Islander’s Eagle project will recognize service members

For his Eagle Scout project, Mercer Island High School junior Henry LeMaster is working with local veterans to recognize and support current service members.

He is collaborating with the Mercer Island VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) Post 5760 to recognize those associated with the Mercer Island community who are currently serving in the military.

He set up a website to compile a list of names, and is asking people from Mercer Island who have relatives in the military to add to the list so LeMaster can recognize their service to our country. The project is also intended to serve as a way to “bridge the gap” between the VFW and current service members, LeMaster said.

LeMaster, with a team of Boy Scouts and friends, is going to send each person a personal letter thanking them for their service, and is planning more ways to honor them in conjunction with Memorial Day. He currently has 22 names on his list, and will be collecting more until May 27.

LeMaster said he and his troop have participated in other projects with the VFW before, but not on this scale. He is hoping that the venture lives on at the VFW after his involvement has ended — the mark of a successful Eagle Scout project.

“It’s supposed to be a project where you show that you live out scout oaths and law, and that benefits the community around you,” he said. “It’s not just beneficial for you, but for a greater cause.”

LeMaster’s family has a military history. His great grandfather served in World War II, his father was an engineer in the Army and his uncle is currently a general, stationed in Germany.

“If you live/work on Mercer Island and have a relative who is currently serving in the military, at ROTC or at any of the military academies they can be apart of my list,” LeMaster wrote in an email.

For more information and to learn how to participate, visit www.serviceprojectmi.com.