Last weekend Project Appleseed joined forces with the Young Marines (https://youngmarines.org/unit/lapeercounty/page) to continue our annual tradition of gathering at Lapeer County Sportsmen's Club for a weekend of camping, history, and marksmanship. It was an honor to share these traditions and knowledge with the next generation.
We were joined by 12 young Americans this year, many of them getting their first experience at Project Appleseed. The marines arrived on Friday evening to set up their camp, and reported for duty bright and early Saturday morning. After a brief 'manual of arms' for the rifles they'd be operating, we jumped into the Course of Fire and didn't look back. The Young Marines were very safe and attentive, as always, as we worked through our marksmanship drills and shared stories of the courage and sacrifice made by the American colonists on April 19, 1775.
On Sunday we were able to give everyone an opportunity to experience the Appleseed Qualification Test (AQT), before breaking down for lunch and turning the range over to our local historian Roundballer. The marines got to experience first-hand what the colonists were working with on the battlefield during America's struggle for independence, and eagerly lined up for their chance to fire the Brown Bess musket.
Special thanks to Lapeer County Sportsmen's Club (https://www.lapeersportsmens.org/) for donating all of the youth ammunition for this year's event, and thanks to our wonderful team of volunteers - Zorak, Pocket Watch, TL, and Hardcase - with special acknowledgement to Hardcase for earning his promotion to full Red Hat Instructor (https://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=70520)!
This was a memorable way to wrap up our season here in Michigan, and we will be looking forward to reuniting with the Young Marines in 2026.
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Someone needs to post a pic of that orange hat, you can see it there on the backer in that last picture. Hardcase himself took the last shot at it with the Bess, and it kind of came off the backer. O0