Local Cub Scout Pack Brings Joy To Veterans
by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Dave Overson
December 4, 2019

“On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight,” said every Scout upon taking their sacred oath.

That sacred oath was visualized as Cub Scout Pack 88 spent time visiting Veterans at the Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Saturday morning, November 23, 2019.

“I’m really happy to come visit the Veterans because my grandpa is a Veteran, and his right arm is paralyzed from a helicopter crash,” said 10-year-old Webelos Devlin Hutson. “So, I like being able to see people and think they’re here because they have an injury and I should be honoring them.”

Scout Law: A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

Scout Mission: The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

Pack 88 is in the southwest section of Albuquerque and is comprised of 17 current members ranging in age from five to 11 and consists of both boys and girls. It’s a relatively new pack, which just established itself in 2018, and is striving to help the local community in any way it can.

“Spending time here with the Veterans means a lot to me personally,” said Ro Jackson, both the Wolf and Bear den leader. “I have a WWII Veteran family member who passed away recently, but we used to spend a lot of time visiting him here in this hospital. My husband is also an Afghanistan War Veteran, so giving back and honoring everyone here hits really close to home.”

If joy could be measured monetarily, the Veterans who were treated with the Pack’s visit may have been considered the wealthiest of all on this day.

Visibly moved nearly to tears, Marine Corps and Korean War Veteran Richard Moseley enjoyed reminiscing of days gone by with the Scouts.

The Marines' Hymn: “from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli; we fight our country’s battles on the land as on the sea; first to fight for right and freedom and to keep our honor clean; we are proud to claim the title of United States Marine,” could be heard throughout the hospital halls as the Scouts and Moseley sang in tune with one another.

“I was a Scout when I was a kid,” said Moseley. “That was a really, really long time ago, but what a treat this is to see these bright faces here in my dark hospital room. It means a lot.”

A Cub Scout Pack consists of a den of Lions, the youngest Scouts; a den of Tigers, a Wolf and Bear den respectively, and the older Webelos.

In attendance was Scoutmaster Amanda Carrillo, Lion Den leader Margie Chavez, Tiger Den leader Flo Chavez, Wolf and Bear Den leader Ro Jackson, and Webelos leader Daniel Hutson.

“We are proud of the Cub Scouts and leaders in Pack 88 for embodying the core tenets of Scouting,” wrote a representative from the Boy Scouts of America. “Our Veterans deserve our utmost gratitude and support, and we are pleased to see local Scouts helping to do their part to thank these brave men and women for their incredible service to our country.”

As the Pack roamed the hospital halls popping their heads into Veterans’ rooms, they left cards, letters, and candy treats for anyone interested in a few laughs and stories of “how it was, back in the day.”

“Thank you for your service, and I salute you,” added Webelos Devlin Hutson.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

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