Scouting, Volume 79, Number 3, May-June 1991 Page: 19
50, W1-W32, E1-E12, [36] p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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For four decades
Scouts like Marvey
Cindel have done
this Good Turn on
Memorial Day
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Robbie Berberich, Troop 200, stood thoughtfully before a
small flag he had placed, studying the headstone of a young
man who died in World War II. "I noticed a lot of them weren't
very old," he said, "and looking at all of these makes me
realize a lot more about what this actually means."
His own great grandparents were buried in this cemetery,
his great grandmother as recently as the previous February.
Jefferson Barracks, now a National Guard base, was an
active military reservation from 1826 to 1946. The dates on
some headstones, however, predate 1826, because remains
from older cemeteries were sometimes reinterred here. The
post burial ground was designated a national cemetery in
1866, and Americans from every U.S. war are buried here.
Troop 905's historic trail progresses chronologically, be-
ginning with the post's first burial, the infant daughter of an
officer. It includes seven Medal of Honor recipients, from the
Civil War to World War II.
An early stop on the trail is in the Old Post Section over-
looking the Mississippi River. Three veterans of the Ameri-
can Revolution, who had moved westward after the war, are
buried here.
Webb listened to Scout Mark DeWeese read the trail note
about Richard Gentry, who was not much older than the boys
in Troop 905 when he took part in an important moment in
U.S. history.
"A private in the Continental Army at the age of 17," Mark
read, "he was just 18 years old at the capture of Lord Corn-
wallis at the Battle of Yorktown on October 19, 1781."
Many boys age 16,
Webb pointed out,
were soldiers in the
Civil War. "And in
World War II, there
were people who lied
about their age in
order to get in."
While creating the
trail, the Scouts be-
came familiar with the
stories displayed along
the route, as well as
thousands more left
untold. They had de-
veloped some definite
ideas about the mean-
ing of the cemetery.
"I think everybody who fought in a war played important
parts, even if they didn't die," said Brian Graf. "They should
all be thought of like Medal of Honor winners, because they
all did something to help out."
Drew Guldner had noticed the gap between his sixth grade
history book and the stories he learned at the cemetery. "Peo-
ple in the books are famous leaders that won the wars. They
don't really talk about regular people who fought, but every-
one's important."
Such awareness is what Bill Henderson hopes the trail will
bring to Scouts, school classes, and others who travel it.
When Gwendolyn Murphy, chief executive officer of the
Jefferson Barracks Chapel Association, had asked him how
Scouts could become more interested in the cemetery, he'd
immediately thought of a trail and a patch, which could also be
available to the public. "Who would do that?" she asked. "I
guess we would," he answered.
Henderson's love of history served him well. Starting with a
cemetery fact sheet, he continued to research, obtaining
copies of Medal of Honor citations for additional commentary.
19
Event chairman Bdl Henderson
knew a historic trail would add
meaning to a visit to the cemetery.
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 79, Number 3, May-June 1991, periodical, May 1991; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353636/m1/19/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.