Hazelton Girl Scout Honors Local Veterans
Kassidy Peyton from Hazelton, Iowa, has achieved the Gold Award, the highest award a Girl Scout can earn, for placing and replacing 33 veterans' grave markers in the Saint John cemetery here in Independence, Iowa.
“When a veteran dies, the Veteran Affairs Office puts a grave marker on the Veteran’s grave that tells when they served. These markers are put out to recognize the Veterans for their service even though they have passed. But over the years, these markers have been broken, stolen, vandalized, and lost so some of the veteran graves don’t have them anymore,” explains Peyton. “I wanted to make sure all the Veteran's graves have the appropriate markers and add new ones if they are broken or missing.”
Peyton worked with the cemetery board to get the plat maps, walk through the cemetery, and locate Veterans’ graves to evaluate if they had a marker or if it needed to be replaced. Then, she worked with Patty Myers at the County Veterans Affairs office to order the new markers. Later, she returned and placed the markers on the graves of veterans who required new markers. She knows the importance of recognizing veterans for their service and sacrifice and wanted her Gold Award project to remember to recognize all veterans, living and deceased.
“This project also spoke to me because I got the honor to be part of a flag retirement ceremony at summer camp. The ceremony really opened my eyes to how special our flag is and how much we should respect it. That should also go for the people who have helped to defend our flag and keep us safe,” says Peyton.
The Gold Award Girl Scout then created a campaign to inform the public that they can also recognize friends and family who have served. The steps are:
1. Tell the funeral home you are using for your family member’s service. They will, or you can send your loved one's grave registration number to the Buchanan County Veterans Affairs Office, which is in the Buchanan County courthouse.
2. Then, you can go to the courthouse, get the marker, and place it on your family member's grave. Two grave markers are provided to each veteran free of charge. Veterans who have grave markers are recognized with flags on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Kassidy Peyton has been an active member of Girl Scout Troop 6171 for 13 years. She has participated in many activities through Girl Scouts over the years. She has volunteered at many father-daughter dances and cookie rallies and is passionate about teaching younger Girl Scouts. She has also had the privilege of traveling overseas with the organization. She has also learned countless skills through Girl Scouts, including leadership, money management, and individuality. Kassidy Peyton is also an Eagle Scout and achieved this status by making a flag retirement box for the local American Legion.
Gold Award Girl Scouts become innovative problem-solvers, empathetic leaders, confident public speakers, and focused project managers. They learn resourcefulness, tenacity, and decision-making skills, giving them an edge personally and professionally. As they take action to transform their communities, Gold Award Girl Scouts gain tangible skills and prove they’re the leaders our world needs.
