Making the Grade: Twenty-Seven Local Youths Earn Prestigious "Devil Pups" Status

By Marianne Hamilton

When school lets out for the summer, most teens prefer to sleep late, hang out with friends, pillage the home refrigerator, and cruise social media.

But this year, a few select youths opted to greet the dawn with grueling, ninety-minute physical workouts several mornings a week followed by in-depth training in leadership and citizenship skills. After three months of such a regimen, the teens were ready for the ultimate test: competing for a sevenday trip to Camp Pendleton in San Diego, where they were joined by their best and brightest peers from across the southwest.

Those who made the grade were required to display still more physical and mental prowess, executing military-style drill movements, climbing water towers, running while wearing twenty-pound backpacks, and more. At the conclusion of the camp, the youths literally reached the pinnacle of achievement: scaling “Ole’ Smokey,” the 1,300-foot sandy peak near the Marine Corps base. There, during a sunset ceremony, they were officially christened “Devil Pups”—and became members of an elite organization that stretches back nearly seven decades.

This past summer, twenty-seven southern Utah high schoolers joined teens from California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico in successfully completing the summer program, graduating on July 23. Their achievement of Devil Pups status marked the sixteenth year that the southern Utah community has sent youths to the prestigious SoCal camp, with a total of 138 local youths of both sexes having become Pups since the program’s inception.

Though the local training program is led by Liaison Rep Sergeant Billion Johnston—a Marine Corps veteran who also serves as Commandant of the Marine Corps League (MCL) Utah Dixie Detachment #1270—and the summer session is held at Camp Pendleton, it is not a recruitment mechanism for the Marines. Instead, Devil Pups is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help teens ages fourteen through seventeen from all backgrounds gain self-confidence and take responsibility for their actions.

According to legend, the term “Devil Dogs” was used by German soldiers to describe the Marines’ indefatigable spirit during World War I. Subsequently, the Marines who organized the youth program chose the term “Devil Pups” to describe the qualities they hoped to develop in their graduates.

“I believe this is the most challenging, most competitive youth program out there; it’s really life-changing,” Johnston noted. “When our kids graduate, they have a very different mindset in how they view life. They’re more motivated and confident, their limits are much higher, and they’re better leaders. They have the mentality and outlook that they are top tier, and people want to follow them.”

Beginning in April, Johnston meets his charges at 6:00 a.m. at the Washington Elementary School field and puts them through their thrice-weekly paces. During the workouts, the future Pups attempt to master the four disciplines required for the Pups’ ultimate Physical Fitness Test (PFT): sit-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, and a mile run, as well as diving and hiking. Inspirational classroom lectures led by organization board members, veterans, and Devil Pups alumni supplement the curriculum.

“It was such an amazing experience,” said 2022 alumnus (Sofe) Barrett, a Pine View High School sophomore. “It was super difficult to get through all the training. But thanks to the motivation of my fellow Pups, along with our instructors, eventually all that hard work paid off. The other Pups helped me so much in getting through it and in learning never to quit.”

Though Barrett (a member of a championship girls community soccer team) has been a lifelong athlete, she said that becoming a Devil Pup took her overall fitness to the next level. “I used to run an eight-minute mile, but I had slowed down to more in the tenminute range. By the time I did my final mile run, I came in at 7:56.”

Each year, Johnston makes presentations about Devil Pups to all ROTC classes in the area. Last April, he stressed that 2022 would set a new precedent. “I said this would be ‘the year of girls,” Johnston revealed. “That’s because the PFT was made much more equitable; girls could do push-ups from their knees and the pull-up requirement was modified as well. So this year, almost half of the class was female—our highest percentage ever— and the guys were good with it. We stress that everyone is a member of the team.”

Barrett concurred. “The guys totally treated us as equals and were very supportive. They encouraged us to be better, and we encouraged them.”

When Johnston took over as Liaison Rep Coordinator for Devil Pups, he committed to upholding the legacy of his predecessor, Marine Lieutenant Colonel William C. (Bill) Toole, who began working with Devil Pups in 1975. (Toole also launched the MCL’s Utah Dixie Detachment and the Veterans Coalition of Southern California and was instrumental in the formation of the Ivins Veterans Home.) Since his passing in 2006, his wife Donna, who provides backoffice support for the local Devil Pups, has continued to work closely with Johnston to keep the program going.

“The rewards from being a part of this are huge,” Toole said. “These kids are awesome! It’s hard to describe just how special they are.”

Toole added that all fees for program participants are covered by Devil Pups, Inc. (For those who earn a slot at Camp Pendleton, the costs are roughly $1,000.) “We don’t want any Pup to be hindered from acceptance due to financial reasons, so we’ve been covering these costs since we started sixty-five years ago,” Toole said. “Everyone deserves to have an equal opportunity to participate.”

When summing up her Devil Pups experience, Barrett—who has her eyes set on future entry into West Point—became animated. “It was such a great sense of accomplishment. I would do it again, 100 percent. It was just remarkable.”

For more information or to donate to the local Devil Pups organization, visit http://soutahdevilpups.blogspot.com.

About the Author

Marianne L. Hamilton is a veteran journalist and marketing writer whose work appears in regional and national publications. When not race walking, hiking, or teaching water aerobics, she is the past Board Chair of Art Around the Corner and the Special Events Manager for DOCUTAH. She and her husband, Doug, are also co-administrators of the St. George Wine Club and race directors for the Huntsman World Senior Games and National Senior Games. Marianne was crowned Ms. Senior Universe 2021-2022 and is the Senior Pageants Group’s Senior Games Ambassador. She is a proud breast cancer survivor.