We all know the slogan — “The few, the proud, the Marines.”

When you think about it, that automatically limits the size of the pool of Marine veterans available for joining organizations like the Marine Corps League. Put that group in a location like Whidbey Island, and the pool of potential members shrinks even more.

“A major part of the problem is that we are not near a major Marine Corps base and there are relatively few Marines on Whidbey Island,” said Mike McClung last Thursday at San Remo Grill in Oak Harbor, just before the regular meeting of the Maj. Megan M. McClung Marine Corps League Detachment 1210.

The local detachment is a relatively young group, having been founded by Richard “Buck” Francisco in 2005. The group changed its name in 2007 to honor Maj. Megan McClung, who was killed in Iraq in 2006. Her father is now the Commandant of the local group.

According to McClung, there are approximately 35 to 37 members, although only around a dozen are active. Part of that stems from the fact the group has members from all over the U.S., so not all are available for the monthly meetings. As it is, the group alternates its monthly meetings – meeting in Oak Harbor one month and in Langley the next.

Small or not, Detachment 1210 manages to stay busy within the community.

“The League’s mission is to continue the citizenship and service the Marine Corps is known for,” said McClung.  “We specifically do three things every year: We do the Megan McClung Memorial Run to raise money to help wounded Marines and Corpsmen; Toys for Tots for the island; and we provide three scholarships, one to each of the high schools on the island.”

McClung said the group looks at students who might not be your typical scholars — for instance, they might pick a student who doesn’t necessarily have straight A’s who wants to go to culinary school. The scholarships stem directly from his daughter’s belief in the importance of education.

“It was Megan’s belief and our belief that education is very important,” McClung said. “It’s all about education.”

The group recently had a fairly successful rose sale to raise funds for the scholarships, and McClung said they are looking at working with Oak Harbor High School to have a stronger Marine Corps League and Marine presence at upcoming holiday concerts — all ways of trying to raise awareness of a small but determined group.

In the mean time, the League’s focus now is on its Toys for Tots toy drive. Group members discussed getting collection boxes in place before Thanksgiving at locations around Whidbey Island. Group members will be at the ferry dock in Clinton in Dec. 10 and 11 to help raise funds and awareness for the annual drive.

Information on the Marine Corps League is available online at www.mcleague.com. Anyone interested in becoming part of the local detachment can drop by a meeting. The next will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Holmes Harbor Rod and Gun Club in Langley.