Join the Nationwide Service Project “Finding the Fallen”
Boy Scouts, members of the United States Armed Forces, all genealogists, and the American public are invited to help preserve the memories of our fallen veterans by photographing and logging veteran memorials and headstones throughout the United States. Since I am a veteran of the US military, this project also means a lot to me. I plan to participate. If you have any Boy Scouts in the family, you might want to forward this announcement to them and to their leaders.The following announcement was written by Melany Gardner:
Boy Scouts and members of the United States Armed Forces are invited to participate in a nationwide service project, “Finding the Fallen,”
Saturday, July 30. This service project will help preserve the memories
of our fallen veterans by photographing and logging veteran memorials
and headstones throughout the United States.
Troops, teams and crews are all invited to
participate as volunteers to take photographs or help organize the
local event. Aspiring Eagle Scouts, as approved by their local council
or district, can also apply to lead the local service project. Anyone
wishing to participate in the project can sign up here.
What is the Finding the Fallen Project?
The
men and women of the past sacrificed, and many gave their lives for
their country. This summer, Scouts have the unique opportunity not only
to “help other people at all times,” but to help other people from all
times. Saturday, July 30, 2016 has been designated as the day for
“Finding the Fallen.” We invite you and your troop to do a good turn by
doing your part on this important day.
Boy Scouts, in conjunction with the United
States Armed Forces and BillionGraves, will be honoring the sacrifice
of the brave men and women who have given their lives in defense of our
freedom. You can help honor their sacrifice by ensuring that they are
never forgotten. By joining in the project, you and your troop will
serve these heroes by photographing and logging the GPS locations of the
headstones and markers in our national cemeteries and uploading them to
the BillionGraves.com website using the app on smart phones.
After the photographs are uploaded, you,
along with many other volunteers, will have the opportunity to
transcribe the records. Once completed, these records will be accessible
to the public via BillionGraves.com and other genealogical sites for
free. The free BillionGraves GPS app will guide anyone to these
gravesites, allowing those who have fallen to be found. The general
public will be able to add photos, obituaries, histories and other
tributes to the various records as they wish, thus ensuring these
veterans are never forgotten.
This is a great way to complete
requirement #7 for the Citizenship in the Community merit badge or
requirement #2 for the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge. Many Boy
Scouts have used this as their Eagle Scout project. BillionGraves
provides great resources to ensure a positive leadership experience for
the Eagle Scout. For more information for aspiring Eagle Scouts, go here.
How to Get Started?
- Decide today to help honor these brave men and women Saturday, July 30, 2016 and sign up here. BillionGraves.com will send you more information on how to plan and carry out your project.
- Choose a local veteran memorial or cemetery. If selecting a cemetery in Utah, check that the cemetery hasn’t already been logged here.
- Be prepared to organize, plan or participate in “Finding the Fallen” at the local cemetery July 30th.
- Transcribe the photographed headstones.
For questions about the “Finding the Fallen” project, contact BillionGraves at eagle@billiongraves.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment