Yuma Marine Emmanuel Graham Honored for Three Decades of Service

Retired Gunnery Sgt. Emmanuel Graham, a Yuma resident and Marine Corps veteran who has served for more than three decades, was the subject of a KYMA profile published Feb. 25, 2026 that highlighted his military service, leadership and community work in Yuma. The piece framed Graham’s story as a local example of long-term service as Black History Month came to an end.

KYMA identified Graham’s current civilian roles in Yuma as Logistics Supervisor at the Marine base and as a facilitator at Arizona Western College. Speaking to KYMA, Graham said, "It's a great thing! I mean to always live that and to continue to serve and give to the illustrious corps that I love," underscoring the continuity between his military career and his post-retirement work on base and in higher education.

The profile emphasized Graham’s focus on mentorship and education in Yuma; Graham told KYMA, "I believe in passing it forward and passing it on, and so that's the best part about doing that." He also gave direct advice to local youth and adults: "Just because you come from a small town doesn't mean you can can't make a a long lasting, large impact in the world, and so education is it. Stay in school, study, learn. Adults, mentor these young kids because they need that," a line published verbatim in the KYMA piece.

KYMA reporter Danyelle Burke North filed the profile for the station; the article page capture included site navigation and a weather snapshot listing Yuma 83° clear. Burke North joined the KYMA team in March 2024, and the station provided a contact email for the reporter in the story metadata. The profile was presented as part of KYMA’s Black History Month programming and ran on Feb. 25, 2026.

For historical context, the U.S. Marine Corps History Division, cited by Navy League News, records that James Anderson Jr., Rodney Davis, Ralph Johnson, Oscar Austin and Robert Jenkins Jr. were the first five Black Marine Medal of Honor recipients, awarded posthumously from 1967–1969; Montford Point was renamed Camp Gilbert H. Johnson in April 1974; Pvt. Kenneth Tibbs was the first Montford Point Marine killed in combat on June 15, 1944; and of roughly 20,000 Marines trained at Montford Point, only 1,500 remained on active duty after World War II while 87 Montford Point Marines were reported killed in action by war’s end.

A short video clip tied to the KYMA profile appeared on a News 11 Yuma YouTube listing titled "Black History Month: Honoring a marine's decades of service," showing channel subscriber count 16.7K and metadata reading "No views · 5 minutes ago." As he continues work at the Marine base and teaching at Arizona Western College, Graham’s profile leaves a clear civic takeaway for Yuma: local mentorship and education remain central to translating three decades of service into ongoing community impact.