Marine Corps League at The Haverford School

On March 19, the Gen. Smedley D. Butler Marine Corps League Detachment Americanism Team of Jim Mulhern, Lloyd Spangler, and Earle Drake were joined by Marine John Cook, a veteran of the Korean War, at the Haverford School. John Cook is an authority on the Detachment’s namesake Maj. General Smedley D. Butler and conveyed some "sea stories" about the General to the students. General Butler was a student at Haverford.

The Team was invited to make their presentation after a program was presented to Cub Scout Pack 284 at the Wayne Elementary School.  John Suter, a history teacher at the Haverford School whose son is a member of the Cub Scout Pack, asked if the Team would bring the program to the Haverford School. Originally scheduled for early February, the team finally made it to the Haverford School on March 19.  As was experienced more than once in February by the Americanism Team, a presentation was postponed due to snow storms.

The program was presented to Haverford School 5th graders in the Ball Auditorium. The Team was escorted around the campus by Marine Piero A. Sassu, the school's Director of Public Safety who introduced the Team to Marines who were teachers at Haverford.  Dr. William Ehrhart teaches history and is a Viet Nam era Marine Sergeant who was wounded in Viet Nam. The Team also met the Haverford School Headmaster Dr. Jon Nagl.  Dr. Nagl is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point.  He served in Iraq under the Command of Army General David Petraius and Marine General James Mattis.

The team was surprised by the students who sang the first stanza of the Marine Hymn at the conclusion of the program.