Veteran's Recognition Project

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We wanted to recognize our Scouts and leaders who have served our community and nation through their military service. Our Troop 1 Veterans Project (Jeffersonville, Indiana) is attempting to identify those members who currently or have in the past served in one of the branches of the military. Our troop spans a time period of almost 110 years, so this has been both a challenge and a very rewarding experience.  There are amazing stories of service and sacrifice that these statistics cannot begin to express. We have poured through hundreds of pages of records in this effort. This research has had much more of an emotional impact than we had anticipated in the beginning as we learned a little of the lives and stories of our members.

 So far, we have identified 120 past and present persons who are or have served in our military. The largest number (54) served in the Army. Twenty have served in the Air Force or the Army Air Corps. The Navy has had 24 of our members in its service. There have been eleven Marines and three served in the Coast Guard. We are still working to identify the specific branch of service for a few of our past members. In addition, two of our international exchange student Scouts have served or are currently serving in their home countries (Austria and Switzerland).

 Many of our members have served during time of war. World War Two saw an amazing 54 members in service.  Nine served in Viet Nam and two in Korea (we are currently researching that time period).  Troop 1 began in 1911. Four of our Scouts served in World War One. We also have had members in Desert Storm and currently in Afghanistan.

 Our members have marched with Patton through Europe and fought in all major theaters. In addition, one worked on the Manhattan project and another in the famous Hughes Skunkworks. We have had Scouts who were selected to serve as a member of the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery.

 Many served with exceptional courage and honor. Recognitions include the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Army Air Medal and the French Croix de Guerre.

 We have identified three of our members who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Two were killed in World War Two and another in the Vietnam War. Members have spent time in German prisoner of war camps before being liberated. Some returned from service with lifelong disabilities.

 This tradition continues at Troop 1. One of our Eagle Scouts just completed his five-year Naval enlistment. Another Eagle Scout is preparing to leave for a tour of duty in Afghanistan. And our newest Eagle Scout is currently in the middle of basic training at the Great Lakes Naval base.

 Ordinary boys and men providing extraordinary service. We owe a deep debt of gratitude to them. In many cases they left for service on a foreign soil not knowing if they would return. And some did not.

Let us take a moment to reflect and to honor their service.