DALTON, Ga. — A crowd of people surrounded the makeshift stage at Dalton Green on Saturday. Most of them were wearing red, many taking pictures and videos with their cellphones, all with their eyes fixated on Judy Pair as she spoke about her husband.

“There are no adequate words to describe how proud I am of Glenn,” she said holding back tears and displaying a big smile. “To those who knew him it was obvious he lived the Marine Corps motto ‘Semper Fi.'”

United States Marine Cpl. Glenn Pair was a Vietnam veteran and founding member of Marine Corps League Detachment 1309 of Dalton. He died last February. On Saturday during the league’s annual Community Day, the detachment was renamed in his memory — it’s now the Glenn Pair Detachment 1309 — Marine Corps League, Dalton.

Pair was an active member of the league and held the offices of judge advocate and junior vice commandant.

His wife received a plaque denoting the detachment’s new name in his honor. “These guys carried Glenn on his last journey on this Earth and respected him enough to honor his name on their detachment,” she said. “This ensures his memory will live on for many years to come.”

Whitfield County Commissioner Barry Robbins, who is also the detachment’s commandant, said the league is “really excited” about the name change. Robbins served in the U.S. Marines Corps from 1969 to 1971.

“I can’t say enough about (Pair), he’s been an inspiration to each and every one of us,” Robbins said.

He said the league voted in May to change the name to honor Pair.

“He represented what service to mankind means,” Robbins said. “He participated in every event and made a great contribution to his league to help motivate us and be an inspiration. Today is a beautiful day and we’ve set aside this time for our community to come together and celebrate this name change.”

Kelly S. Johnson, co-founder of the detachment, said even with many aliments, Pair came to group-sponsored-events.

“He would do as much physical work as he could to make sure our events were a success,” he said. “Not only was he a member of the detachment, he was a friend of mine and many in the community.”

Johnson served in the Marine Corps from 1996 to 2000.

Susan Robinson attended the ceremony. She said both Glenn and Judy Pair have always been a “fine outstanding couple.”

“They always give so much, a lot of people here today are very proud,” Robinson said.

Pair said she is “one of the luckiest women in the world” to have had her husband for 39 years. “You could see Glenn’s faith in God, his commitment to family and friends, the Marines and less fortunate people.”

Pair called Saturday’s ceremony “a great honor.”

“To understand that, you have to know a Marine’s mentality,” she said. “They are brothers for life, there for each other for life and they don’t do things lightly.”

She told the crowd they could rest assure her husband is “smiling down from heaven saying ‘thank you Semper Fi.'”