The American Legion Preamble is the definition of what it means to be a good citizen; for nearly a century, it has stood to codify the ideals that we as Americans cherish, with every word rich in patriotic symbolism. There is one clause, however--the final clause, in fact--that catches my eye every time I read it: “To consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.” The phrase comes from The American Legion’s constant commitment to social betterment, but it represents so much more; it symbolizes a desire to make the world a better place by sacrificing one’s time and energy to serve others without expecting praise or compensation. To me, however, it also symbolizes the impact that people like Lewis March have had on my life. …show more content…
Where Cub Scouts, the introductory program for younger children, mainly consisted of busywork, Troop 57 was incredibly active: at every meeting there was talk of day hikes and weekend camping trips. I was shy and not a particularly “outdoorsy” boy, so I was afraid I might not fit in, but I was naive and influenced by peer pressure, so, despite my uncertainty, I convinced my father to help me with a Troop fundraiser to lighten the financial burden of campouts and activities. For a 55-year-old man and his sixth grade son, it was grueling. The fundraiser consisted of placing large, unwieldy flags around the community for Labor Day. Finding the PVC-reinforced holes into which they went was incredibly difficult, and more often than not we were forced to dig our own holes into the ground with a handheld auger. What took the other scouts two or three hours would have taken us all day, were it not for Lew March. It was about ten in the morning — nearly four hours after we had started — when Lew rolled up to us in his truck as we were digging yet another hole, our shoes covered in