By Brandon Kathman
Special to the Clarkston News

INDEPENDENCE TWP. — A local Scout took the “never forget” mantra seriously and organized a remembrance ceremony at the Oakland County Sportsmen’s Club on the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Abhik Arya is a Life Scout with Clarkston’s Troop 185B and the 17-year-old aspires to the rank of Eagle, Scouting’s highest honor. The badge’s penultimate requirement charges youth to complete a service project that benefits their community, known as an Eagle Project.
According to Arya, he felt called to pay tribute to the Americans who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks. As the Sportsmen’s Club has supported his troop for years, the business was an obvious partner.
“I want to give back to my community and country by honoring it in a way I can,” Arya said. “I want to be able to bring people together and have them go home and recount what happened to others. I want people to know the sad and courageous story of those who were killed or injured in the terrorist attacks of 9/11.”
Arya, who attends the International Academy in Bloomfield Township, invited dozens of Scouts from across Oakland County to the event, along with club members, veterans from Waterford VFW Post 1008 and the Independence Fire Department. He called the audience to attention at 7 p.m. and delivered a brief tribute to those who lost their lives, followed by a moment of silence.
He then directed the Scouts in a flag retirement ceremony. Arya said he had the idea to include this when a neighbor approached him about discarding worn American flags, and he immediately recognized that the solemnity, reverence and symbolism would complement the evening’s atmosphere.
Scouts are among the few groups that still perform such retirements regularly, with the U.S. Flag Code mandating that badly worn or tattered flags be “destroyed in a dignified manner.”
Having been instructed by Arya beforehand, the youth in the ceremony’s flag detail began with banners made of cotton materials, laying them atop a pyre to be incinerated. The nylon flags were then buried at the site, as they would release toxic fumes if burned. The evening concluded with a rendition of “Taps” by Troop 185B’s bugler, Life Scout Nathan Beutler, a 17-year-old who goes to Clarkston High School.  
“I hope that people will remember my Eagle Scout project as more than just a flag retirement ceremony, but a day when people came together for the fallen and retired flags to honor them,” Arya said.
With his project complete, Arya will soon go before an Eagle Board of Review, which will determine whether to grant him the rank. Once approved, he will join an exclusive fellowship, as only six percent of registered Scouts ever achieve the honor.
“Earning the rank of Eagle Scout is not just the highest rank that a Scout can achieve, but a testament to a Scout’s commitment to excellence, service, and leadership,” Troop 185B Scoutmaster Tyler Cooper explained. “We are incredibly proud of the fantastic job that Abhik has done throughout all phases of this project, and we know that he will continue to be an amazing ambassador for Scouting.”

PHOTO: Arya directs Scouts in burying the flags. Photo: Brandon Kathman