Marine Corps League Honors one of its own.
The Hernando Beach detachment is renamed for Daniel J. Daly, who helped found it shortly before his death.
By JOY DAVIS-PLATT
©St. Petersburg Times, published March 13, 2000
HERNANDO BEACH -- Two years after Daniel Daly helped found the Hernando Beach detachment of the Marine Corps League, friends and comrades paid tribute to his memory.
On Sunday, members of the detachment gathered for a ceremony outside the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9236 on Shoal Line Boulevard to rename Marine Corps League 1002, formerly the Hernando Beach detachment, for Daniel J. Daly.
Joseph Alaimo, detachment commandant, helped found the group two years ago with Daly, who was paymaster. Two months later, Daly was killed in a diving accident off the coast of New Port Richey.
In its two years, the detachment has grown from 20 members -- the minimum number to start a chapter -- to more than 60.
"He would have been so proud," Alaimo said of his friend, who was a Long Island native. "He put his heart into this like the rest of us because he was a Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine."
Daly's great-great-grandfather, Alaimo said, was a sergeant major twice awarded the Medal of Honor for heroic service in combat.
Approval for the name change came first from the detachment membership, Alaimo said. Then Daly's family, who live out of town, and finally Marine Corps League national headquarters.
"It took a lot to get this done," said Alaimo, who saw seven months of combat in Korea between 1951 and 1952. "But it was worth it. Daniel was one hell of a Marine."
Steven Goshko, a member of the league's Holiday detachment, participated in a 21-gun salute for a man he never met. "I did it for a Marine. Period," he said, ceremonial rifle by his side. "I came all the way from New Port Richey to be here. That's the way it is with Marines."
During the ceremony, U.S. Rep. Karen Thurman told the crowd of about 80 that the best way to honor Daly's memory is by keeping his dream alive. "We are here to remember that he had a dream and we will be a part of that dream," Thurman said. "The challenge for us is to never let his dream die."
During the ceremony, detachment officers retired the old flag and unfurled a new red one, bearing the Marine Corps emblem and the name Daniel J. Daly.