Tornado tragedy

One of the heroes of this tragedy, 14-year-old Zach Jessen, with Governor Chet Culver. Zach threw himself on top of another boy to shield him from flying debris.

This weeks tragic tornado in Iowa that took the lives of 4 Scouters has spawned literally thousands of news articles and opinion pieces ... from as far away as Australia. This is the best I found.

WE NEED MORE BOY SCOUTS

It's hard to imagine the pain facing love ones of the four Boy Scouts who were killed when a twister ripped through their camp in Iowa this week. Don't forget them. They are: Aaron Eilerts, 14, Sam Thomsen, 13, Ben Petrzilka, 14, and Josh Fennen, 13.

This was the loss of four boys who were likely to become extraordinary men - the kind who would become leaders in their communities and put others ahead of themselves. How would anyone know this? Because they were Scouts, meaning they were statistically likely to succeed. There's no shortage of cadets, at the Air Force Academy as well as the other service academies, who were Boy Scouts. Many of them were Eagle Scouts, the pinnacle of Scouting's ranks.

Boy Scouts organizations are a genuine gift to the United States and other cultures of the world. They teach boys and young men to be prepared, instilling in them the life skills to live as men - real men who can survive hardship, build fires, change tires, handle guns and knives, and help people in need. They live by the Scout Promise, which says, "A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent." That sounds like good folks to have around.

When an assassin tried to kill Maldividan president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Boy Scout Mahamed Jaisham risked his life, got between the president and the attacker, and saved the president's life. Boy Scout heroics are common, though most don't make news.

Moments after the tornado turned their camp to shreds, it was evident how the Iowa Scouts had been prepared to serve. They immediately began putting their training to work, digging through rubble to free and tend to their injured peers. While most children understandably would have panicked, the Boy Scouts went to work. Some broke into an equipment shed, grabbed tools and a chainsaw, and began clearing fallen trees from the road so parents and rescuers could get to the scene.

The boys who died can never be replaced. But their deaths should bring attention to the need for more Boy Scouts, in a culture that's suffering from an abundance of weak men, barely prepared to care for themselves. More Boy Scouts, like the four who died, would make our future world a much better place.

As word broke on Thursday evening of the tragedy I googled the campsite and found an email address for the director of communications for the BSA area to let him know, on behalf of our group that we were thinking of them.... much to my surprise he responded within a couple of hours that he appreciated the gesture.

Rest in peace boys.

Cross-posted from the Second Smiths Falls Scout website