For James Muggeo, his Eagle Scout project is about more than completing a requirement. It is a chance to give back to the veterans who have supported his troop for years and to a community he believes in.
The 15-year-old Yorktown High School student, a Life Scout with Troop 173, is leading a project to replace the deteriorating walkway at VFW Post 8328 in Yorktown Heights. The walkway had significant cracks, separation and uneven sections, including a raised area that could make it difficult for people using wheelchairs or other mobility devices to navigate.
Muggeo hopes the new walkway will make the entrance safer and more accessible for veterans and others who visit the post. The ADA-compliant walkway features stones representing the six branches of the U.S. military, adding a tribute to the veterans the post serves. Work on the project remains underway.
The project also has a personal connection for Muggeo and his troop. The VFW and Troop 173 have developed a close relationship over the years, with the post providing a meeting place for the Scouts during the height of the pandemic when the troop had nowhere else to go. Muggeo’s is one of several Eagle Scout projects completed at the post in recent years.
For Muggeo, helping the VFW was a natural choice.
“They sacrificed a lot for us,” he said. “I think there’s no one you should respect more than veterans.”
The project has required Muggeo to take on the responsibilities of a leader, from planning and scheduling to making decisions on the work site and directing younger Scouts and adults. Construction materials have been donated, and fellow Scouts, adult volunteers and former Scouts have helped with the work.
An adult project coach with construction experience has helped Muggeo learn the technical aspects of the work while allowing him to remain in charge.
“It’s ultimately his project,” his father and Scoutmaster Chris Muggeo said. “He still has to plan it. He still has to lead and tell kids and adults what to do, which could be difficult at times.”
The project has not always gone according to plan. When work began to go wrong one day without some of the adults who had been helping, Muggeo decided to stop rather than risk making the problem worse.
He said the experience taught him to adapt when things do not go as planned.
“Part of the leadership lessons ... We need an answer, now. We need an answer. Doesn’t have to be perfect. It may even possibly be incorrect. But it’s an answer, and it gets things moving again,” Maj. Mike Sheridan, the beneficiary of these projects, said. “That’s leadership. He’s learning that.”
On one particularly hot workday, Muggeo was exhausted when his father brought him inside the post. He introduced him to the veterans as the Life Scout leading the project. The veterans stood and cheered for him.
Muggeo said the moment made him feel “awesome” and proud of the work he was doing.
Completing the project this month will bring Muggeo one step closer to Eagle Scout and make him the 117th Eagle Scout in Troop 173’s history. For Muggeo, however, the opportunity to improve a place that has meant so much to his troop — and to give something back to veterans — is what makes the project worthwhile.
“I am proud of where it is right now,” he said.
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