A Plainview-Old Bethpage Boy Scout made honoring a U.S. Army sergeant his Eagle Scout Project priority.
Eagle Scout candidate Ryan Lessman chose to honor Commander Joseph P. Slattery Jr. for his Eagle Scout Project by dedicating a memorial garden at the American Legion Hall in Plainview. A dedication ceremony took place on Memorial Day at the Legion Hall and was attended by Slattery’s wife Pat, as well as other dignitaries, guests and Scout Troops. During the ceremony, Lesman received an official citation from County Executive Ed Mangano.
The Eagle Scout Project, is the opportunity for a Boy Scout to demonstrate leadership of others while performing a project for the benefit of his community. This is the culmination of the Eagle Scout candidate’s leadership training, and it requires a significant effort on his part. The project must benefit an organization other than the Boy Scouts of America, but it cannot be performed for an individual or a business, be solely a fundraising project or be commercial in nature.
For his project, Lessman chose to honor Slattery because of the commander’s many achievements. Slattery served with the U.S.
Army as a sergeant in Korea, where he was awarded medals from 1959 through 1963. He also built an airfield near the Vietnam border in the early stages of the war. Slattery, himself an Eagle Scout, dedicated his life to scouting, leading a Boy Scout troop in Iran. He was also a Ph.D and worked for the New York City Public Library during rehabilitation construction projects.
To honor Slattery, Lessman organized and built a beautiful memorial garden on the lawn of the American Legion Hall that features the three branches of service as well as a stone marker in memory of Slattery. Lessman also organized and arranged for the donation of new exit doors for the American Legion Hall as well as additional landscaping and beautification of the property.
