On Saturday, October 25, Wellesley Boy Scout Troop 185 convened an Eagle Court of Honor at the Italo-American Educational Club on Oak Street to award Scouting’s highest rank, the Eagle rank, to Max Morelli of Wellesley, a ninth grader at Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill.
For his Eagle service project, Max interviewed military veterans from World War II to the present, contributing the videos to the Veterans’ History Project at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Veterans interviewed for the project included local residents Bill Mills-Curran, Chuck Tiberio and George Ecker.
The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations my hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.
Learn more here.
When asked why he chose this project, Max responded, “My project was inspired by important veterans in my family: my grandfather, Donald Morelli, a two-star Army general; my great-uncle, George Kane, a World War II POW; and Buck Good, my grandfather and a Navy veteran injured in a blimp crash in 1956.”
He added, “My grandfather Good and my great-uncle Kane were both Eagle Scouts. George Kane attributed his survival of the Bataan Death March and four years as a prisoner of war during World War II to the training he received in Boy Scouts.”
Max’s grandfather, the late Major General Donald Ray Morelli, is buried at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point.
When asked what motivated him to become an Eagle Scout, Max replied, “In my generation, there are not as many people as there used to be with values that are based on code or creed. I feel that it is important to have more young adults in the world who have values that benefit the entire community. The first step in making a change in the world is making the change in myself. That is why it was important to me to pursue the Eagle Scout rank.”
In addition to Troop members and their families, Max was joined by family friends from Conn. and by his extended family from Ga., Va., N.Y. and N.J., including his grandfather Buck Good, who earned his Eagle Scout award in 1953, and who mentored Max for his Eagle project. Good led the Eagle Charge during the ceremony. Max’s cousin Joshua Heacock, a Life Scout in Troop 5, Maplewood, New Jersey, led the Eagle Promise.
Scoutmaster John Fortini awarded Max with his Eagle Badge, which his parents pinned on him. Max received an American flag flown over the US Capitol in honor of his achievement.
Max, 15, is the son of Mark and Laura Morelli. The Morelli Family moved to Wellesley in 2013 and Max had previously been a member of Troop 1022 in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. and Troop 248 on St. Simons Island, Ga.
He joined Boy Scouts as a Bear Cub in 2008. This past August, Max backpacked with Troop 185 at the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M.
In addition to scouting, Max is active in vocal performance.
Article provided by, Wellesley Hometown Weekly