The National Memorial Day Parade, with an estimated 250,000 spectators and 1.5 million television viewers and more online viewers, opened with a banner held by four Palm Beach County youth.
Elliott Trzasko of Wellington, Dariel Peguero of West Palm Beach, Jordan Miller of Jupiter Farms and Alexander Blanchard of West Palm Beach proudly carried the banner. For many years, members of the Young Marines of the Palm Beaches have had the honor each year of carrying this banner for the parade.
Thirteen students from Palm Beach County, ages 10 to 17, marched in the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. on May 28 as part of the Young Marines of the Palm Beaches. The other nine young people held other banners, including ones for Gary Sinise and the Gary Sinise Foundation that aids and honors veterans, first responders their families and those in need.
The Young Marines of the Palm Beaches is a youth organization chartered by the U.S. Marine Corps League in 1995 and is part of the national Young Marines. A youth organization for boys and girls, ages 8 to 18, it seeks to teach children to stay away from drug addiction, to learn more about the nation and its history, to show respect to those who’ve served, and to share the positive values, knowledge and skills that Marines learned in the U.S. Marine Corps.
The Young Marines is a national youth organization that began in 1959 in Waterbury, Conn., with a few boys and has grown to include more than 260 units with 9,000 boys and girls with units in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Bahrain, Japan and affiliates in other countries. Young Marines march in parades, serve as color guards at community events, do a variety of community service, and attend a wide variety of camps, adventures and schools to learn more skills.
