The Boy Scouts Go to War: America’s Youngest Patriots in World War I

When the United States entered the Great War in 1917, the Boy Scouts of America were barely out of their own childhood. Founded only seven years earlier, the organization had grown quickly but was still finding its place in national life. Then came war — and with it, a call to serve that would transform the Scouts forever.

From the White House itself, President Woodrow Wilson, the Scouts’ honorary president, issued a summons. The nation needed help, and its boys in khaki were ready. Overnight, the Boy Scouts became something of a civilian army, answering Wilson’s plea to use their skills, discipline, and patriotism in defense of their country.

Their first mission took them into the forests of America. Airplanes and rifles needed strong, shock-resistant wood — black walnut, prized above all others. Scouts across the country shouldered notebooks and compasses and set out on a treasure hunt for trees. They combed fields, farms, and forest trails, marking the locations of every walnut tree they found. By the time the campaign ended, they had mapped enough to produce more than 20 million board feet of lumber — raw material that would become the propellers, gunstocks, and grips of American victory.

But service didn’t end in the woods. Another call came — this time, for fruit pits and nutshells. To fight the deadly poison gases drifting across the front lines of Europe, the Army needed activated charcoal for its gas mask filters. Scouts sprang into action once again, turning their local groceries, schools, and kitchens into collection centers. Cherry, peach, olive, and plum pits poured in by the barrel. In all, they filled more than 100 railroad cars with their strange but vital cargo. It was a nationwide scavenger hunt with life-or-death stakes.

Read the entire article on the Taps Bugler website.
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