When I was 10 years old my Family moved from Lawrence, Kansas to Mannheim, Germany. My Dad was the XO of the 1st Battle Group, 18th Infantry, 8th ID. The next year we moved to Bad Kreuznach and lived in Government Housing. My Brother Bob and I used to go camping by ourselves on the Couberg. I joined a local BSA Troop and that summer the troop attended Camp Freedom. The 1st morning in Camp, I went to the pool to take my Swimming Merit Badge class. There was ice on the surface. I went in anyway.
The next three summers, I went to Camp Freedom and I got inducted into the Order of The Arrow (Black Eagle Lodge). I ended up with 24 merit badges and stood for the Board of Review for Eagle Scout before my Dad was reassigned to California. I didn’t go back into Scouting until I was an Adult.
When Chris, my son, was 10 years old he joined Troop 285 in Prunedale. His Scoutmaster asked me if I had ever been a Scout? I told him that I had been through a Board of Review for Eagle Scout. He told me that if I could get the documents together that showed that I passed the BOR, He would see that I received my Eagle Scout Award. I went home and dug through a lot of papers that my Mom saved and found the BOR papers. The next Court of Honor that Troop 285 held, I was awarded my Eagle Scout Medal!
SF Mike