Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Tragedy.

A sad day for us all here as we learned yesterday 4 scouters lost their lives when their tent collided with a power line. A.P. Hill is at once vibrant and solemn in the aftermath as rumor and truth mix together. Morale is still very high and that 'Scouting Spirit' is still very much alive in our hearts as we welcome 'Day 2' of the National Scout Jamboree 2005. Check out our photo gallery later this morning for shots from yesterday. www.emeritbadges.org.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Checked this morning 10AM your time. No new photos and cant get web cam to work.
Prayers are with you all over this tragedy. News is saying it is Scout Leaders from Alaska.
From a distance if there is anything we can do to help let us know.
God Bless you all!

Anonymous said...

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the scouters that lost their lives yesterday along with their troops, the Western Alaska Council, and the Jamboree. It is such a sad tragedy. We thank them for the service they gave BSA over the years.

Anonymous said...

Wanted to send our prayers to all the scouts and families at jamboree in light of yesterday's tragedy. We also pray for the families and scouts directly involved from Alaska.
Keep the faith!

Anonymous said...

PHOTOS ARE GREAT!!!!
Please Keep Them Comming!

Anonymous said...

PHOTOS ARE GREAT!!!!
Please Keep Them Comming!

Anonymous said...

PHOTOS ARE GREAT!!!!
Please Keep Them Comming!

Anonymous said...

I am so glad I found this site. My son is in subcamp 5 and I was desparately trying to find info last night. My husband is also down there with the troop and is at a campground nearby. I could not get the webcam to work also but it must be I don't have something on my computer to run it. Thanks, Hopfer, for the info and also for the Washington Post article. It's nice to have a place to go to read about the jambo. I worry about the heat today too. Please update us on what measures they have in place to keep the scouts cooled off. Thanks! Debbie from Connecticut

Anonymous said...

Isn't a little weird that Boy Scout leaders would not be careful about having their tent poles touching a power line?

Anonymous said...

Let's not be so quick to judge. This is a very sad tragedy and our concern at this time needs to be with the families and scouts of these fine men who volunteered service and energy to Boy Scouts of America.

Anonymous said...

I don't think this was an accident. I would think Boy Scout leaders would understand the danger of touching metal structures that are touching live electricity wires. (Doesn't the Pentagon spend $2 million a year maintaining the site? Are we supposed to believe that no one thought to make sure there were no exposed power lines near the place where a dining hall would be set up? You don't hear of accidents like this in Iraq, where such tents were set up without incident.

I think we can safely rule out the accident hypothesis. Which leaves us with.... Muslim terrorists or very naughty christian boy scouts.

Anonymous said...

Why don't you visit the aol message board about the tragedy. There are all kinds of your type writing in there.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the offer - I prefer to hang out here.

Anonymous said...

So you have the Emeritbadge site, wich activity area are you in??

Anonymous said...

This is a great site and a way to stay connected to our scouts participating in the 2005 Jamboree. Thanks for your dedication to this site. Keep the posting coming.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely. I agree. I don't know about anyone else, but I come here to get a glimpse of what my son might be doing at the jamboree. I prefer not to judge or analyze why something happened or have to be subjected to someone else's judgement as he/she hides behind the anonymous name.

Anonymous said...

So no one else thinks it's bizarre that four boy scout leaders died trying to put up a tent? How exactly does an "accident" like that happen?

Anonymous said...

INVESTIGATION: A Scout executive in Alaska, where the victims are from, says the men were killed after they lost control of a giant tent pole and it hit some nearby power lines.
I cut and pasted this from the Washington Post. Obviously you have never been under or set up a tent of this size. Even with four men, it is easy to lose control. Usually it takes many more people to set up a tent like that. Why, there were only four....

Anonymous said...

You are right. I've never been in a big super-duper tent like that. You'd think with the Pentagon spending $2 million a year and all preparing the site, they could have figured out a way to avoid this type of risk.

That's the military for you, I guess.

Anonymous said...

I believe the contingents came with their own gear. I know my son's contingent did. But I also have that question about the facility... I don't know anything about power lines but I do know these gateways are pretty tall so there is risk everywhere with these power lines it seems to me.

Anonymous said...

anon: I don't know anything about power lines but I do know these gateways are pretty tall so there is risk everywhere with these power lines it seems to me.

Not sure what gaeways you are talking about. It seems to me, if I were erecting a temporary city in the wilderness, I'd want to do it in a place that was cleared and had a water supply and probably electricity supply. But I'd want a site without hazards like above-ground power lines.

Why is the jamboree held on a site with above-ground power lines?

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know what subcamp they were part of ?

Anonymous said...

I don't know if anyone one still visits this but I was there at the Jambo 2 years ago. I believe that the tent was larger than what they were told to put up so there is no way for the gov. to prepare for that. I also send out my condolences I met one of them only a fe days before in Arlington National Cemetary and he gave me a shoulder patch from his council (still have it now) while he answered any questions I had about Alaska. I am actually using that event as my college entrance essay the topic was what was a moment in your life that affected you as a person. This was in no way the gov's fault. I hope this helps settle any disputed that may arise in the future if you have questions about what happened that I may be able to answer e-mail me at slim1337@comcast.net