Cub Scouts carry on tradition of saluting veterans with flag planting at local cemetery

Visitors to Foothills Gardens of Memory for Veterans Day will be greeted by a patriotic display courtesy of local Cub Scouts.

Duty to country, duty to God, and duty to help other people are part of the Cub Scouts’ “Do Your Best” oath. Twice a year, Cub Scout Pack 65 puts that oath into practice as it visits Foothills Gardens of Memory in search of headstones of fallen veterans to honor by placing flags on their graves. 

The service project, which the pack does for Veterans Day and Memorial Day, aims not only to honor those who have served the nation, but also to emphasize the sacrifices of veterans.

“A huge part of being a Cub Scout is in the duty to God and the country,” said Matt Davis, cubmaster for Pack 65. “We teach what it means to be a good citizen, to respect our country and those who have served it.”

In previous years, a swarm of scouts would gather as one group to pepper patriotism across the headstones of fallen veterans but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual event on Saturday was split into separate shifts to abide by social distancing orders.

“Before we had the entire pack show up as one group to go through the headstones, but because of COVID we have to wear masks and have certain family units show up and stay together,” said Michelle Phelan, a previous committee chair for Pack 65. 

Many parents worked with their children to find the headstones of those who served, including Nick Bullock, a veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Bullock comes from a long line of veterans stretching all the way back to his great-grandfather, who served in World War I. On Saturday, he helped his 6-year-old son, Max, figure out the military symbols on headstones and in which conflicts veterans may have served according to their birth dates.

 

“Max loves military stuff. I really just want to teach him to respect anybody no matter where they come from,” Bullock said. “These people fought and still fight for everyone so they can get treated fairly, no matter what anyone says.”

While on the flag-planting outing, Max Bullock listed some of his favorite things about Veterans Day and being a Cub Scout.

“I like to play kickball and I like the uniform. And I can’t wait to go camping,” he said. “And I like to cook food with my dad.”

When pressed by his father on whether honoring those who served the country or cooking a steak matters more, Max said both are important.

Owen Willams, another Cub Scout, also shared why placing the flags was important to him in advance of Veterans Day.

“It’s important to me because my uncles and aunts and grandpa and grandma were veterans,” he said. In total, the Williams family has 11 veterans, according to Owen’s mother.

After both waves of Cub Scouts had done their part on Saturday, Foothills Garden of Memory was a sea of American flags, epitomizing another tenet of Cub Scouting. “After all, the Scouts’ motto is ‘be prepared’ — even for a pandemic,” Davis said.