Marines Salute Their Sole JROTC Program in O.C. on Corps Birthday

The discipline and innovation learned over 20 years in the Marines paid off Wednesday for Maj. Robert R. Parker.

The major, his gunnery sergeant and 117 uniformed cadets of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps assembled on the Orange High School grounds at 8 a.m. sharp, standing at attention to celebrate that day in 1775 when the corps was founded in Tun’s Tavern in Philadelphia.

In 1921, Marine Corps Commandant John A. Lejeune ordered Marines worldwide to commemorate this “birthday,” as it is officially termed.

But this birthday--the 222nd--was especially memorable.

First, Parker’s hard work paid off as he formally presented the Department of the Navy’s official commission for Orange High’s JROTC program, which began in September 1996. It is the Marines’ only JROTC in Orange County.

And, according to birthday tradition, the oldest and the youngest Marines in the region come together for the party. So Parker arranged for World War II veteran Toba V. Wheeler, the oldest and the first woman from Southern California to join the Marines, to be the guest of honor. The youngest participant was 14-year-old cadet Harly Legowski.

However, Wheeler, who has not faced a reveille in 50 years, got stuck in traffic and was nowhere to be seen as the ceremony got under way.

It might have shaken a lesser service.

“One thing the Marine Corps teaches you is you have to be flexible,” said Parker, who quickly enlisted Gen Price, a 76-year-old female Marine veteran, to pinch-hit. “Time and tides wait for no man and tides are very important to the Marines. If you hit the wrong tide when you’re landing, you’re in trouble.”

Wheeler did arrive in time for the birthday reception, where she shared some cake with the students and marveled at how much more rigorous the physical requirements of Marines are today.

“I couldn’t have done that even when I was 25,” she said.

ROTC has also changed much since its decline during the unpopular Vietnam War. It is now considered a leadership course, and students are under no pressure to join the service when they graduate.

“This isn’t a recruiting program,” Parker said. “I’m big on community service and volunteering. You’ve got to know your community, be involved, to be a leader.”

The program focuses on teaching self-discipline and pride to students, although many still have an eye on a military career.

“I was planning to join the Marines before I even heard about the program,” sophomore Jose Mariscal said. “They’re amphibious, and that’s cool.”