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"Young Marines"

Aired April 30, 2003 - 14:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the few, the proud, the young. They're called young Marines. They are really not Marines, though, although many are members of Marine Corps families, which you might have guessed. The children, boys and girls, getting some training each week from real Marines, jarheads, as they're fondly known, in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. More on this story now from Aaron Saykin of CNN affiliate WECT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Up, up, up. On your toes, toes, toes.

AARON SAYKIN, WECT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're tough like Marines, only much smaller.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five more, five more. Pull, two, pull.

SAYKIN: More than half of the 75 children in this Camp Lejeune young Marines program are from military families.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more we've got to do. One more, one more. Good job.

SAYKIN: Some, like Gunnery Sergeant Evan Rabidou and his brother Jake have fathers off at war.

SGT. EVAN RABIDOU, YOUNG MARINE: We hope that he's glad that we're doing it and I'm pretty sure that he is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me. Are you having a bad day? No, what you're doing is losing your bearing. That's what you're doing. You don't push nobody around. I push people around.

SAYKIN: The instructors, all volunteers, can be tough. Though they do more than just bark orders.

CAPT. JAMES JONES, U.S. MARINE CORPS: You can see the changes in the kids as they stay in the program. We've made a big difference here in the county, or I'd like to think we have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three. One, two, three.

SAYKIN: One night a week, they mold these bright-eyed youngsters not into Marines, but responsible young adults.

CINDY RABIDOU, YOUNG MARINE'S MOTHER: We were at the store the other day, and a lady was walking all the way across the parking lot to return her cart, and he ran over and said, ma'am, let me return that for you, and I thought the lady was going to, you know, fall down. She said I didn't realize that there were kids like that anymore.

SAYKIN: Some of the smaller ones, as young as 8, have other ideas.

(on camera): Why do you want to be a Marine?

MICAH BRAUSCH, YOUNG MARINE: Well, I just want to see some action. All that fighting and everything and handling guns, it looks like fun.

SAYKIN: The Corps doesn't just hand these young Marines their uniforms. In fact, they've got to go through their own version of mini boot camp before they earn their stripes.

(voice-over): The cadets in the plain clothed company are brand new, and it shows. One of them grew up to be the national young Marine of the year in 2002. Though he won't be rushing into the real corps.

THOMAS EGGENSPICCER, TOP YOUNG MARINE: Also, I go to college and I might enlist or be an officer after that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job. Good job.

SAYKIN: For some kids, five pullups and a week without trouble in school meanings mission accomplished.

JONES: You see those kids smile, I mean, it's all worth it. It really is.

SAYKIN: Training children to answer the call of duty, whatever it may be.

At Camp Lejeune, Aaron Saykin, News 6.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired April 30, 2003 - 14:55   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the few, the proud, the young. They're called young Marines. They are really not Marines, though, although many are members of Marine Corps families, which you might have guessed. The children, boys and girls, getting some training each week from real Marines, jarheads, as they're fondly known, in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. More on this story now from Aaron Saykin of CNN affiliate WECT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Up, up, up. On your toes, toes, toes.

AARON SAYKIN, WECT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're tough like Marines, only much smaller.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five more, five more. Pull, two, pull.

SAYKIN: More than half of the 75 children in this Camp Lejeune young Marines program are from military families.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more we've got to do. One more, one more. Good job.

SAYKIN: Some, like Gunnery Sergeant Evan Rabidou and his brother Jake have fathers off at war.

SGT. EVAN RABIDOU, YOUNG MARINE: We hope that he's glad that we're doing it and I'm pretty sure that he is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me. Are you having a bad day? No, what you're doing is losing your bearing. That's what you're doing. You don't push nobody around. I push people around.

SAYKIN: The instructors, all volunteers, can be tough. Though they do more than just bark orders.

CAPT. JAMES JONES, U.S. MARINE CORPS: You can see the changes in the kids as they stay in the program. We've made a big difference here in the county, or I'd like to think we have.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three. One, two, three.

SAYKIN: One night a week, they mold these bright-eyed youngsters not into Marines, but responsible young adults.

CINDY RABIDOU, YOUNG MARINE'S MOTHER: We were at the store the other day, and a lady was walking all the way across the parking lot to return her cart, and he ran over and said, ma'am, let me return that for you, and I thought the lady was going to, you know, fall down. She said I didn't realize that there were kids like that anymore.

SAYKIN: Some of the smaller ones, as young as 8, have other ideas.

(on camera): Why do you want to be a Marine?

MICAH BRAUSCH, YOUNG MARINE: Well, I just want to see some action. All that fighting and everything and handling guns, it looks like fun.

SAYKIN: The Corps doesn't just hand these young Marines their uniforms. In fact, they've got to go through their own version of mini boot camp before they earn their stripes.

(voice-over): The cadets in the plain clothed company are brand new, and it shows. One of them grew up to be the national young Marine of the year in 2002. Though he won't be rushing into the real corps.

THOMAS EGGENSPICCER, TOP YOUNG MARINE: Also, I go to college and I might enlist or be an officer after that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job. Good job.

SAYKIN: For some kids, five pullups and a week without trouble in school meanings mission accomplished.

JONES: You see those kids smile, I mean, it's all worth it. It really is.

SAYKIN: Training children to answer the call of duty, whatever it may be.

At Camp Lejeune, Aaron Saykin, News 6.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com