just stumped, absolutely stunned at the lack of response. We've discussed it and no one could come up with a viable reason as to why," Martin said.
The league event that raises the money for the scholarships is Saturday at the Heritage Ridge Country Club. It's called the annual Leatherneck Scramble. (There's another topic for you seniors — where'd the term "leatherneck" come from?)
More than 120 golfers and Marines and former Marines and a lot of local businesses are helping to raise money for the scholarships and, for the first time, to establish a fund to help wounded Marines returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.
I wondered if the reason students aren't applying is because they think they'd have to join the Marines if they won.
"There's absolutely no obligation. No questions are asked. We simply send them the money," Martin said.
It would be tragic if students or parents thought that with the war in Iraq and men and women from all our armed services being wounded or killed each day, to write an essay about the Corps would somehow be making some kind of political statement.
That's not what it's about.
Whether you're for or against what we're doing there, you can't deny that the Corps and the rest of our armed services are made up of selfless and professional men and women who are willing to give their all for this country.
That's another possible topic — that sense of pride that Martin and his fellow Marines have. Students can get information and submit the essays to their high school counselors. Anyone wanting information about the fund-raiser, the scholarship program, or how to make a donation to help wounded Marines can call (772) 287-7886.
I'll be doing a column about the winners and we'll post the winning essays with the online version at TCPalm.com.
Semper fi.
Martin County columnist Geoff Oldfather can be reached at 221-4217 or geoff.oldfather@scripps.com.
Ellie
March 16, 2006
Dave Martin, a Marine who served two tours in the Corps and one tour of duty in Vietnam, can't figure it out.
With the cost of college, he thought some Martin County high school seniors would jump at the chance to win scholarship money that's almost theirs for the taking.
All they have to do is write a 300-word essay about the Marine Corps.
There are no income requirements and it's not based on grades. The essay can be about anything having to do with the Corps; when and how it was formed, the Corps motto, traditions or a particular campaign. There must be hundreds of possible topics.
This is the fourth year the Marine Corps League, Martin County Detachment 1045, has offered the scholarships to a senior from South Fork or Martin County High School. A committee of League members chooses the best essay from each school and awards that student a $1,000 scholarship to the college of their choice. They're hoping to include a scholarship for a Jensen Beach High school senior next year.
But only one student has submitted an essay. And if that's all they get, the League might have no choice but to discontinue the program.
"We're just stumped, absolutely stunned at the lack of response. We've discussed it and no one could come up with a viable reason as to why," Martin said.
The league event that raises the money for the scholarships is Saturday at the Heritage Ridge Country Club. It's called the annual Leatherneck Scramble. (There's another topic for you seniors — where'd the term "leatherneck" come from?)
More than 120 golfers and Marines and former Marines and a lot of local businesses are helping to raise money for the scholarships and, for the first time, to establish a fund to help wounded Marines returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.
I wondered if the reason students aren't applying is because they think they'd have to join the Marines if they won.
"There's absolutely no obligation. No questions are asked. We simply send them the money," Martin said.
It would be tragic if students or parents thought that with the war in Iraq and men and women from all our armed services being wounded or killed each day, to write an essay about the Corps would somehow be making some kind of political statement.
That's not what it's about.
Whether you're for or against what we're doing there, you can't deny that the Corps and the rest of our armed services are made up of selfless and professional men and women who are willing to give their all for this country.
That's another possible topic — that sense of pride that Martin and his fellow Marines have. Students can get information and submit the essays to their high school counselors. Anyone wanting information about the fund-raiser, the scholarship program, or how to make a donation to help wounded Marines can call (772) 287-7886.
I'll be doing a column about the winners and we'll post the winning essays with the online version at TCPalm.com.
Semper fi.
Martin County columnist Geoff Oldfather can be reached at 221-4217 or geoff.oldfather@scripps.com.
Ellie