92-year-old has his Eagle Scout court of honor 75 years late

Eagle Scouts, Scouting professionals and volunteers celebrated 92-year-old John Price with an Eagle Scout court of honor 75 years after he earned Scouting’s highest honor.

Price achieved the rank in 1941, just as the world was erupting in war.

His Scoutmaster, John Mehltretter, came to Price’s Bayonne, N.J., home, congratulated him and handed him his Eagle Scout Award.

But there wasn’t time to schedule a court of honor to celebrate Price’s achievement. Five days later, the 17-year-old joined the Navy.

Price served on a submarine in the South Pacific during World War II, and he went on to serve his country for 20 years and five months, retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer.

He never thought much about missing out on an Eagle Scout court of honor, but he did hold one thing dear: his Eagle pin.

So, after discovering that it was missing, he reached out to a Baltimore Area Council representative to see if he might get a replacement.

The contact, Ann Klohr, a Carroll District volunteer, was happy to help. She listened to Price’s story and was surprised to hear that he’d never had court of honor. She turned to district professionals for help.

In June, the district asked Price to attend a roundtable, at which they thanked him for his service and surprised him with a long-overdue court of honor attended by other Eagles, Scouting professionals and volunteers.

Price was “overcome with emotion,” Klohr writes.

Join us in giving Price a long-overdue salute for his achievement in earning the Eagle Scout rank.


Photo courtesy of Bob Betz.


About Aaron Derr 438 Articles
Aaron Derr is the senior editor of Scout Life and Scouting magazines, and also a former Cubmaster and Scouts BSA volunteer.