Column: Fox Valley Marines growing a proud legacy

Chicago Tribune

2 days ago

When the Fox Valley Marines walk by you and your family and friends at Friday's Fourth of July parade in downtown Aurora, make sure to give them a special shout-out.
The U.S. Marine Corps is celebrating its 250th birthday this year – reason enough to show your appreciation. However, this local Detachment 1233 of the Marine Corps League, which covers Kane and Kendall counties but extends outreach beyond those borders, deserves a special round of home-grown applause.
That's especially true because about a decade ago, the detachment had lost so many members – through death or relocation – it nearly shut down.
In fact, Ted Clinnin, who was senior vice commandant of the group at the time, notified Marine Corps League headquarters in Washington, D.C., about the dilemma. But when he learned all remaining funds of a shuttered detachment must go to the national organization rather than stay local, those surviving members became determined to not only stay afloat but find ways to grow.
Chalk it up to a Marine's 'gung-ho attitude,' noted Clinnin, proudly noting the Fox Valley roster has gone from seven to nearly 60 since 2015, with about half those members showing up regularly at each monthly meeting at the Oswego American Legion Post.
And yes, its reach is also growing. For example, the group is one of a handful of the Illinois region's 40 detachments that have formed a partnership with Scouting. According to Clinnin, in one year alone, members have presented 44 Eagle Scouts – from Hampshire to St. Charles to Aurora to Naperville to Sandwich – with its Good Citizenship Award, along with the coveted Marine's Ka-Bar combat knife that stands on a wooden eagle, hand-carved by one of its members as a way of dealing with PTSD.
'The kids love seeing us there and we have a good time,' said past Commandant Tom Bulin, who told me he's done about 215 of these presentations over the years.
The local Fox Valley Marines also team up with Scouts to do service projects for veterans. Most recently, Montgomery Troop 12 put in a full day doing yard work Saturday at the Batavia home of Marine veteran Kyle Moser, who lost both his legs above the knee in 2011 during a combat mission in Afghanistan.
You may remember from a previous column that Moser was having issues after a property reassessment upped the tax bill on his specially-adapted home – a gift from Jared Allen's Homes for Wounded Warriors – that disqualified him from a state tax exemption for disabled veterans.
Multiple veterans groups rallied behind Moser's situation, including the Fox Valley Marines and member state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, who convinced the Batavia Township Assessor's Office to take another look at the numbers. And earlier this week a 'certificate of error' was issued, which means Moser will receive a 100% refund on the $7,000 he paid in property taxes this year, and that going forward the value of his home will not exceed the exemption cap.
Helping veterans is a huge part of what this local detachment does. Members offer educational scholarships for Marine families, provide honor guards as well as 'casket watches' at funerals, and help support the Fox Valley Young Marines of Elgin, as well as the award-winning Marine Corps JROTC program at Romeoville High School.
In addition, members contribute to local food pantries in Aurora, Naperville and Sugar Grove, and for a number of years the group has held its own drive-through food distribution at Phillips Park in Aurora.
A huge chunk of funding comes through its Fox Valley Marine Corps League Golf Classic, an annual event that on Aug. 13 will bring 144 golfers together at Bliss Creek in Sugar Grove.
'They are amazing. It is the best outing you can go to,' insisted Shari Frieders, executive director of Between Friends Food Pantry in Sugar Grove. 'We show up with a tent, have a great time. And they make a generous donation at the end.'
'Our goal is to help,' said Clinnin, who was a college student in 1967 when he decided that rather than be drafted, he was better off enlisting in the Marines where 'they would teach me the best way to survive' and return home.
'We have a great group,' he added, pointing out that the men and women who are members of the Fox Valley Marines range in age from the mid-20s into the 80s, and includes professors, police officers, business executives, truck drivers and other professionals who can offer a wide variety of ideas and opinions.
And fortunately, new blood is replacing those who die or move out of the area.
Troop 12 Assistant Scout leader and Senior Vice Commandant Andrew Kajtsa, who joined the Fox Valley Marines last year 'after a pamphlet was left on my car,' told me the group is committed to getting more exposure and stepping up recruitment, particularly for the younger generation of veterans who will carry this proud legacy forward.
'Supporting local veterans means standing with those who stood with us,' noted Nelson Santos, founder and CEO of Scientel Solutions LLC, which contributes a significant dollar amount to these veterans from its own annual golf fundraiser.
'Organizations like the Fox Valley Marines exemplify this commitment, making a real, lasting impact in the lives of veterans right here in our community,' he continued. 'Their dedication reminds us that honoring service begins at home.'
It all comes down to helping veterans and the community, insist longtime Fox Valley Marines members Clinnin and Bulin, who look forward to seeing you at the Independence Day Parade in Aurora on Friday morning.
Show them (and all veterans, for that matter) your appreciation, not just for what they've done but for what they continue to do.