Sean C. Morgan
Ian Search was named Division Young Marine of The Year on Jan. 5.
The Sweet Home High School junior will represent Division 6, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, California, Arizona and Utah, at the annual leadership conference in Reno, Nev., in May. He will compete with five other division Young Marines of the Year for the title of National Marine of the Year.
Search, a master sergeant and platoon leader with the Linn-Benton Young Marines, also received a certificate of Meritorious Service from Regimental Cmdr. George Pobi. He received his certificate for Division Young Marine of the Year from Division Cmdr. Mike Wilson.
Last year, Search was the recipient of the Unit Battalion Regiment Young Marine of the Year award, representing Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.
“Honestly, when I first found out, I didn’t have the words to describe it,” Search said. “I was dumbstruck, really.”
He was busy with other things and didn’t think he would win the award, he said. When he received word, he was at a high school assembly the same day as the robbery of Umpqua Bank. The high school was locked down at the time as a precaution.
Getting that call made his day, Search said. “I’m feeling honored to have been chosen.”
And he is excited to be the voice of the division this year, he asid.
He has been asked to speak at one dinner already, said his father Jim Search, and he’ll stay busy with a number of activities.
Search will travel again to Washington, D.C., for the Young Marines symposium. He’ll participate in the Reno conference. He also will head up division school in Idaho in late July and the division encampment in California the first of August.
As part of a trip to Guam, he and his fellow division winners will escort veterans to the top of Iwo Jima for a ceremony with special permission from the Japanese government.
“The purpose of the Young Marines is to encourage a healthy drug-free lifestyle,” Search said. The organization started in 1958 when a group of Marine veterans of Korea couldn’t put their children into the Scouts but wanted to be active with them anyway. They would take them camping and teach them, similar to the Boy Scouts.
They began marching in parades and eventually were chartered by the Marine Corps League in 1965. In 1993, the Young Marines became the drug demand reduction program for the Marine Corps League and the Marine Corps.
The goal is to positively impact American youth, Search said. It is the best youth program in the nation by far.
“I honestly believe in the past few years I have learned stuff no other youth in Sweet Home is going to learn,” Search said. It has helped him in numerous areas, including communication. The program requires public speaking and teaching classes while climbing the ranks.
“I’ve done a lot better in school, especially in English, because of the public speaking,” Search said.
The Young Marines also put in at least 50 hours each of community service. Search spends his time helping out with the Mat Club, and his unit helps set up Storybook Land in Albany, helps with Toys for Tots, holds can drives and more. When senior citizens need a hand, the Young Marines step up and give them a hand.
A parent orientation will be held in March. There parents can find out more about the Young Marines and decide whether it is right for their children. The Young Marines are open to children between 10 and 18 years old. More details about the orientation will be available later.
For more information, visit the Young Marines at linnbentonyoungmarines.com or youngmarines.com.