Eagle Scout's dream comes true, even after he succumbs to cancer

Eagle Scout's dream comes true, even after he succumbs to cancer

Darryl E. Owens | COMMENTARY
November 15, 2008
Simon Sharp could have been the poster child for Scouting -- the kind of Boy Scout who lived the creed, served his community, respected elders and embraced people with friendship. A born leader his fellow Scouts admired.

Bradley Trowbridge came up in Scouting with Simon, looked up to his senior patrol leader, and wouldn't shrug at going that extra mile if Simon asked.

At 11 this morning, friends, families, and veterans will meet at Founder's Park in the Osceola County community of Celebration. They'll gather to dedicate The Celebration Veterans Memorial, the labor of love that Simon, who belonged to Boy Scout Troop 125, chose for his Eagle Scout project.

In doing so, they'll celebrate a special pact, born of a friendship so strong that Bradley refused to allow Simon's dream to go unfulfilled even after his friend passed away.



Three summers ago, Simon sold commemorative American flag pins on the Fourth of July. The pins brought in $7,000, and his project was off and running. But the following month, life tripped Simon up. He fell ill, stricken with an aggressive form of leukemia.

With Simon undergoing treatment, and fighting fevers, nausea and pneumonia, his comrades tended to his project. They raised more than $12,000 toward the $40,000 budget.

Halfway through Simon's 30-month treatment regimen, doctors knew the cancer would win -- long before the monument ever would come to fruition.

But Simon was determined he'd die an Eagle Scout. Last November, he slid off his oxygen mask, endured his Eagle Scout interview, and, one last time, gasped the Scout Oath.

He died the next day at age 16.
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