Eagles
One Hundred Scouts
Of the one hundred, rarely will one ever appear before a juvenile court judge. Twelve of the one hundred will be from families that belong to no church. Through Scouting, these twelve and many of their families will be brought into contact with a church and will continue to be active. Six of the one hundred will become pastors.
Each of the one hundred will learn something from Scouting. Almost all will develop hobbies that will add interest throughout the rest of their lives. Approximately one half will serve in the military, and in varying degrees profit from their Scout training. At least one will use it to save another person’s life and many will credit it with saving their own.
Only two of the one hundred will reach Eagle rank, and at least one will later say that he valued his Eagle above his college degree. Many will find their vocation through merit badge work and Scouting contacts. Seventeen of the one hundred boys will later become Scout leaders and will give leadership to thousands of additional boys. Only one in four boys in America will become Scouts, but it is interesting to note that of the leaders of this nation in business, religion, and politics, three out of four were Scouts. Of the 24 men to travel to the moon, 21 were scouts and the first man on the Moon, Neal Armstrong, is an Eagle Scout. All the astronauts on Apollo 13 – the mission known as the successful failure – were all scouts.
This story will never end. Like the Golden Pebble of Service dropped into the human sea, it will continue to radiate in ever-widening circles, influencing the characters of men down through unending time.