GREENVILLE, S.C. —

The Upstate Young Marines celebrated its 2025 graduating recruit class Saturday at the Rupert Hughes Veteran Center.

The nationwide nonprofit has been around for decades, and the Upstate unit started back in 2004, but over 20 years later, the organization continues to develop the next generation of leaders.

"The world attacks them at every angle," said Ashley Lawton, a volunteer adjutant with the Upstate Young Marines. "We develop who they are and turn them into responsible, respectable, contributing members of society."

The Young Marines are led by an adult staff that consists entirely of volunteers.

Lawton was recently named the 2025 Regimental Adult Volunteer of the Year by the Carolina Regiment Young Marines, which represents both North and South Carolina.

She

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