They spent time with Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets in a miniature boot camp. They stretched. They pushed their bodies up in time-honored exercise. They did sit-ups and went running.
And for one group of youngsters from the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound, the partnership with AFJROTC cadets from Bethel High School reaped a Day in a Lifetime dividend.
Their flags looked almost bigger than they were, but 10-year-old Marie Jackson, 9-year-old Jordan Deagan, 8-year-old David Orozco, 9-year-old Tyrese Holmes, 10-year-old Tyrell Varnell and 13-year-old Moises Estrada proudly carried in the colors recently at the last Seattle Mariners baseball game of the season on Sept. 28.
Their uniforms included white hats, orangish-red Boys & Girls Clubs T-shirts, athletic shoes – and serious expressions on their young faces.
The youngsters from the Lakewood Boys & Girls Club marched in the American flag, along with the Washington State, Army and Air Force standards.
The red, white and blue of the Star-Spangled Banner, the evergreen Washington flag, white Army standard and blue Air Force banner flew smartly in the breeze, creating a colorful, patriotic tableau.
Two kids bearing training rifles flanked the flag bearers.
Through the mini-boot camp and color guard training, the kids learned about leadership, teamwork and dedication, according to a press release from Armando Mejia, military outreach director for the Boys & Girls Clubs Lakewood branch.
The color guard members also got an early lesson in poise and how to handle themselves with distinction in a crowd: there were 27,110 in the Safeco Field stands on Kids Appreciation Day.
Kris Sherman, The News Tribune
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