| Owens/Kennemore Detachment Founders Message |
Just after the attack on our country on 11 September, 2001, I turned to the internet to find out more information on our nations
status and possible troop deployments. I soon found the website, www.military.com and the discussion forums there.
It had been many years, since I was an active duty Marine and finding that military.com had a separate discussion forum for
Marines, I was soon engulfed in the camaraderie I'd been missing for a long time. But, there was still something missing. A
member of the forum said he also lived in South Carolina and was a member of a newly created Marine Corps League
detachment. I'd never heard of the League and wanted to know more. The Commandant of this newly formed detachment in
Aiken, SC, was also the newly elected Department of South Carolina Commandant, Ed Hammons.
Ed and I soon became friends and he helped me with the requirements to create another new detachment in Greenville. I once
more utilized the internet, to find other Marines in the area, as I was a newly transplanted Floridian and didn't know very many
people. In no time at all, we had enough people interested in joining, to charter a new detachment. I'd once more found what
had been missing for so long in my life. The regular camaraderie of other Marines in a real life environment.
My initial goal was simple. To add new members, help the local USMC Reservists in any way we could and to be a help in the
community, anywhere we could. I was elected Detachment Commandant, mostly because nobody else wanted the position,
though I knew that many among us could be much better at the job. I wanted to have our own meeting place at some time and
not be tethered to any other organization, as we are now, meeting in the basement of the American Legion Post in downtown
Greenville. A building of our own, either bought or leased on a long term basis.
We chartered on 17 August, 2002, just shy of one year from the date of the attacks on 11 September 2001 and only four months
after learning of the Marine Corps League. During the formation process, I met Marines in other towns and cities nearby.
Instead of bringing them into our detachment, it made more sense to help them create other detachments in their own towns.
Anderson, Spartanburg, Pickens and Seneca were soon on their way to having detachments of their own. Ed Hammons called
me one day and asked if I enjoyed helping these Marines create detachments and I said, "Yes, it's great to help other
Marines." He responded that it was a good thing, because he'd had me elected as Department Junior Vice Commandant at the
last Department Quarterly Meeting. It was news to me, since I'd never been to one of these meetings.
My tenure as Detachment Commandant is nearing an end now and I will not be seeking a second term, as I know several
others that can do a much better job. Besides, my duties as Department Junior Vice Commandant are taking up a lot of my time.
I do hope and pray that whoever takes over as the next Detachment Commandant and those who will preside after him, will
stick to the principles set forth in the Marine Corps League's mission statement and to continue to grow the
Owens/Kennemore detachment and continue to seek a permanent meeting place we can be proud of.
Semper Fi,
Wayne Stinnett
Founder/Commandant
Owens/Kennemore Detachment 1105
Marine Corps League
8 June 2003
status and possible troop deployments. I soon found the website, www.military.com and the discussion forums there.
It had been many years, since I was an active duty Marine and finding that military.com had a separate discussion forum for
Marines, I was soon engulfed in the camaraderie I'd been missing for a long time. But, there was still something missing. A
member of the forum said he also lived in South Carolina and was a member of a newly created Marine Corps League
detachment. I'd never heard of the League and wanted to know more. The Commandant of this newly formed detachment in
Aiken, SC, was also the newly elected Department of South Carolina Commandant, Ed Hammons.
Ed and I soon became friends and he helped me with the requirements to create another new detachment in Greenville. I once
more utilized the internet, to find other Marines in the area, as I was a newly transplanted Floridian and didn't know very many
people. In no time at all, we had enough people interested in joining, to charter a new detachment. I'd once more found what
had been missing for so long in my life. The regular camaraderie of other Marines in a real life environment.
My initial goal was simple. To add new members, help the local USMC Reservists in any way we could and to be a help in the
community, anywhere we could. I was elected Detachment Commandant, mostly because nobody else wanted the position,
though I knew that many among us could be much better at the job. I wanted to have our own meeting place at some time and
not be tethered to any other organization, as we are now, meeting in the basement of the American Legion Post in downtown
Greenville. A building of our own, either bought or leased on a long term basis.
We chartered on 17 August, 2002, just shy of one year from the date of the attacks on 11 September 2001 and only four months
after learning of the Marine Corps League. During the formation process, I met Marines in other towns and cities nearby.
Instead of bringing them into our detachment, it made more sense to help them create other detachments in their own towns.
Anderson, Spartanburg, Pickens and Seneca were soon on their way to having detachments of their own. Ed Hammons called
me one day and asked if I enjoyed helping these Marines create detachments and I said, "Yes, it's great to help other
Marines." He responded that it was a good thing, because he'd had me elected as Department Junior Vice Commandant at the
last Department Quarterly Meeting. It was news to me, since I'd never been to one of these meetings.
My tenure as Detachment Commandant is nearing an end now and I will not be seeking a second term, as I know several
others that can do a much better job. Besides, my duties as Department Junior Vice Commandant are taking up a lot of my time.
I do hope and pray that whoever takes over as the next Detachment Commandant and those who will preside after him, will
stick to the principles set forth in the Marine Corps League's mission statement and to continue to grow the
Owens/Kennemore detachment and continue to seek a permanent meeting place we can be proud of.
Semper Fi,
Wayne Stinnett
Founder/Commandant
Owens/Kennemore Detachment 1105
Marine Corps League
8 June 2003