News people have reported the tragedy at the Iowa Boy Scout Camp (6/12, A-1, “Killer twister flattens campsite”). It is a tragedy, but few recognize that the Scouts, in the aftermath of the storm, rendered medical aid and rescue assistance to their own before the professional rescuers from local and state agencies arrived.
The Scouts did what Scouts do. They were prepared. They knew how and what to do to provide aid and comfort to their comrades. They should be hailed as heroes for a job well done.
Several years ago a national TV news reporter was interviewing a young Scout after a freak spring snowstorm stranded his troop camping in the mountains of eastern Tennessee for about a week. Asked how they survived the ordeal, the Scout replied in deadpan sincerity, “Sir, we are Scouts. We knew what to do. There were no problems.”
The Boy Scouts provide today’s young men valuable lessons and experience for their future and that of our country. The ideals of the Boy Scouts make a useful yardstick in today’s world for anyone young or old.
If you are curious as to what those standards are, ask a Scout to repeat the Scout Law.
G.W. Mc Donald Jr.
Fairway
A scout is TRUSTWORTHY,
LOYAL,
HELPFUL,
FRIENDLY,
COURTEOUS,
KIND,
OBEDIENT,
CHEERFUL,
THRIFTY,
BRAVE,
CLEAN, and
REVERENT.
On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to God and my country, to obey the scout law, to help other people at all times, and to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Posted by: creighton | June 17, 2008 at 11:15 AM
BE PREPARED, that's the Boy Scouts' marching song....
The media has maligned the Boy Scouts for everything both imaginable & unimaginable. With the flood disaster in Iowa, the media finally gives the Boy Scouts some positive recognition. I hope these good deeds & acts of courage finally give the Boy Scouts the positive recognition & 'the public merit badge'they deserve.
Posted by: katman | June 17, 2008 at 08:19 AM