Posted on 09/10/2014 6:31:54 AM PDT by Scoutmaster
Noah Cornuet was a gentle giant and the ultimate Boy Scout. He was so committed to scouting that he was determined to ascend to the highest rank any Boy Scout could achieve: Eagle Scout.
Noah, 16, never realized his dream. On Aug. 6, the high school athlete from Lower Burrell, Pa., collapsed after football practice and died. It was later revealed that Noah had a rare heart tumor. He’d had no symptoms and there was no indication that he had a heart condition, his family said.
At the time of his death, Noah was deeply involved in his Eagle scout project –- improvements to the grounds of Puckety United Presbyterian Church in Lower Burrell. In Noah’s honor, his scouting troop –- Troop 180 of Tarentum, Pa. -- got together on Saturday to finish Noah’s work in the hopes that he’ll be awarded the Eagle scout rank posthumously.
More than 80 people participated on Saturday, repairing and painting run-down sheds, painting signs in the church parking lot and finishing work to the grounds.
With the help of his older brother, Shane, and his father, Noah had already placed mulch church grounds and removed an iron backstop from the defunct softball field. He used the money from recycling the 900 pounds of removed steel to fund the rest of his project, Raymond Cornuet told ABC News today.
Noah had also laid two military tombstones at the church cemetery, Cornuet said.
Cornuet, who himself earned the Eagle Scout rank, said scouting was important to his sons. Shane became an Eagle Scout two years ago. Scouting takes a young man and teaches leadership, citizenship and responsibility, Cornuet said, and the idea that Noah could earn his Eagle Scout rank posthumously means a great deal to the family.
“I’d be as proud as possible,” Cornuet, 55, said through his tears.
He is grateful that the troop rallied around his son’s memory.
“The troop we’re in is just -- they’re fantastic, it’s a big family,” he said. “The boys are struggling as much as we are with the loss of Noah and so they had near-perfect attendance as far as coming out and working.”
The family has experienced unusually hard times recently. Two weeks before Noah’s death, Ray Cornuet’s father died.
Cornuet said he and his wife, Pam, feel as though they’re “walking in a fog.”
Noah’s leadership and kindness, even in such a short life, have left their mark. Cornuet said his family has received nearly 300 condolence cards from people all over the country.
Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is hard work. It requires the completion of numerous merit badges and several letters of recommendation, in addition to the completion of the final project, Melvin Peck, Troop 180’s scout master, told ABC News. “Noah was a really good scout,” Peck said. “He was one of those boy scouts that loved being a boy scout. He was a boy scout, so he did a lot of preparation for this.”
It’s because Noah had done so much of the work in advance that made it possible for a posthumous Eagle Scout rank to even be considered, said Peck, who added that only four percent of boy scouts ever become Eagle Scouts.
The final step is a board of review that must sign off on the achievement. The board will meet to decide Noah’s application on Wednesday, Peck added.
Noah was a sophomore at Burrell High School. He loved football and wrestling, and was considering going to trade school later this year to learn tool and die work, to be followed possibly by college afterward, his father said.
“The one thing that hurts us the most is that every parent can see when their child goes from being a child to a young man, and we could start to see how Noah had grown and was starting to develop into a fine young man and it’s a shame the world will never know what we knew,” Cornuet said.
There is probably some stupid rule against it.
Scouting,,
Great Stuff,
sad story.
Sadly, I was thinking the same thing. I hope there is not.
I would say that his leadership inspired the finishing of the Eagle Project. Last requirements would be scoutmaster conference and board of review which can’t happen. There should be a way to waive these things. Boy scouts are waiving a bunch of other rules. Why not make this award available to a scout so close to his goal. I am an Eagle Scout and I have no problem making an exception in this extraordinary case.
Having two parents, one a man and the other a female mother makes a big difference in the raising of a child. When you spend time with a child they learn what you want them to learn. If you just throw a child into a hip hop culture, well, that is what they learn.
The boy was fortunate to have good parents, it is sad they will have to do without him.
I would say that his leadership inspired the finishing of the Eagle Project. Last requirements would be scoutmaster conference and board of review which can’t happen.
the conferences can occur and can be signed off on...
the one question asked to our eagle candidates is do you believe in God, is actually known by this fine young eagle scout...
God bless him
What a beautiful story. My son is an Eagle Scout and I remember how proud I was when he got his medal. I can only imagine what the award would mean here. Thank you for the post.
In my experience, I never encountered such a rule but I also never encountered such a circumstance, either. My time of direct involvement with Eagle projects ended over 10 years ago as my children aged out, the boy as an Eagle in 1998 and the girl involved with Venture Scouting. This situation will really depend on the troop advancement chair advocating for the application through the district and council.
5.0.6.0 Bestowing Posthumous Awards
If, prior to death, a youth member in any BSA program has met the requirements for a rank or award, including age and service, he or she may receive it posthumously.If a required board of review has not been conducted,it is held according to the methods outlined in "Boards of Review: An Overview for All Ranks," 8.0.0.0. It is appropriate to invite parents or guardians and friends to discuss the efforts made toward the rank.
For the Eagle Scout rank, the application is verified at the council service center, but it must be sent to the national Advancement Team for processing. A cover letter from the Scout executive or designee must indicate it as posthumous. This triggers changes to the congratulatory letter returned with the pocket card and certificate.Note that the same procedures regarding timing of an Eagle Scout board of review apply in posthumous cases. See "Eagle Scout Board of Review Beyond the 18th Birthday," 8.0.3.1.
For those who don't know, that purple and silver square knot over Noah's left pocket indicates that he receives his faith's religious award through Programs for Religious Activities with Youth, a group which has a partnership with the BSA.
I no longer support BSA (see tag line) but I wholeheartedly comment this young mans family and troop for their dedication.
I am unable to support Trail Life, USA because of its religious policies on leaders.
In a quarter century of Scouting, a great deal of it spent working at the Council level and beyond (in addition to my Troop), I know far too many excellent Scout leaders who personify the Scout Oath and Scout Law but are not Christians.
Closer to home, my unit has a history of leaders and Scouts of different religions, some of whom are not Christians.
Back when we were all supporting the Boy Scouts of America, it didn't require Christian leaders, only leaders who believed in God or a supreme being.
Different choices and that’s fine.
I’ve got no quarrel with scouts or leaders. Their ranks are filled with many good people. I do feel that the national leadership is toxic and made several tremendous errors. Which make it so that I can’t be part of their organization anymore.
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