About Our Young Marine Unit
Lt Alexander Bonnyman Unit of Knoxville, TN
The Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Unit was established in 1997 after the members of the Lt. Alexander Bonnyman Detachment #924 of the Marine Corps League voted to sponsor the unit. The first Commanding Officer (the position name was later changed to Unit Commander) was Denise Perry, a member of the Marine Reserve Company headquartered at the Navy/Marine Reserve Center, 2101 Alcoa Highway, Knoxville. She and her husband, also a Marine Reservist, ran the unit for the first few years. After Mrs. Perry came the following Unit Commanders:
MSgt. William Voight, USMC (Ret.),
SgtMaj. David Hatfield, USMC (Ret.),
Mr. Vernon Tassey, a Korean War Marine Veteran, and
Mr. Virgil Young, a Vietnam War Marine Veteran.
Mr. Joe McCarter, a Vietnam War US Army Veteran, has been the Executive Officer of the Unit almost from the beginning. His son, Joe McCarter, Jr., was in the second Recruit Class and eventually rose to become the senior Young Marine in the Unit before being honorably discharged when he graduated from high school.
Lt Alexander Bonnyman Unit Young Marines at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD - 2007