Aaron on Scouting has published an interesting story about Scouting’s response after the the attack on Pearl Harbor. Living up to the scout motto, “Be Prepared”, the scouts and scouters of the honolulu council were practicing first aid, teamwork, and emergency communications over the several months before the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. They had no way of knowing how soon their skills would be called upon.
Unlike other stories of scouting posted here, this is not a story of individual heroism but of the collective effort that reinforced the meaning of all 12 points of the Scout Law.
Within minutes or hours of the attack, scouts and scouters were out in their communities rendering first aid and other assistance to those in need. A more formal effort was launched with scouts serving as dispatch runners, helping to clear debris, assisting with first aid and medical care, blacking out windows, manning air raid sirens, and so much more.
And scouting continued to to act throughout the war, across the nation with victory gardens, scrap drives, war bond drives, and distributing posters, to name a few.
The hero of this story is the entire BSA organization.
