thedrifter
02-10-08, 10:10 AM
Runners honor Molly Marine with sprint on Parris Island
Published Sun, Feb 10, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Capt. Josh Rogers is used to banging out perfect times on the Marine Corps physical fitness test run, a three-mile event Marines must complete in less than 18 minutes for the highest score.
The 3.2-mile run he completed Saturday in 17:43 earned him more than a perfect score, however.
Rogers took first place among more than 100 runners who lined up at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island for the third annual Molly Marine 5K Run, sponsored by the Phyllis Alexander Chapter of the Women Marines Association.
About 150 friends, relatives and Molly Marine supporters showed up to cheer the runners.
"I'm stationed here on base, so I figured I'd come out to support the local history and base activities," the Missouri native said. "The Women Marines Association is a great organization here on base, and you have to respect and support what they're doing here. It's a good cause."
Second-place finisher Chief Warrant Officer Darrin Bellows crossed the finish line in front of the depot's Molly Marine monument with a time of 18:49.
Bellows, who's been stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort for more than three years, said he coaches a cross country runner at Battery Creek High School who invited him to the run.
"She wants to be a Marine some day, so I decided to come out here and support her and the Molly Marines."
Not everyone ran. Some competitors as young as 9 and as old as 73 walked the route, waving to supporters in the stands.
Run organizer Rosa Robertson, a retired gunnery sergeant, said the run netted more than $1,000, which chapter members will use to visit disabled vets and award scholarships to women Marines and reserve officer training corps cadets.
"Our purpose is to educate and preserve the history of women Marines," she said. "And this run just keeps getting better every year."
Robertson also organized a dinner Saturday at the depot to honor 65 years of women Marines, the ideal of which is the mythical Molly Marine.
Prior to World War II, women Marines could serve only in clerical positions. Pressured by heavy wartime losses, however, Corps leadership created the Marine Corps Women's Reserve in February 1943.
In each graduating platoon at Parris Island, a woman Marine is chosen by her peers for the honorary title of Molly Marine for her leadership during recruit training.
The ceremony dubbing the recruit Molly Marine takes place in front of a replica of the original Molly Marine statue, which was has stood at Elk Place and Canal Street in New Orleans since 1943.
"The spirit of Molly Marine is just the camaraderie of women in the military," said Brenda Moore, run organizer and a retired master sergeant. "It's just to show that women are here to provide leadership."
Ellie
Published Sun, Feb 10, 2008 12:00 AM
By DAN HILLIARD
dhilliard@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Capt. Josh Rogers is used to banging out perfect times on the Marine Corps physical fitness test run, a three-mile event Marines must complete in less than 18 minutes for the highest score.
The 3.2-mile run he completed Saturday in 17:43 earned him more than a perfect score, however.
Rogers took first place among more than 100 runners who lined up at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island for the third annual Molly Marine 5K Run, sponsored by the Phyllis Alexander Chapter of the Women Marines Association.
About 150 friends, relatives and Molly Marine supporters showed up to cheer the runners.
"I'm stationed here on base, so I figured I'd come out to support the local history and base activities," the Missouri native said. "The Women Marines Association is a great organization here on base, and you have to respect and support what they're doing here. It's a good cause."
Second-place finisher Chief Warrant Officer Darrin Bellows crossed the finish line in front of the depot's Molly Marine monument with a time of 18:49.
Bellows, who's been stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort for more than three years, said he coaches a cross country runner at Battery Creek High School who invited him to the run.
"She wants to be a Marine some day, so I decided to come out here and support her and the Molly Marines."
Not everyone ran. Some competitors as young as 9 and as old as 73 walked the route, waving to supporters in the stands.
Run organizer Rosa Robertson, a retired gunnery sergeant, said the run netted more than $1,000, which chapter members will use to visit disabled vets and award scholarships to women Marines and reserve officer training corps cadets.
"Our purpose is to educate and preserve the history of women Marines," she said. "And this run just keeps getting better every year."
Robertson also organized a dinner Saturday at the depot to honor 65 years of women Marines, the ideal of which is the mythical Molly Marine.
Prior to World War II, women Marines could serve only in clerical positions. Pressured by heavy wartime losses, however, Corps leadership created the Marine Corps Women's Reserve in February 1943.
In each graduating platoon at Parris Island, a woman Marine is chosen by her peers for the honorary title of Molly Marine for her leadership during recruit training.
The ceremony dubbing the recruit Molly Marine takes place in front of a replica of the original Molly Marine statue, which was has stood at Elk Place and Canal Street in New Orleans since 1943.
"The spirit of Molly Marine is just the camaraderie of women in the military," said Brenda Moore, run organizer and a retired master sergeant. "It's just to show that women are here to provide leadership."
Ellie