News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A Crossville student has identified, counted, and placed flag holders at approximately 500 veteran graves.
11th grader Chase Mullen said the idea to organize the project came during the summer.
“I worked for the city cemetery for the summer as a job,” Mullen said. “And then I noticed that the veterans were having trouble putting flags out for Memorial Day and stuff like that. So I thought it would be a good idea to put some flag holders in the ground with PVC pipe.”
The group took the day to place PVC pipe flag holders next to veteran headstones. (Photo: Mullen)
Mullen said the work he did at the cemetery was a part of his Eagle Scout Project.
“You have to do an Eagle Scout Project which requires you to fill out an Eagle Scout Book. That’s what took most of the time. Then you finish your project and it shows how good of a leader you are and then they will award you with the Eagle Scout Rank.”
The Eagle Scout Project serves as the last portion of the path to the Eagle Scout Rank.
Mullen said the City of Crossville used the information he gathered to update their veteran database.
“I just wanted to help the veterans out, but getting my Eagle Scout project out of the way was just a bonus,” Mullen said. “And Crossville as a city wanted to be able to identify where their veterans were in the cemetery.”
The City of Crossville awarded Chase with a proclamation of research and work completed. (Photo: Mullen)
Mullen said the identification and placement of the flag holders took one full day, but the project spanned over a course of a few months.
“But the paperwork and all that took months. I had to fill out paperwork and then wait for someone to sign it,” Mullen said. “Fill out some more and wait for some more people to sign it. And do research to find out exactly how many veterans are identified already.”
Mullen said he hopes his project encourages others to take care of veteran graves in the county.
“I hope so, I thought it was really good and it was needed,” Mullen said. “So I hope that if there is anybody that wanted to do anything, this might persuade them to actually do it.”
The Crossville City Council recognized Mullen for his work earlier in the month.
