To use a Marine Corps phrase, the Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior
Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) has started the school year off by “hitting the deck running.”
The cadets have already done 11 Color Guards and 5 additional community service events in support of
MCHS and Michigan City/LaPorte County. The Color Guards included 6 football games, the LaPorte
County Veterans Court Graduation, the 9/11 Memorial Ceremony, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Veteran
of the Year Award Dinner and the MCHS Homecoming Parade. The other community service events
included the Michigan City Area Schools Back-To-School Rally and the United Way Car Wash.
“Our cadets are very dedicated,” said Senior Marine Instructor Major Tom McGrath. “Our
military drill team, which has 26 cadets, is here every morning to practice at 5:45 am. Many of them
also have part-time jobs, yet they still find the time to support our school and community.”
Master Sergeant Jeff Benak, the Marine Instructor, also had high praise for the cadets. “It takes
most students at least a few weeks to get into the swing of things, but our cadets were ready to answer
the call of service requests from our school and community right off the bat.”
The cadets will continue to support the school in events like all remaining football games and
the Halloween night at Ames Field on October 24th. MCHS will host a military drill competition on
October 26th. 9 schools from Indiana and Chicagoland are expected to compete. “Our goal is to return
to the National Marine Championship for the third consecutive year,” said McGrath. “Only 16 schools
out of the 250 Marine schools nationally get to go. This first meet will be a good indication of how
much progress we have made toward that goal.” The meet is free and is open to the public.
Competition starts at 8:30 am, completing at about 3:00 pm.
MCHS will also host a Veterans Day Ceremony on November 11th at 1:30 pm in the school gym.
This event, featuring the school band, choir, and MCJROTC, is also open to the public. All veterans will
be honored. The guest speaker will be Indiana State Representative Pat Boy.