Vote for Jacob Netzel

A Very Special Memorial Built by Eagle Scout

Recently I did a post on the story of Jacob Netzel and his efforts to build the 3^rd Special Forces Memorial Walk at Fort Bragg North Carolina. Jacobs efforts has been making news in the military community and drawing attention.  The attention has grow and national recognition may upon Jacob for his work.

This year marks the 150^th anniversary of the Medal of Honor being signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.  As part of the celebrations of what the Medal of Honor represents, the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation invited the Boy Scouts of America to nominate an outstanding scout for the prestigious American Spirit Award.

This award recognizes one or more individuals who demonstrate extraordinary skill, professionalism and a spirit of excellence in a challenging situation. In response, the editorial staff of Boys’ Life conducted a national search of Scouts and their achievements and selected Jacob Netzel and three other Scouts as potential recipients of the American Spirit Award.

Please pass this on to friends and go to this link and vote for Jacob Netzel: http://boyslife.org/americanspiritaward

Nomination submission

Jacob Netzel: Persistence Goes a Long Way
Occoneechee Council

Jacob, a 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Troop 40 in Fayetteville, N.C., knew his Eagle project could take a long, long time. But nothing could stop Jacob, who spent four years raising $40,000 and then constructed a memorial for fallen soldiers from the 3rd Special Forces Group headquartered at nearby Fort Bragg.

“I was very optimistic in the beginning,” Jacob says. “Then I got discouraged when the cash was coming in slow. But it never failed: If we had a slow month, we’d get a big donation from somebody and things would pick up.”

In addition to the fund raising, Jacob had to get approval from seemingly everyone in the U.S. military, including the Secretary of the Army and the three-star general and commander of the installation where the memorial would be built.

The end result was 28 headstones honoring the memory of 3rd Special Forces Group soldiers killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom.
Jacob says he hopes to someday become an engineer.

Check the blog archive or go to link for original blog post and other links: http://pointofviewbyyou.blogspot.com/2010/12/military-memorials.html

Facebook Page for 3^rd Special Forces Memorial Walk:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/3rd-SFG-Memorial/223230520745