He was just a kid.
She was just a kid.
It was a hot August day and the water in Loyalhanna Creek near Buttermilk Falls in Ligonier Township was perfect for a dip.
And then it happened.
Ada May “Maizie” Hugg, the 15-year-old girl from Jeannette, became distressed in the water.
Robert W. Eicher, the 14-year-old boy from Jeannette, a Boy Scout, dressed in his street clothes, responded the way heroes do.
They respond.
Immediately.
And sometimes they die.
On that Aug. 11, 1917, both the victim and the responder, who got within 3 feet of the girl, died. (Another Jeannette Scout, George Hiteshue, also dove in to try to save the girl. He was pulled from the water and resuscitated, according to accounts.)
This week — Thursday at noon — there will be a graveside remembrance ceremony in Jeannette Memorial Park in Penn Township to honor Eicher. Posthumously, Eicher became one of the first recipients of the Boy Scouts of America Gold Honor Medals, and a Carnegie Medal for his bravery.
The epitaph on his grave reads: “A Boy Hero Who Gave His Life for Another”
In researching the tragedy, local Scouts learned that someone — nobody knows who or is disclosing the identity — places bouquets on Eicher's grave. That remains a mystery.
The organization has also been trying to find relatives to directly invite them to the ceremony.
Unfortunately, the efforts have been fruitless.
However, we want to give a shout-out to readers of the Tribune-Review who tapped their genealogy skills in trying to help the Scouts trace and locate members of the Eicher and Hugg families.
We salute the Scouts' Bushy Run District of the Westmoreland-Fayette Council for investing time and resources in a project that might seem inconsequential to some, but serves as a reminder that we are all capable of being heroes on any given day at any given moment.
We salute the Scouts who in an age of criticism, skepticism and questionable civility are examples of the simple ways we can all be better citizens to each other.
We salute the parents of the Scouts for investing time to find a way of encouraging their kids to adhere to the lessons instilled in them at home and through Scout activities.
In short, we salute the Scouts.
And encourage anyone with a few minutes on their hands Thursday to attend the ceremony.
Every life has a story it leaves behind.
And sometimes, that inspiring story lives beyond the words on a tombstone.
