Eagle Project Begins at Vets’ Cemetery

CREST HAVEN – Ten Troop 73 Boy Scouts learned a lesson about physical labor June 7 as they joined Zac Lambert, an Eagle Scout candidate, to prepare a 20-by-20 feet prayer garden at the Cape May County Veterans Cemetery. It was the start of a two-weekend project that will result in a prayer reflection garden for those who lost loved ones who were in the military. It may likely end up earning Lambert an Eagle Scout award, the only scouting award that a boy retains throughout his life.
Lambert’s late grandfather Jack Moran advocated for the cemetery on Crest Haven Road when he county Veterans Bureau office director. Lambert was shoveling and sweating along with his fellow scouts from the West Cape May troop.
Preparation included breaking the ground, taking it down six inches in the 400-square-foot area, leveling the ground, then placing plastic weed block, crushed concrete and more fill. Once that was done, arborvitae and rose bushes were interspersed to form a border.
Pavers will form a hard surface. There will also be armed forces statues, benches and a reflecting ball, Lambert said. The garden is close to the Battle of the Bulge and All Wars monuments.
Work should be completed by June 14 “If all goes well,” said Lambert.
As a finishing touch, there will be mulch placed around the bushes.
The project was funded by donations, but more is still needed, he added.
Those interested should contact Lambert’s mother, Marion Lambert at (609) 408-4315 or email: zacandzoes@yahoo.com.
Lambert unveiled his project to freeholders March 25.
Lambert appeared in scout uniform, accompanied by his father Marc Lambert, at the meeting to secure the board’s consent, which he quickly received.
The garden will be, in Lambert’s words, “a place to go to reflect on their loved ones.”
The area will be “dedicated to all veterans who served and fought for our country,” Lambert said at that meeting.
“It’s a great project,” said Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton.
Vince DePrinzio, representing Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 955 and American Legion Post 184, both in Wildwood, presented a combined $400 donation to begin the work at the March meeting.