The Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MJROTC) conducted an awards ceremony at the high school on May 8th. Cadets were recognized for service to the community and school, for superior performance in JROTC and school extracurricular activities, and outstanding academic achievement. Many representatives of veterans and civic organizations attended to personally present their awards.

            Major Tom McGrath, the Senior Marine Instructor, noted the high number of parents who attended. “The great attendance of parents, who also brought a significant amount of food for the celebration of their sons and daughters, shows what they think of our program.”

The Marine Instructor, Master Sergeant Jeff Benak, echoed the interest that parents have for JROTC. “We have a great group of kids whose enthusiasm for all of our activities has spread to their parents.”

Among those activities are the MCHS military Drill Team, the Raider Team, and the CyberPatriot Team. Cadet Captain Marcus Mantel earned the American Legion Military medal for his extraordinary performance on the Drill Team, as he commanded four different units, requiring him to memorize four different drill cards. He plans on serving in the Marine Corps, specifically in Force Reconnaissance. Cadet 2nd Lieutenant Alexandra Reed earned the Sons of the American Revolution medal as the top female cadet. That award was accompanied with a check for $1000.00. Reed plans on attending college on an ROTC scholarship (worth $180,000.00) and serving as a Cyber Security Officer. Cadet Staff Sergeant Daniel Kohn earned the Marine Corps League medal as the best sophomore cadet. Kohn was a stalwart performer on the Raider team. He plans on attending the U.S. Naval Academy ( education valued at $350,000.00) and serving as a Navy SEAL officer.   Other individual awardees were:

-Cadet Corporal Aiden Gorden earned the Veterans of Foreign Wars medal as the best male cadet;

-Cadet Corporal Peyton Downs earned the Daughters of the American Revolution as the top female sophomore cadet;

- Cadet Gunnery Sergeant Ann Sawyer earned the Women Marine medal for extraordinary extracurricular activities. Sawyer is the top hitter in the Duneland Athletic Conference softball league;

-Cadet Staff Sergeant Jaiden Sledd earned the American Legion Scholastic medal for having the best grade point average;

-Cadet Staff Sergeant Savannah Timm earned the Daughters of 1812 for working the most community service hours;

-Cadet 2nd Lieutenant Matthew Wilson earned the Military Officers Association of America award for superior endurance and overcoming adversity.

Wilson was in a serious car accident during the winter. He made an exceptionally fast recovery and amazingly has already returned to school and is catching up on all of the school work he missed.

The cadets have no time to rest on their laurels. They will continue to support community and school organizations, to include the MCHS graduation on June 2nd. They will also be marching in the Michigan City Memorial Day parade and participating in the Memorial Day ceremony at Greenwood Cemetery. Cadets will be preparing for next year’s Drill and Raider seasons by participating in conditioning sessions over the summer. They will also be sending cadets to national Drill and Cyber camps over the summer.  All of these activities are done at no cost to MCHS or the cadets. All costs are covered by the Marine Corps.