BY DANI TIETZ
dani@sjodaily.com
The chilly and windy conditions of Wednesday night were not enough to keep members of St. Joseph’s Boy Scout Troop 40, Pack 40 and Holy Cross’ Pack 9 inside.
The 30 boys knew that the conditions they faced were nothing compared to the conditions those they were honoring faced as they served in the United States Armed Forces.
The group split between Patterson Cemetery and Mount Olive Cemetery to place flags on approximately 650 graves of Veterans who fought for American citizens’ freedoms during their lifetimes.
The oldest Veteran’s grave site at Mount Olive is marked by a death in 1840.
While the boys placed flags in front and center of each headstone of men and women they will never meet, they were joined by members of the St. Joseph American Legion, who sponsor their troop.
“What’s better than a living legacy or someone that can tell you that served and understands what that meant,” Troop Leader Greg Knott said.
Throughout the year, members of Troop 40 form relationships with the Legion’s members.
Knott said the relationship and service projects the troop does is to help the boys understand the sacrifice Veterans made.
“Even if they don’t fully understand it today, they will,” he said.
Marking the grave sites has taken time, though.
Knott, a local historian, keeps a log book with grave plots and names so that all are remembered. As Veterans pass away, he works with local officials to make sure that the map continues to get updated.
Troop member Wade Wronke finished his Eagle Scout project by mapping all of the Veterans in Patterson Cemetery in April.
William Campbell, who returned to Mount Olive Cemetery to help troop members place flags after doing so as a child years ago, said he was so moved by the experience that he chose to honor Veterans through his Eagle Scout project.
Campbell built the sidewalk leading up to the Veterans Memorial in front of St. Joseph-Ogden High School in 2013.
“These are the people who sacrificed so much,” Campbell said. “They deserve to be remembered. We need to make sure they are not forgotten.”
Pack 9 Leader JJ Farney, who lives about a quarter-mile south of Mount Olive Cemetery has joined his wife, Stephanie, and son, Nate to place flags for the last four years.
“We always come out and help our friends from Pack 40 because that’s what scouts do, we help each other,” Farney said.
Stephanie said, “it’s an opportunity to teach our son what Memorial Day is truly about; it’s not about barbecues, it’s about remembering people that gave service to our country.”
The Farney family also places flags for Memorial Day to remember Nate’s great-grandfather, Eugene Davis, who served in the Navy during WWII.
“He was a very special person to Nate,” JJ said. “Any time you have a 93-year old grandfather who can share with his great grandson those experiences, it’s unique.”
JJ believes that by placing the flags at the cemetery, the boys will learn more about the sacrifices that have been made for them.
“I always like that it gives the boys a chance to honor their elders and respect them, and enjoy the time they have with them now because it will be gone; think of all that knowledge that leaves us when people pass,” he said. “There’s so much to learn about so that we don’t repeat the mistakes we’ve made in history as well.”
Caleb Franklin, a member of Pack 40, joined his mother Sarah for the first time at Mount Olive Cemetery.
“I thought it’d be boring, but it’s actually fun,” Caleb said.
Caleb spent about an hour following Sarah’s instructions as she read the Veteran’s names and Caleb placed the flags on the gravesites.
“I’m really thankful,” Sarah said. “We’ve never done it before, so this is a first. I think it’s important to remember; in life we run and get busy, and you can miss these times. But to stop and remember the people who have sacrificed for us is very important.”
Flags will remain in the cemetery for a week, and then Knott said they will be removed, only to be placed again shortly before next Memorial Day.
