Silver Lake student makes trip to Hawaii
By Gail Peckler-Dziki
Correspondent
Ben Randolph is a fifth-grader at Riverview School who lives in Silver Lake with his family consisting of parents Doug and Ginger and has an older brother, Christian, a seventh-grader.
Ben, who is also a Young Marine, had the honor of attending the 75th anniversary commemoration of Pearl Harbor Day in Hawaii last month.
“I became interested in the Young Marines because a family friend’s son, Kurt Wagner, had been in it until he was 18,” Ben said.
Kurt is the son of Chris and Phil Lass.
Ben was among 18 Young Marines along with seven adults from his Southeastern Wisconsin who attended.
Members are comprised of people coming from Milwaukee, southward to Northern Illinois.
All of the students worked to raise $2,000 so they could attend.
“We spent about six months raising funds,” Ben said. “We got up early on weekend mornings when it was still dark out.”
“It was the first time I was excited for Monday,” he quipped. “I felt as if I were sleeping in.”
Local businesses donated money to the cause, including Buss Ford in McHenry, Ill., Lynch Chevrolet in Burlington and Merlin in Kenosha.
Close to home, Harm’s at Silver Lake Auto, The Boat Doc and People’s Bank also contributed to the cause.
Ben also sold sausage sticks to raise funds.
Long voyage
It was a long trip to Hawaii, with a four-hour flight to Los Angeles, a five-hour layover, followed by another five-hour flight to Hawaii.
“I wanted to honor those who had fallen and those who survived,” Ben said.
While he was there on his seven-day visit, Ben saw the Arizona Memorial, heard the oldest living survivor speak, and walked up the stairs to the top of the Punchbowl National Cemetery.
“It was sad, seeing all the grave markers,” Ben said.
The trip home, scheduled when there was a snowstorm in Wisconsin, sidetracked Ben and his group in Los Angeles for a 1-1/2 days.
“We had a bus tour of Hollywood and saw the sidewalk with the stars on it and visited Venice Beach,” he remembered.
Ben plans to head to college following high school, and then hopes to become an officer for the United States Marine Corps.
Young Marines in operation
The Young Marines is a group open to boys and girls from 8 years old through high school graduation.
Ben meets with his Young Marine Unit every Wednesday at the Oak Creek Community Center, and when weather permits, in the park.
Weekly activities include marching drills along with physical and navigational training.
Navigation training involves the use of maps and a compass.
Ben has also participated in the Appleseed project and marksmanship training.
Gun safety is taught at the Racine Rifle Club, where they received two days of training one weekend last summer.
Community service, with an emphasis on helping veterans, is also part of the program.
Last year, Ben helped retired Marine veteran James Hunter, of Bartlett, Ill. with fencing repairs at his home.
Local education is included, with an opportunity for Ben to help teachers at Riverview in cleaning up classrooms and store items, which was done at the end of last year.