SoUtah Devil Pup program is gearing up for a great summer camp session at Camp Pendleton. Camp this year will be held from 24 July through 2 August - with graduation day being August 2nd. The Southern Utah quota for pups this summer is 5 males and 1 female, so competition will be fierce.
There will be two meetings at Dixie High School AFJROTC on March 17 and 18. These meetings will give those interested in applying for summer camp the opportunity to sign up to get further information.
On March 26th and 27th, there will be informational meetings at the Washington County Public Library in St. George. They will be held in the evening. Attendance at one session is mandatory for a Devil Pup applicant and at least one parent/guardian. All questions can be asked at these meetings. More details will follow.
If you are interested in this program and do not attend Dixie High School, please contact Col. Toole at 652-3998 in St. George to get your name on the list. Start training now: sit ups, push ups, pull ups and a mile run.
Devil Pup Background
In 1953, retired Marine Corps Colonel Duncan Shaw, Sr.,
learned that a group of teenagers burned an American flag at a Southern
California high school. Aggravated by this activity and the attitudes
among American youth it represented, Colonel Shaw and a group of retired
Marine Corps Reserve Officers, now prominent Southern California
businessmen, asked the Commandant of the Marine Corps to help with a
community benefit project that would aid the development of character
qualities in teenage boys and girls, and enable them to become healthier
and more successful young citizens. The idea was to bring these youth down to Marine Corps
Base Camp Pendleton and let them observe how Marines are trained and
then for ten days be trained themselves by volunteer Marine escorts.
The Commandant agreed that the Marine Corps would cooperate if this group of former Marines would form a charitable corporation to solicit contributions needed for food, transportation, insurance and other sustainable items which the government cannot pay for. The name "Devil Pups" was conceived after observing that the German troops, during World War I, gave the United States Marines opposing them in battle, the name "Devil Dogs" because of their battlefield accomplishments and valor of the Marines. This success and challenge under stress is a fitting precursor for the name "Devil Pups."
The Commandant agreed that the Marine Corps would cooperate if this group of former Marines would form a charitable corporation to solicit contributions needed for food, transportation, insurance and other sustainable items which the government cannot pay for. The name "Devil Pups" was conceived after observing that the German troops, during World War I, gave the United States Marines opposing them in battle, the name "Devil Dogs" because of their battlefield accomplishments and valor of the Marines. This success and challenge under stress is a fitting precursor for the name "Devil Pups."
In summer, 1954, Camp Pendleton Commanding General John
T. Selden, granted permission for Devil Pups, Inc. to bring aboard 1800
young men 14 to 17 years of age. In 1998, Devil Pups, Inc. welcomed its
first platoon of girls into the program. Through the efforts of the
active duty and reserve Marines working with the volunteers in the
charitable corporation "Devil Pups, Inc." the program has grown into a
highly successful annual project. In 2012 we are pleased and
excited that we graduated our 50,000th pup from
this Good Citizenship-Physical Development Program. An interested boy or girl and/or their parents living in
California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Idaho should contact their nearest
Devil Pup Liaison Representative to determine eligibility. Each area
is given a specific quota of participants to admit.
