If you search the web for “Charles Scruggs Cuero TX”, you will find several references to him being the first Scout to receive the BSA Honor Medal. There is some question as to the accuracy of this claim but he was certainly amongst the first 5 to receive it. Charles’ story is very simple and may seem lesser as a result. Don’t let that fool you, a life saved, even by the simplest act, is indeed heroic. Here is the story of what happened that May afternoon of 1911 in Cuero, TX on the Guadelupe River.
In 1911, the year before there were any Eagle Scouts, Charles saw his friend Burns Hardy drowning in the Guadalupe River. He swam out and grabbed Burns, then hauled him back to shallow water. “After I went down a second time I was frightened,” Burns said later. “It felt as if my head was getting full of water. I believe I should have drowned if Charles had not come up and helped me out.” For his valor, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America awarded Charles Scruggs the first Honor Medal for saving a life.
The BSA Honor Medal has three levels: Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Charles’ medal was bronze, as were all at the time. You see, BSA was only one year old at this time and was scrambling to get the program in place and supported. When the first BSA Honor Medals were awarded, BSA had not yet designed the Silver or Gold awards so all Honor Medals were awarded at bronze.
