Cub Scout crawls grave to grave, honoring the dead
 

There IS hope for the future...


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Cub Scout crawls grave to grave, honoring the dead

http://www.tennessean.com/local/arch...5/33153745.jpg

James Milam,10, hops out of his wheelchair to place flags in front of gravestones in a section of the Nashville National Cemetery honoring veterans whose bodies were never recovered. Milam, with Pack 459 in White House, joined dozens of Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts who placed more than 30,000 flags on the graves for Memorial Day.


By HOLLY EDWARDS
Staff Writer

10-year-old ditches wheelchair to plant flags in front of headstones

Pivoting his body with his right arm and holding a neon-green ruler in his left hand, James Milam, 10, crawled from grave to grave at Nashville National Cemetery yesterday morning, carefully placing an American flag exactly one foot from each gravestone.

The energetic fourth-grader took the task seriously.

''I don't think that's straight at all,'' he said, holding the ruler to a flag and making a minor adjustment. ''There, that's better.''

With that pronouncement, James swung back into his wheelchair, rolled to the cemetery roadway and sped off to another section of gravestones. On the way, he talked about the new wheelchair he's getting next month.

''It has green lights on the front wheels, bigger wheels in the back and black spoke guards,'' he boasted. ''I'll really fly in that one.''

Born with sacral agenesis, a rare defect in which the spine does not fully develop, James has used a wheelchair since he was 2.

The Cub Scout is known for his fervid patriotism. This is the second Memorial Day weekend that James has joined hundreds of Scouts in placing flags on all of the 34,000 gravestones at the cemetery in Madison.

Tomorrow, he will join two U.S. Marines in the annual wreath-laying ceremony at the cemetery.

''I feel like they gave their life for our freedom so we should come out and honor them for that,'' he said of the veterans buried at the cemetery. ''I just want to honor the soldiers and our country.''

Recently placed in a gifted program at Robert F. Woodall Elementary School in White House, James is intensely interested in what's happening in the world, his parents said.

''He very much understands the war we've been in, and he's very patriotic,'' said his mother, Cindi Milam. ''He's just real concerned about it all.''

His favorite songs are those about the recent wars and terrorist attacks, such as Darryl Worley's Have You Forgotten and Alan Jackson's Where Were You.

James is also an avid fan of such all-American pastimes as NASCAR, baseball, four-wheeling and fishing.

''This child is not scared to do nothin','' declared Jan Harrison, assistant den leader for James' Cub Scout patrol, the Screaming Eagles, named for the 101st Airborne Division. ''I nicknamed him the Energizer Bunny because he just keeps going and going.''

Though he dreams of being a pilot, his parents said, he has settled on becoming an air traffic controller instead.

''He knew he couldn't fly a plane, but he said he can help it land,'' said his father, Jim Milam, whose father founded Milam's Optical Service. ''He has absolutely no self-pity. If he can't do something, he figures a way around it.''

The sociable youngster is popular among his classmates and fellow Scouts.

''The boys constantly fight over who's going to be with James,'' den leader Patti Neary said. ''He is all personality.''

After spending several hours placing dozens of flags at gravestones, James admits to being tired, especially his right arm, as his father pushes him back to the car in his wheelchair. Next on the agenda is a car wash to raise money for a youth summer camp sponsored by his church, Halltown General Baptist.

''I could disable him if I smothered him, but I want him to do everything he can do and be independent,'' Cindi Milam said. ''From the night he was born, I felt God had a higher calling for him. We're blessed to have such a happy child.''

OMG. This made me cry. If this kid is this amazing at age 10, one can only imagine what he'll be doing in 10 or 20 years.

This kid is my new hero.

Brought a tear to my eye. Wait thats just gas. Maybe I am just jaded but human intrest stories only go so far.

He is a very special boy indeed.

It really is amazing what kids can do. Sometimes adults can learn from kids. This kid is great. He understands the importance of the sacrifices made for this country. That alone makes him a good person, second he sacrificed his body (somewhat) to take the time to place flags in front to honor those people.. I wish I could've seen it in person!

Working with people with disabilities, I doubt James sees what he's doing as special. He's just doing what the other kids in his Cub Scout Pack are doing. More power to him. He sounds like a cool kid.

He's also lucky he's got cool parents who allow him as much freedom as possible.

i have a new respect for cub scouts

As long as there are Cub Scouts, Brownies, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts there will always be hope for the future.

I agree wholeheartedly, and not just becuz I am the mother of a newly minted Boy Scout (did the whole Cub Scout thing as well).

In scouts, kids learn the importance of civic responsibility, whether it's giving back to one's community, or to one's country.

Agreed. A lot of people talk of patriotism now, but you see very few give of themselves like he did. Amazing story about an amazing kid.

That just gave me chills (good chills) down my spine. I know I definitely don't deserve to feel sorry for myself - people like this kid are a real inspiration.

Great story. If only more people would be so giving of their time.

simply. awesome.

I spent alot of years in scouting Rock, and as an Eagle Scout I couldn't agree more. It's a great program.

I have to respectfully disagree with that. Their anti-gay stance and religious swing doesn't provide me with much hope. I was forced into the boy scouts when I was that age - too young to resist it. As I got older within my pack and advanced, I started to realize how CHRISTIAN everything was. Mind you, I was raised Jewish, so this was rubbing me the wrong way even at that age. I found more productive activities and communal experience through public day camp.

This kid can easily grow up to be anti-gay, hard-nosed Christian and then we'll be saying, "What the fuck!"

Halx, you make a important point. These are the two reservations I've had about the Scouts all along. However, after being involved with them for several years (including as a den mom) I've realized that one can *customize* the the codes to fit any higher power. That said, I think it was incredibly stupid and short-sighted of them to declare their anti-gay stance. What my son hears at home is acceptance of all cultures & religions & that one's sexuality is no one's business, certainly not the scouts.

Sorry you had such a crappy experience.

Ah, Lebell! Ya went and made me cry! You had to tug on my heart strings now didn't ya!
Scout, or no scout, this young man is a shining example of what humanity is all about.
Thank you for sharing such an uplifting story. :D

As an Eagle Scout I did the whole scout thing and I am not happy with the way the Organization has handled a lot, OK, most social issues. But, Halx remember what the Organization espouses and what really goes on is usually two different things. One of my best friends in scouts was gay and nobody treated him any different or forced him to resign.

Should I have made a Scout thread ?

:D

ahh, true, but I experienced the Christian shit first hand.

Regardless of my opinion of the Boy Scout organization, I think that this kid deserves some sort of special recognition. This also proves that disabled kids can do great things too.

It's also not 'politically correct' to assume that a disabled person is brave for performing the same acts as able-bodied individuals because it is assuming inequality.

Sorry Hal,

Gotta disagree with you there. Most people will not do something for others if it is terribly inconvenient or worse, if pain is involved.

This kid spent his day crawling on the ground to honor the dead who have served this country.

That's brave.

ALL SCOUTS SHOULD BE HONORED FOR EVERYTHING THEY DO BECAUSE THEY DO IT EVERY YEAR.

i am not a boyscout anymore but we did that every year because thats what Boy Scouts do.

like any and all volunteers.... THAT IS WHAT THEY DO!

most scouts dont like doing all that stuff, myself included but once u get into it, its not that bad.

being a boy scout was good, fun and important, and we all learned important skills and stuff

I am NOT saying that this boy isn't special, because any scout that is that precise and determined is gonna become an Eagle Scout and in advance we should be proud of him.

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as for the hole thing about the gays in scouts, none of them have bothered me nor do i think they are a problem nor are most scouts a problem...the real problem are "the anti-gay, hard-nosed Christian" PARENTS!

considering ~90% of scouting organizations (the organizations that support the scout packs/troops) are churches etc... most of the parents are "the anti-gay, hard-nosed Christian"

the BSA organizationn has to publicly support the views of those people because they have to!

and most importantly....

Boy Scouts Of America is a PRIVATE ORGANIZATION! and can do whatever they want

Lebell... I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, I'm just saying it's politically incorrect.

Mac, sure the BSA can do whatever they like. Doesn't mean I gotta like 'em.

This is just sad. I have been involved with the Boy Scouts for over 30 years but stopped that involvement a few years ago. Part of it was over the gay thing. It wasn't boys being gay that bothered me as much as some noise from the "Man Boy Love Association" or what ever these perverts call themselves. I can't be involved in anything where grown men seem to think that it is OK to be sexually involved with a child.

I also began to worry that any boy that took a dislike to me could at any time accuse me of something bad and ruin my life with absolutely no proof whatsoever. Some people had commented that I had no sons yet worked with the BSA so I finally decided that I would just get out of the program.

I'm sorry that Halx and others have had a bad experience with the scouts and think that it has gone sort of wrong in the last decade or two. Too many rules, too much liberal thinking, and two much straying from the historical path.

They still teach some valuable lessons but it requires concerned, participating parents to work right.

The young man that the thread was started about is just an example of some of the ideals promoted by the scouts. Evidently the whole wheelchair thing isn't a concern to him. He is just doing something that he thinks is right.

Hopefully they will straighten themselves out before it is too late.

I was a Boy Scout in the '70s. Never made Eagle though. I was one merit badge away. Anyway, I digress.

1.) I got a lot out of the scouts. It tought me things that helped to shape me into te man that I am today.

2.) I think that this anti tollerance, religious right atmosphere experienced by some these days is a local thing. We were taught to accept those different from ourselves and to learn from them.

3.) On a sadder note, I have to echo rockogres post regarding false accusations. It is a sign of our times when some disaffected youth can simply point his/her finger and say "He did it!" and be believed, no questions asked. I think that it scares off a lot of people that would be excellent roll models for some kids that desperately need it.

I think what the boy did was very cool. As long as it was his idea, and not someone pushing him out of the chair on the ground saying, "We'll get in the news for this!!".