Truly an Eagle?

[pjzedalis]

Has he made it apparent he wants to be in your Hall of Fame? Eagle Scouts have credentials, tell him that because you don't have the records to prove anything, that if he shows you his credentials, you can add him to your Hall of Fame. Instead of calling National, or doing all this private investigation, just be frank with the man. Tell him that you really want to honor his accomplishment but since the Troop did such a bad job at record keeping back then, if he could show you some evidence of his award, you'd love to honor it.

 

Coming from an Eagle Scout, I would feel perfectly fine showing you my Eagle Scout card. If I didn't have one, I'd rather contact National myself and getting replacement credentials versus you going behind my back trying to verify the information.

 

Eagle Scout is a fantastic honor, but its not worth potentially invading his privacy by investigating something that doesn't really impact anything. If it were a matter of safety, sure! Call National, but if your just researching for your Hall of Fame... just approach him directly.

 

Also be aware that unit numbers are not always consistent, and even though you belong to unit XXX, does not mean its really the same unit, as charters and such move around quite often where I am from.

 

Phillip

[NeilLup]

Another possibility, if you really want to do it, is that a few years ago, NESA put together a CD of every Eagle Scout. They are listed by council awarding, so you would need to know the council in which the person was a member. (Which can be a challenge with council mergers.) You also would need to find a copy of the CD. One copy went to every council.

[Eamonn]

I still think that A Scout is Trustworthy.

If the chap has said that he is. In my books, He is.

Extenuating circumstances or not.

For me to question his word,would invalidate our entire program and the code that we have chosen to live by. I would never want to do that.

Of course this is just me.

Then there is the Troop Roll of Honor.

While at this time and hopefully for a very long time, this is important to the people that are there. If and when they are gone or there is another set of chaotic circumstances what happens then?

Eamonn

[torribug]

I've decided to not say anything directly to Dave, nor do any more research. His folks and an uncle will likely be at my house for our annual Halloween party this weekend. My son was planning on doing his sales pitch for popcorn (last day to sell for us is that Sunday). As part of his pitch, I'll have him mention that they would be supporting the troop that Dave used to be a part of (and yes, it's definitely the same troop - we've had the same CO for 25+ years). If they mention that Dave was an Eagle, then I will go forth with solving my mystery and asking Dave if he wants his name on the board. If they don't mention Eagle, then I will forget about the matter entirely.

 

BUG

[dsteele]

Bug:

 

I'm not going to let you off the hook that easily. Your conscience is tingling and I have a feeling your mind won't rest until you know for sure.

 

Go to your council service center. Tell them you're researching the Eagle Scout history of your toop and ask to look at the records. Since the eagle in question was earned in 1994, they very probably have a record of when it was sent to National and when it came back. Ask to see the records as far back as they can reach and begin to make a list.

 

If you do this, you won't have to confront the young man, and you may well find some other names missing from the troop honor roll.

 

Do what you're going to do, free advice is worth what you pay for it.

 

Unc.

[Gags]

Maybe this is too simple a solution in my mind, but....

 

You said there were 18 months missing from the Honor Roll.

 

Dave would have been in that time period.

 

Why not just tell him the truth? "Dave, I was helping hang up some new names on our Honor Roll, and noticed that we were missing not only your name, but several other names from that same time period. Do you know of anyone else who earned Eagle with you?"

 

Pretty simple question. You're not prying into personal business or "snooping to national" behind his back (which I think may have been the conclusion of a few posters here). You're not singling him out, b/c it's not only his name that's missing. And most important, you're not lying about your intentions!

 

Sure, everybody gets the "ooh, a mystery to solve" tingle over stories like this. But from my interpretation (sp?), your genuine interest is to make sure his name gets added, and not look for a reason to jump up yell "LIAR, LIAR!" in a crowded halloween party. (How's that for vague Supreme Court references?)

 

People sometimes refer to "Occums Razor" (again, spelling?), a thereom which (I think)says in abscence of other evidence, the simplest reason/explanation is usually the correct one.

 

Hope you have a great party,

 

Gags