'The soldier sleeps'
MIDDLESEX TWP — Being a Boy Scout means a lot to Sam Everson.
So does military service and honoring veterans.
So when it came to determining his Eagle Scout project, the Valencia resident and high school junior at Aquinas Academy decided to combine the two.
“I knew I wanted to do something for the veterans,” Sam said. “Glade Run Cemetery is five minutes from where I live, and I discovered there are so many military veterans buried here.”
Plenty of history has been buried with them.
Glade Run Cemetery contains graves of 125 veterans, including one — Robert Thompson — dating to the Revolutionary War. The cemetery has existed since 1812.
No memorial monument existed to recognize the veterans' sacrifice to country — until Sam came along.“The more I started to research the history of these people, the more vested in the project I became,” he said.Sam began his work on researching the veterans buried in the cemetery and the creation of a monument on their behalf in April of 2019.His completed Eagle Scout project culminated Saturday morning with a veterans' memorial dedication ceremony at the cemetery.Sam's project involved fundraising, project design and construction of the monument, along with numerous hours of research to develop the comprehensive list of veterans buried at Glade Run.“Fifteen months later, we stand here benefiting from his endeavor,” said Eric Schultz of the Glade Run Cemetery board of trustees.
Seven veterans from the War of 1812, 25 from the Civil War, one from the Spanish-American War, 14 from World War I, 50 from World War II, 13 from Korea, nine from Vietnam and five from peacetime have been laid to rest at Glade Run.“I've walked through this cemetery multiple times, taking plenty of pictures,” Sam said. “We got a lot of help from the Butler V.A. and the Pennsylvania archives in identifying people laid to rest here.”The names of all 125 buried veterans are listed on the monument, with the moniker “Freedom Is Not Free” printed in big type above their names.The ceremony itself was adapted from the 1917 Service (used by the Grand Army of the Republic) to dedicate a headstone for a Civil War veteran. Boy Scouts of America Troop 400 — which assisted Sam in construction of the monument — and Sons of the American Revolution modified that program for Saturday's service.U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, was guest speaker at the ceremony, which was witnessed by nearly 100 people.
“Ninety percent of life is showing up. If you show up, people know you care,” Kelly said.“America's greatest asset is not her natural resources, it's her youth. What Sam has done here ... he embodies the best of America.”While Sam said we “cannot know all of the stories” involving the veterans in the cemetery, we do have knowledge of their sacrifice and patriotism.”He added that his visit to Glade Run Cemetery Saturday will not be his last.“Every time I drive down this road — and that's often — I'll think of this day,” Sam said.The ceremony included a rifle salute, renowned bagpipe player George Balderose and a performance of God Bless America.Schultz closed the ceremony.“Taps have sounded, lights are out ... and the soldier sleeps,” he said.
