In April, I attended the Transatlantic Council's camporee in Normandy, France. This was my first Boy Scout camp with my troop. Earlier in the week I was sightseeing in other parts of France with my family and some friends. We went to Verdun, Reims, Mont St. Michel and some other small towns in France. On Thursday, my family dropped me off at the campsite and I joined my troop. The troop had arrived after dark so we all worked together to set up tents and cook dinner. The next couple of days we went sightseeing and saw Pegasus Bridge, St. Mere Eglise, and the Normandy beaches. Something very special happened to me in Normandy. I met the Boy Scouts of America Chief Executive, Robert Mazucca and also the President of Boy Scouts, Rex Tillerson. Not only did I meet them, but they presented me with my very first rank in Boy Scouting. They also signed my neckerchief and rank badge and gave me their patches.
On Saturday we helped with a service project by holding up green signs to spell the words "Normandy, Land of Liberty 2014," on the beach. A photo was taken overhead from a helicopter and you can see that photo below. My troop stood in the letter "b" in Liberty and our feet got soaked. Later that night we attended a big campfire with all of the Scouts that were in Normandy. I bumped into an old Scout friend named Donny who was my Den Chief when I was a Webelos Cub in Vienna, Austria. The next day I rode the bus with my troop back to Germany. It was a really long ride and I felt sick by the end of the trip.
Normandy was a fun experience and I would like to go back to visit.
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