It's Only a Pin

by S. Kurtz Hingley

A FOND MOTHER WATCHES HER BOY WHERE HE STANDS,
 APART FROM HIS COMRADES TONIGHT,
AS THEY PLACE ON HIS CAMP-BATTERED TUNIC A BADGE,
AN EAGLE, THE EMBLEM OF RIGHT.

IT SEEMS JUST A FEW SHORT MONTHS HAVE PASSED
SINCE HE JOINED WITH THE YOUNGSTER NEXT DOOR.
HOW PROUD HE WAS THEN OF THIS TENDERFOOT PIN
AS HE TOLD HER THE MESSAGE IT BORE.

BUT THE YEARS HAVE GONE AS HE STRUGGLED ALONG
TO LEARN WHAT THE SCOUT LAW'S ABOUT
HE PRACTICED THEM DAILY, THE OATH AND THE LAW
UNTIL NOW HE'S AN EAGLE SCOUT. YOU MAY SMILE IN WORLDLY OLD WISDOM AT THIS
AND SAY WHY IT'S ONLY A PIN.
BUT I TELL YOU NO HONORS HE'LL GAIN AS A MAN
WILL MEAN JUST AS MUCH TO HIM

THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE OF THE RIBBON YOU SEE
ARE THE SYMBOLS OF HONOR AND TRUTH.
HE HAS LEARNED HOW TO VALUE THESE FINE ATTRIBUTES
IN THE GLORIOUS DAYS OF YOUTH

AND THE OUT-FLINGING WINGS OF THE EAGLE THAT REST
ON THE BREAST OF THIS KNIGHT OF TODAY
ARE THE THINGS THAT WILL LIFT HIM ABOVE PETTY DEEDS
AND GUIDE HIM ALONG THE RIGHT WAY.

YES, IT'S ONLY A PIN, JUST AN EAGLE SCOUT BADGE,
BUT THE HEART THAT BENEATH IT BEATS TRUE
AND WILL THROB TO THE LAST FOR THE THINGS WHICH ARE GOOD.
A LESSON FOR ME AND FOR YOU

 

 

When a boy reaches the rank of Eagle Scout he’s still a boy, but he is no longer an ordinary boy. Only one percent of the over 50 million Scouts who have eagerly started off on the Eagle Trail since the beginning of scouting in America in 1910 completed the journey. The Eagle has followed a long, rugged, and rewarding trail.

No two Eagle Scouts are exactly alike, yet all are fundamentally the same.  

 

• He has learned that reverence to God comes before all other things
• He knows that respect for the rights and convictions of others is part of his duty to God and to his fellowman
• He demonstrates the true meaning of loyalty – although he may not be able to define it
• He has learned discipline and teamwork and how to apply them in his daily living
• He has developed his own code of honor based on the ideals of scouting 
• He has learned that physical bravery may require less courage than standing up for one’s convictions
• He has perseverance and determination. (He had to have in order to attain the rank of Eagle Scout)
• He has knowledge that nature gives to those who seek it
• He has scouting skills that will be invaluable to him all his life
• He presents a cheerful outlook on life even in the face of hardships and disappointments
• He has more than a vague idea of what duty to his country means; he realizes that it starts with Duty to God, His Family, and Himself
• He eagerly seeks the undying peace offered by God through his wilderness and wildlife
• He is a qualified Junior Leader
• He realizes his obligation to the movement that gave him the opportunity to gain and develop these attributes of character.

 

1	Don Malcolm	1955	26	Joseph Zollner	1990	51	Danny Serriltella	2011
2	Tom Brockman	1955	27	D.J. Roppolo	1991	52	Gus Psmoulis	2012
3	George Roberts	1959	28	David Dew	1992	53	Dan Wiggin	2012
4	Robert Malcolm	1960	29	Rob Talaga	1992	54	David Patton	2012
5	Bruce Malcolm	1960	30	Scott Schroeder	1994	55	Greg Wagner	2013
6	Tom Adams	1961	31	Dave Hansen	1995	56	Phil Espinoza	2013
7	Don Langfeld	1961	32	Coley Brenan	1995	57	Dan Ortiz	2013
8	Marty Kruzan	1963	33	Matt Himpelmann	1997	58	Zach Jakalski	2014
9	Steve Steffke	1964	34	Brian Saurmann	1997	59	Jonathan Mercado	2014
10	Steve Lanterman	1965	35	Steve Matthies	1998	60	Gordy Zak	2014
11	Paul Stoeck	1966	36	Chris Sparks	1999	61	Josh Baehr	2014
12	John Brockman	1967	37	Mike Belke	2001	62	Richard Franzen	2014
13	Mike Terese	1967	38	Dan Pische	2001	63	Alexander Stitgen	2014
14	John Arno	1968	39	Dan Conder	2001	64	Brandon Martin	2014
15	Mark Risting	1970	40	Joe Zoubek	2002	65	Joshua Jakalski	2016
16	Mike Rohl	1971	41	Brian Schroeder	2002	66	Peter Wedemann	2016
17	Mike Malick	1971	42	Scott Tresch	2002	67	Jeffrey Jakalski	2017
18	Bob Mikuls	1973	43	John McElroy	2003	68	Nicolas Mercado	2017
19	Steve Sykes	1976	44	Eric Feinberg	2004	69	Anye Whyte	2017
20	Paul Youdelis	1976	45	Tim Wagner	2006	70	Andrew Welmers	2017
21	Bill Mikuls	1976	46	Jonathan Stitgen	2007
22	John Snow, Jr.	1987	47	Frank Pische	2007
23	Rich Thoroe	1988	48	Colton Brandon	2009
24	Rich Zollner II	1989	49	Matthew Welmers	2010
25	Jim Portincaso	1990	50	Chris Bango	2010