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thedrifter
12-18-07, 07:36 AM
The proud, the few

By MECHELE COOPER
Staff Writer

AUGUSTA -- A bunch of old Marines could use some help breathing life back into a service organization with a declining membership.

The Kennebec Valley Marine Corps League Detachment 599 should have a membership of no fewer than 400, according to past Commandant Clement Dostie of Belgrade.

Dwindling numbers have left the League with 40 names on its roster and only a few active members. The youngest is 56 years old.

"We need young blood in our group," said Dostie, 79. "Our fundraising is totally dependent on membership. They're the ones who do the work. If we were very affluent, we could do a lot more locally."

He said the Marine Corps League in Augusta was an active group in the 1950s but petered out over the years. Then, in 1994, the League was resurrected.

Incorporated by an act of Congress in 1937, the Marine Corps League perpetuates the traditions and spirit of all Marines who proudly wear or who have worn the eagle, globe and anchor of the Corps.

Dostie, who served in the Marines from 1948 to 1952, said Maine has seven "detachments" or units.

The group's national headquarters is in Fairfax, Va.

John Poulin, the current commandant of the Kennebec Valley detachment, said he wants young Marines returning home from Iraq or who fought in the Gulf War to know the League exists and that its members are here to support them.

"We're a supportive unit," Poulin said. "We know some of these young folks are coming back and they have issues. We can help them with those issues."

"They go to the VA (U.S. Veterans' Affairs administration at Togus) first off, but the VA is very slow processing claims unless you know the system," he added. "We have what you call service representatives who know the system and can cut through the red tape."

Poulin, 61, served four years of active duty: 18 months in Vietnam and two years nonactive duty.

To become a member, he said, a person must have served honorably in the Marine Corps or as a Navy corpsman, who serve with Marine medical units.

The League also has associate members, which can be family members or someone who wants to support the Marine Corps but who never served in that branch.

The League meets the first Wednesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in the Kennebec Valley Federal Credit Union at 316 Northern Ave. Annual dues are $30.

The detachment provides color and honor guards and honor burials for Marines, and greets soldiers returning home from war.

"What we're tasked to do is a lot of the funerals here at the Veterans' Cemetery," he said. "We have an honor guard unit. That's our claim to fame. You won't find us doing a lot of parades because we don't have the legs for it."

Lee Longe, of Belgrade, one of the youngest members at 56, said younger members can turn the organization around to benefit fellow Marines and their communities.

"Anyone traveling down the turnpike will, in fact, see more Marine Corps decals than any other service," Longe said. "We have a kind of brotherhood as Marines when we're in the firefighting field, and this is an extension of that."

The League gives out food baskets to various groups during the holidays, and supports Toys for Tots and the Young Marines. Every year, it donates to a cause.

"We're small and don't have very much money to give, but we pick a worthy cause and donate what we can," he said. "This past year, we gave to the Alfond Cancer Center and Parents of Marines."

For more information about the League, call Poulin at 626-9062.

The League is open to residents of Kennebec and Somerset counties.

Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, Ext. 408

mcooper@centralmaine.com

Ellie