In 1979, dignitaries including President Gerald Ford honored Academy Award-winning actor John Wayne at a dinner hosted by the BSA’s Los Angeles Area Council.
The council named the John Wayne Outpost Camp after The Duke, paying tribute to the actor only a few months before his death on June 11, 1979.
It was at this dinner that Wayne shared his own interpretation of the Scout Law and what it means to him. (This script is from the May-June 1979 issue of Scouting found in our archives.)
“A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent,” he said.
“Nice words. Trouble is, we learn them so young we sometimes don’t get all the understanding that goes with them. I take care of that with my family. As each boy reaches Scout age, I make sure he learns the Scout Law. Then I break it down for him with a few things I’ve picked up in the more than half century since I learned it.
“A Scout is …
Trustworthy – The badge
of honesty. Having it lets you look any man straight in the eye. Lacking
it, he won’t look back. Keep this one at the top of your list.
Loyal – The very word is life itself, for without loyalty we have no love of person or country.
Helpful – Part sharing,
part caring. By helping each other, we help ourselves, not to mention
mankind. Be always full of help — the dying man’s last words.
Friendly – Brotherhood is part of that word. You can take it in a lot of directions — and do — but make sure and start with brotherhood.
Courteous – Allow each
person his human dignity, which means a lot more than saying “yes ma’am”
and “Thank you, sir.” It reflects an attitude that later in life you
“wish you had honored more … earlier in life.” Save yourself that
problem. Do it now.
Kind – This one word would stop wars and erase hatreds. But it’s like your bicycle. It’s just no good unless you get out and use it.
Obedient – Start at home, practice it on your family, enlarge it to your friends, share it with humanity.
Cheerful – Anyone can put
on a happy face when the going’s good. The secret is to wear it as a
mask for your problems. It might surprise you how many others do the
same thing.
Thrifty – Means a lot
more than putting pennies away, and it’s the opposite of cheap. Common
sense covers it just about as well as anything.
Brave – You don’t have to
fight to be brave. Millions of good, fine, decent folks show more
bravery than heavyweight champs just by getting out of bed every
morning, going out to do a good day’s work, and living the best life
they know how against a lot of odds. Brave. Keep the word handy every
day of your life.
Clean – Soap and water help a lot on the outside. But it’s the inside that counts and don’t ever forget it.
Reverent – Believe in
anything that you want to believe in, but keep God at the top of it.
With Him, life can be a beautiful experience. Without Him, you are just
biding time.
Wayne thanked the hosts for putting his name on the Scout camp,
adding, “I would rather see it here than on all the theater marquees the
world over.
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