DAPHNE, Ala. — For many members of the armed forces, time spent on active duty and the resulting camaraderie throughout is an experience they carry for the rest of their lives. Former Marines in the Daphne area now have a chance to rekindle that camaraderie and connect with other members of the armed forces living in the area.

Daphne’s Marine Corps League detachment has held two organizational meetings and the next meeting is planned for Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Eagle’s Nest on the U.S. Sports Academy campus.

Cal Walters, commandant of the Department of Alabama Marine Corps League, said joining a local detachment of the Marine Corps League allows former Marines to continue the traditions learned on active duty during their civilian retirement.

Walters said he was drawn to joining a detachment for multiple reasons.

“One thing Marines like doing more than just about anything else is being with other Marines. That is whether they are on duty or no longer on active duty. The Marine Corps League allows us to come together as Marines and do Marine things again and reform those bonds of camaraderie. I liken it to kind of coming back into that Marine Corps family that you were in when you were on active duty,” Walters said.

Walters said the League will also allow members to join together for outreach programs.

“Along the way, we are able to get a lot of good work done for the Marines and their families and the veterans in our local communities, whether it is Toys for Tots or working at the veterans home in Bay Minette. It may just be helping out an individual Marine who is in need, to be able to be there and make sure that we live up to that sort of standard of being a Marine, helping Marines and making sure that we take care of our fellow Marines,” Walters said.

Sara Cole, the Daphne detachment’s paymaster, said she joined because of her connection to the armed forces.

“I come from a long lineage of military in my own family and I did go through Marine Corps training as an officer. It is something that is tied to my heart. I think it is important that we support our service members and I have a soft spot for the Marine Corps,” Cole said.

Daphne’s detachment has been in planning stages for nearly a year, Walters said.

“We started about a year ago and started putting out feelers for it and seeing what kind of response there was from the community,” Walters said.

The Daphne detachment is housed on the campus of the U.S. Sports Academy and was suggested by the school’s founding president, Dr. Thomas Rosandich, a former Marine who heard from other Marines of the need for a detachment in Baldwin County.

I had received a call from Dr. Rosandich,” Walters said. “Being a well-known figure in the community, he said he had had a number of requests from Marines in the area to form a detachment and the closest one to them at that time was over in Mobile. A lot of people that live on the Eastern Shore, they don’t want to drive back and forth.”

While the Daphne detachment was still in its early planning stages, a group of Marines from Gulf Shores decided to form a detachment there instead of driving all the way to Daphne for meetings, Walters said. The Gulf Shores detachment received its charter in January.

Walker expects the Daphne detachment will receive its charter in the coming weeks.

Map:

View Larger Map