PLAINFIELD — Corin McKee was able to make a personal goal this month when he was awarded the Division Young Marine of the Year.
McKee, 16, is a junior at Plainfield High School and has been involved with the Young Marines since he was 8 years old.
“My father is a Marine,” McKee said. “I actually found out about the Young Marines when I was 6 years old. But you have to be 8 to join so I had to wait two years.”
He said the program helped him to be more disciplined and has enjoyed it every day since he joined.
“The main focus of the Young Marines is to promote a drug-free lifestyle,” McKee said. “It is the No. 1 youth drug-reduction program in the nation.”
McKee is the son of Angela and Jared McKee of Plainfield.
“I plan on joining the Marines after high school,” he said. “I would like to be an infantry reserve.”
He said if he chooses to make the military his career, he will then decide on a specific job he would like to do.
Just last week McKee found out he was going to be named the Division Young Marine of the Year.
“This has been a goal of mine for a long time,” he said.
McKee will represent his division, which includes 55 units across 11 states.
“Our division has about 60 kids in it,” he said. “There are six divisions in the nation.”
McKee, along with the five other division winners, and their families will travel to Reno, Nev., to find out who the national winner will be.
“I’m pretty nervous but I’ve already met my division goal,” he said. “Getting the national award would just be a bonus.”
McKee will also be able to visit Guam and Iwo Jima in March.
“I really have been able to do a lot of travel with the Young Marines,” he said.
He was able to visit Pearl Harbor on a prior trip and has been on numerous service projects with the group, including helping with tornado cleanup in Henryville earlier this year. McKee also traveled to Virginia to participate in Advanced Leadership School.
To learn more about the Central Indiana Young Marines, visit the website at ciym.net. The national website is www.youngmarines.com.
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