Boy Scouts from Indian Mills Boy Scout Troop 47 donate their time to help honor the country’s fallen heroes.
Members of Shamong’s Indian Mills Boy Scout Troop 47 headed to Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Cemetery the Friday before Memorial Day to place flags for the cemetery’s Memorial Day ceremony on Saturday.
The graves, all of which consisted of deceased veterans and their family members, were each adorned with a single small American flag. As the Boy Scouts placed each flag, they saluted each grave with the Boy Scout salute.
“We’ve been doing it for a long time,” Boy Scout Aaron Ballinger said. “This is maybe my eighth or ninth [time].”
“Everybody from all around comes out to do this,” Boy Scout Aaron Uscinowicz said. “It’s really cool.”
Within 15 minutes of the start of Friday’s event, the entirety of Troop 47’s field was adorned with American flags, along with the other sections across the cemetery.
Many of the Scouts and their parents were thrilled to honor the veterans who died to protect the country’s freedoms.
“They do a lot of community service throughout the year, but this is one of our more solemn and one of our most favorite ones,” said Aaron’s father and Scoutmaster Mark Uscinowicz. “Every gravesite gets recognized even if their family isn’t around.”
Uscinowicz also sees value in the community service aspect of the event.
“It feels good to do something for the community,” he added. “Some sort of service for the veterans who gave their lives to give us our freedoms.”
Karen Zahradnik, mother Boy Scout Aaron Zahradnik, said the event gave her “chills.”
Danielle Gareau, one of the event’s attendees, said the Boy Scouts are “also seeing that it’s not just about barbecues. It’s about who lost their lives fighting for us. So it’s educational as well as community service.”
Two of Gareau’s grandparents, Ira and Edna Burge, are buried in the cemetery.
Richard Stilts, who served in Vietnam and is the grandfather of Boy Scout Matt Stilts, is also buried in the cemetery.
“I personally think he was a great man,” Stilts said of his grandfather. “He would take us to a lot of different places. He was one of the happiest men I’ve ever met. He would always wear these muscle shirts. He wouldn’t wear pants. I’ve never seen him wear pants before. He would always wear shorts and muscle shirts that’s all he wore. It was really funny.”
Stilts’ father Brian — the son of Richard — was also on hand to witness the flag placement.
“It’s a great experience,” Brian said. “It’s phenomenal. Once you turn around and you see all the flags, it’s very sombering, it’s very humbling. It’s extreme honor to me…my father deserves it.”
