To attain the rank of Eagle Scout, a Boy Scout must not only earn at least 21 merit badges covering a wide variety of skills, but must also plan, organize and manage an extensive service project. Norfolk 11^th grader John Moran completed his Eagle Scout project in November by honoring veterans whose final resting place is in Norfolk.

The idea for the project began several months ago, when Moran was recruited by Daryl Byrne to digitizing the five volumes stored at Town Hall that record the names of all Norfolk service members.  As Moran was typing all of these records into an electronic spreadsheet, he decided that honoring veterans would be the focus of his Eagle Scout project.

Moran and his fellow scouts from Troop 22 in Canaan, together with Scoutmaster David Moran and mentor Daryl Byrne, started their research, designed to determine where in town the deceased Norfolk veterans were buried. They spent time going stone by stone through South Norfolk, Pond Hill and Grantville cemeteries and cross-checked this information with three different databases. Their goal was to obtain and set out a plaque on each grave that would hold an American flag in honor of the veteran buried there.  

This past year, Moran has helped Richard Byrne put American flags on graves in town.  However, Moran says he wants this to continue this Memorial Day tradition long after he and Byrne are no longer placing the flags. “The ultimate goal,” says Moran, “is to have the names and burial sites of Norfolk veterans well documented so that someone in the future will be able to keep up the yearly placing of American flags on the graves.”

Moran passed his Board of Review on Nov. 23 and officially became an Eagle Scout, a rank that is only achieved by 4 percent of all Boy Scouts nationwide.  He is postponing his Court of Honor until the Covid pandemic dissipates.

— Photo courtesy of Laura Moran