Posted on 11/11/2008 6:28:37 AM PST by SandRat
SIERRA VISTA — It is a simple but highly symbolical brass monument.
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Seventeen-year-old Jacob Hall unveils the Fallen Soldier’s Cross monument during a dedication ceremony Monday at the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Hall initiated the monument venture as part of his Eagle Scout project. (Mark Levy-Herald/Review) |
Less than 5 feet high, the Fallen Soldier’s Cross was dedicated Monday afternoon, appropriately the day before Veterans Day.
The boots, rifle and helmet tell a story of a fallen member of America’s armed forces. It has been used in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the deaths of U.S. military personnel have occurred.
The boots stand for the last march completed; the rifle, with its bayonet stuck in the ground, is for a break in combat; and the helmet symbolizes the person who fell in combat.
For Life Scout Jacob Hall of Troop 486, having the special monument placed in the Southern Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery was a way to honor the many members of his family who have served the nation.
He named 12 members of the family, 11 men and one woman, who served in the Army. One of them is his great-great-grandfather who served during World War I from 1917 to 1918. There were two sailors, one a great-great-grandfather who sailed in the Navy’s Great White Fleet sent around the world by President Theodore Roosevelt from 1907 to 1909.
And, Jacob mentioned his twin-brother Adam, who will be heading for Navy boot camp in April as a person who will continue the family’s long history of military service.
For Jacob, the addition of the Fallen Soldier’s Cross to the cemetery’s Committal Shelter area has another goal as he attempts to earn the top Boy Scout rank.
The project was his Eagle Scout’s Project, which required the raising of nearly $4,500 for the monument, along with additional funds to anchor the device.
He and fellow scouts from the troop, sponsored by Village Meadows Baptist Church, bused tables, had garage sales and other fundraisers. In the end, nearly $7,000 was collected.
The money not used for the project will go into the cemetery’s foundation coffers to be used for other Eagle Scout projects at the cemetery.
Jacob said he was thankful for a special donation by Michael McDonald, the owner of Black Rose Etching, who created a special stone plaque with the names of individuals and groups that each provided at least $250.
The short dedication ceremony, attended by a small gathering of more than 50 people, was filled with military symbolism, much like what is done in the field to honor a fallen soldier.
The national anthem was sung by Linda Brown, and the Fort Huachuca Select Honor Guard acted as flag bearers and a firing party. One member of the guard played Taps, the 24 notes of finality for those who served.
Herald/Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615.
Good work, Jacob!! Americans thank you.
Liberals will boo and criticize you (as they did at the 2000 dem convention)
What a wonderful story! Combine the Boy Scouts with an Eagle Scout project no less that involves a beautiful monument that honors those who have served and you’ve got yourself a real winner. I love it.
Great story about an exceptional young man
I hope nobody tells the ACLU…
You’re right about the ACLU.
Does everyone here know about the Dale case in the Supreme Court? In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts are within their constitutional rights to ban homosexual scout leaders.
Since then, numerous cities and towns, with the ACLU help, have worked to ban the Boy Scouts as a “discriminatory” organization because of their discrimination against homosexuals. Even though the highest court in the land has ruled that the Scouts membership rules are legal, the politically correct leftist crowd has continued to behave as if the Dale case never happened. And nobody has called them on it, sadly.
This may happen in Calif. with the same-sex marriage case. Even though marriage is back to 1 man/1 woman legally there, the gay activist marchers are acting like that amendment was never voted on.
You beat me to it, but see my post for a great jpg of that poster.
What a beautiful story!
Thank you, Sandy!
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