Eagle Scout’s Final Project Presented to Michigan Freedom Center

By Tom Lang

The Eagle has landed.

Eagle Scout candidate Cameron Korman, a senior at Troy High School, spent countless hours this summer and fall designing and hand-building a gorgeous wood and glass cabinet to display a very special American Flag at the Detroit Metro Airport Michigan Armed Forces Hospitality Center, a.k.a. MI Freedom Center.

The presentation was made Oct. 6 at his Troop 1710’s weekly meeting in Troy, surrounded by Troop leaders and about three dozen Boy Scouts. Cameron told the attendees that both of his grandfathers had fought in the U.S. Military and how he believes that Veterans today don’t get the full credit they deserve for the sacrifices made, and he hopes the American Flag display case brings honor to all.

“We owe our lives to them and I am so grateful,” Korman told his fellow Troop members before officially presenting the display cabinet.

The flag itself was a donation of Mr. Frank Sinagra, retired Capt. in the U.S. Marine Corp. who lives in Canton. The flag first came from a 2016 Memorial Day service in Ann Arbor where he gave an address to the crowd, and it represents all fallen servicemen and women from all wars.

In mid-2016 Sinagra embarked on a trip to Vietnam with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), to search for a missing Marine. During a stopover in Hawaii he said he stayed at Hickman AFB, which overlooks Battleship Row at Pearl Harbor, and was the first military base hit by the Japanese nation on Dec. 7, 1941.

While in Vietnam on the search mission, the flag was flown at Hickman AFB. The flag is currently on loan to the Michigan Freedom Center. The display case also has five photographs supplied by Sinagra showing it flying at Hickman Field and then being folded the traditional 13 times.

“This is an awesome opportunity for us to have interaction with Scouts and to show their leadership ability,” said Bernie Girardot, new Executive Director of the MI Freedom Center. “To receive a flag that actually flew over Hickman Field is awesome; Hickman Field was one of the first bases hit (at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941) so it makes this especially profound.

“My own son is an Eagle Scout so I know the amount of effort that goes into this, the planning, the raising of the finances to getting the materials and laying it all out, getting it past the committee. This is a big deal for Scouts, and I couldn’t be prouder of Cameron.”

Korman was particularly thankful for all the guidance he received, money donated for materials and for a project opportunity tied to both the military and the airport.

“So many people have come together during this time of unrest (Covid-19) to help me,” he said. “I was about to age out for my Eagle Scout project and a lot of people came together (with help and finances) and really wanted me to get this.

“I don’t know if I will join the Armed Forces, but I do want to become a commercial pilot, and right now I’m working on my private pilot license.”

Note: due to Covid-19, funding to keep the MI Freedom Center afloat is severely lacking as its 9th Anniversary approaches, Nov. 11. The 501 (c) (3) is fully funded by donations; it is not a government agency. More info: www.mifreedomcenter.org/donate