SPRINGDALE (KFSM) – Hogan Maestri just finished his junior year at Har Ber High School. He has been a Boy Scout for six years and wants to achieve the highest rank of Eagle Scout.
In order to receive that achievement, he has to plan, lead and complete a service project. His project is a Fallen Soldier Memorial in Downtown Springdale at Shiloh Memorial Park.
“I chose this project because I wanted to do something that would help the community and I’ve always admired the armed services and I wanted to do something that would honor them as well,” he said.
As of now, 51 names of service members who gave their lives in World War I to present will be on a plaque below the statue at the Fallen Soldier Memorial. Hogan said he did a lot of research to find the names since there was not a list.
“We’ve gone through all the microfilm of the Springdale news since 1917. We stopped using microfilm around, when we got to the early 70s," he said.
Springdale VFW Commander Eugene Villarreal said they appreciate what Hogan is doing. When they found out about the project they donated $1,000 to help him make his vision a reality.
“There are a lot of us that our good friends never did make it back and something like this will be great for the city of Springdale as well as us as veterans to remind us that even though they are gone, they are not forgotten,” Villarreal said.
Hogan has raised about half of his $21,000 goal. He is fortunate to have Bayyari Construction donating the labor and many other donations. If you would like to donate to his project, he has a GoFundMe account or you can mail a check to the following address:
Troop 777
1811 Lankinshire Place
Springdale, AR 72764
Memo line: "Hogan Maestri Eagle Project"