{"id":77077,"date":"2025-12-21T13:17:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T13:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/77077\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T13:17:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T13:17:08","slug":"staten-island-cub-scouts-honor-fallen-heroes-at-arlington-national-cemetery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/77077\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island Cub Scouts honor fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 For the fourth consecutive year, youth from Staten Island\u2019s Cub Scout Troop 6 earned their way to Arlington National Cemetery, where they took part in the \u201cWreaths Across America<\/a>\u201d mission \u2014 honoring fallen service members through months of dedication, fundraising and service to their community.<\/p>\n

On Dec. 13, the scouts helped purchase and place wreaths at the historic Virginia cemetery, joining thousands of volunteers nationwide in a solemn tribute to America\u2019s heroes. <\/p>\n

This year alone, nearly 300,000 wreaths were laid at Arlington, part of an annual effort that spans nearly 50 cemeteries across the country. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt truly takes a village,\u201d said Cubmaster Matthew Sculli, noting that the trip would not have happened without the scouts\u2019 determination and the support of the Staten Island community. <\/p>\n

\"PackThe Cub Scouts get ready to place wreaths at the national cemetery. (Courtesy of Matthew Sculli)<\/p>\n

To make the trip possible, Troop 6 scouts \u2014 children ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade \u2014 raised funds by dedicating their days off from school to community-based efforts, including standing outside local ShopRite locations to ask for donations. <\/p>\n

Their hard work was supported by the newly formed Friends of Pack 6\/Troop 6 Foundation, which was created to help fund initiatives like this trip and to offset the costs of scouting programs throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\"TroopTroop 6 completed their fourth annual “Wreaths Across America” trip with support from local businesses, veterans groups, and the newly formed Friends of Pack 6\/Troop 6 Foundation. (Courtesy of Matthew Sculli)Matthew Sculli<\/p>\n

Like any out-of-state trip, this one had challenges. The group departed on Dec. 12 and endured more than seven hours of traffic after an accident shut down the New Jersey Turnpike. They returned home on Dec. 14 amid snowfall. Despite the long travel days and difficult conditions, leaders said the Scouts remained positive, respectful, and focused on the mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese kids did great through it all,\u201d said Sculli.<\/p>\n

The trip required significant funding to cover transportation and lodging, and Troop 6 expressed deep gratitude to the Staten Island community for once again stepping up. Dozens of veterans organizations, local businesses, nonprofit foundations, and families contributed to making the experience possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not an inexpensive trip,\u201d said Sculli. \u201cWe absolutely could not do this without the incredible support of our Staten Island community. We are deeply grateful to the individuals, families, organizations and businesses who helped make this experience possible for our scouts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TroopDozens of veterans organizations, businesses and families contributed to Troop 6’s fourth annual journey to honor fallen heroes through the “Wreaths Across America” program. (Courtesy of Matthew Sculli)Matthew Sculli<\/p>\n

The scouts also honored the memory of service members and community figures for whom the mission holds special meaning, including: John E. Barnas (U.S. Army); Dennis M. Hayes (U.S. Navy); Gregory P. Kapsalis (U.S. Army); John J. Leahy (U.S. Navy); Scoutmaster Michael Pelucco; Roberta A. Satta (U.S. Army); Stanley Werstak (U.S. Army), and Lt. John Leary (U.S. Army).<\/p>\n

Community members interested in learning more about or supporting future Pack 6\/Troop 6 initiatives can visit their website<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 For the fourth consecutive year, youth from Staten Island\u2019s Cub Scout Troop 6 earned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-77077","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}