From a press release:

The Boy Scouts of America in Renton and around the Puget Sound turned out in droves on Memorial Day to honor military heroes.

From the expansive National Cemetery at Tahoma to much smaller, often overlooked location like the Saar Pioneer Cemetery, local youth took extra time Monday to say “thank you.”

“We helped the American Legion Kent Post 15 at the Hillcrest Cemetery,” Bryan Kriewald, Scoutmaster of Troop 406, chartered by the Meridian-Kent Kiwanis Club, said in an email. “The Scouts were here before 6 a.m. to hang about 80 flags.”

The prospect of waking up so early, especially on a vacation day, may seem daunting to most youth, but the Scouts saw it as an honor.

“Sure, some of the Scouts were tired but they got into it,” Kriewald said. “The older Scouts who led the flag ceremony also trained our younger Scouts so that next year, they can continue the tradition.”

Meanwhile, Troop 407, chartered by the Kent United Methodist Church, led services each day of the long weekend at 7 a.m. sharp. Kyler Howard, Senior Patrol Leader, led a moving flag ceremony and moment of silence.

Josh Gerstman, a volunteer with Troop 407 commented, “There really weren’t many people besides the Scouts at the ceremonies, but everyone could feel how important it was for us to be present and raise and lower the flag. We didn’t do it for an audience, we did it in memory of the men and women who lost their lives during their service to our country.”

The Chief Seattle Council serves 17,500 young people between 7 and 20 years of age across the greater Seattle area through the Boy Scouts of America, the nation’s foremost youth program promoting character development and values-based leadership training.

If you would like more information about the programs available through the BSA in Kent and Renton, please contact Sean Mobley at smobley@seattlebsa.org, or visit www.BeAScout.org.