Southborough scout receives Medal of Merit

Knox Trail Council President Paul Sliney presents the Medal of Merit awarded by the National Court of Honor to Steph Bacon as parents Marjorie and Stephanos Bacon Sr. look on. PHOTO/R. SCOTT HARVEY Southborough - On Dec. 13, 2007, Southborough Boy Scout Troop 1 member Stephanos Bacon Jr. put his emergency first-aid skills into action, in an attempt to save the life of a neighbor before emergency medical services had arrived. Although paramedics performed additional emergency procedures, the neighbor died from severe cardiopulmonary arrest.

One neighbor who witnessed the event wrote: "I witnessed a young man [Stephanos Bacon Jr.] that stayed level-headed. He tried to comfort the boy whose father passed when the man had no pulse. Steph stayed until the ambulance arrived to take his friend's dad to the hospital. He demonstrated that he has learned very valuable lessons from scouting. He had knowledge of CPR from his scout training and applied it in a real-life situation. He was not frightened at the situation that he faced. In fact, he was calm."

For performing an act of service of a rare or exceptional character that reflects an uncommon degree of concern for the well-being of others and using scout skills and ideals that involve attempt of rescue, Stephanos Bacon Jr. was presented the Medal of Merit by the National Court of Honor of the Boy Scouts of America at the Executive Board meeting held July 17 at Camp Resolute in Bolton.

He is the son of Marjorie and Stephanos Bacon Sr.