Scouts Lend a Hand In Placing of Flags At City Cemetery

For the past five years, Colleen Kerns has brought her two sons to the for the placing of flags on veterans’ gravestones.

“I love doing it,” said Kerns, of Bonney Lake. “It teaches the boys respect of their surroundings, people and each other.”

It also teaches the boys, Simon and Andrew, about U.S. history and the military.

Last year, Simon found a grave dating back to the Civil War, and his mother had him write down the name. Together, they looked up information online, providing a hands-on history lesson for the family.

 “It is really amazing what you can find here,” said Simon Kerns, 11.  “You can find any kind of one (war) here, like World War I, World War II, the Civil War and the Revolutionary War.”

This year, Simon came out with Bonney Lake Cub Scout Pack 515 to help with the flags, along with Boy Scout Troop 172. It is an annual tradition to place them on the Thursday before Memorial Day.

The city will hold its annual Memorial Day service at 10 a.m. Monday at the cemetery, 12324 Valley Avenue East.

Sumner’s VFW Post 3070 has been placing flags on veterans’ gravestones since 1945, said post commander James Greenwood. He added that the Boy Scouts have been helping for as long as he can remember.

It is an effort that the VFW members appreciate.

“I think it is terrific that the Boy Scouts help,” said Dennis Morgan, the post’s quartermaster. “You keep hearing about the bad kids and what the world is coming to, but there is a bunch of good ones.”

Morgan, a 15-year member of the VFW post and a Vietnam War veteran, said it is especially heartwarming to see the boys and their parents helping together.

Austyn Young, 9, is one of those boys. He was especially interested in the project because family members on his mother’s side are buried in the cemetery.

 “I like learning the different family names and learning the different army and military groups,” said Young, a Cub Scouts member.

Simon Kearns said that he thinks it is cool that the group continues the project every year, and that it has taught him and his peers to complete the task with the utmost respect.

 “We do this every year so they won’t be forgotten,” he said.