BY LAURA DOUGLASS
Staff Writer
Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent are the hallmark character traits of a Scout. An Eagle Scout is held to an even higher standard and considered a “marked man,” who assumes a solemn obligation to do his duty to God and country.
William Hagerty was all of these things and more. Described by family and friends as “a gentle giant” with a heart of gold, Hagerty was recognized posthumously on Saturday for achieving the highest rank in Scouting. The 17-year-old Pinecrest High School senior died in December in a single-car accident.
“He was the definition of what a Scout is and should be. I was honored to watch him grow into the man he was becoming. I wish there were more like him,” said Shawn Kemp, Scoutmaster of BSA Troop 7 in Pinehurst, one of several who spoke during the special Court of Honor held in the fellowship hall of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Southern Pines.
On the day he died, Hagerty carried in his backpack two items of great meaning to him. One was his rosary: Hagerty was a devout Catholic who mentored younger students in confirmation classes. The second was his application for the rank of Eagle Scout — a final bit of paperwork he planned to go over later that evening with his Eagle Scout adviser, Don McKenzie.
An avid outdoorsman and duck hunter, Hagerty had finished the legwork of his project, building 20 cedar wood duck boxes to benefit the South Creek Waterfowl Conservation Project. The organization had been hard hit by Hurricane Matthew, and the duck boxes will provide habitat for wood ducks to raise their chicks and keep them safe from predators.
“This was a soft spot in William’s heart. He had skin in the game, so to speak,” McKenzie said, noting the project was 99 percent complete when he approached the Occenneechee Council Advancement Committee for assistance with the award approval.
“It is very rare to be awarded posthumously. William deserved it, and he worked for it,” said Michael Hagerty Jr., William’s father. The committee also worked on an abbreviated timeline so William’s two older siblings, who are also Eagle Scouts and home on break from college and military duties, could participate in the ceremony.
“There is a lot of crying today, but this is a joyful celebration,” Michael Hagerty said.
Born into a military family, one of seven children, William moved 10 times, including stateside and overseas locations. He joined Scouting eight years ago — a bond he and his siblings all shared — and had risen through the ranks in three troops in three states. His favorite merit badge was completing the NRA Shotgun Shooting certification, which “ignited a passion in him,” his father said.
In his teen years, Hagerty had also taken to weightlifting. Daily workouts had reshaped his body while he sharpened his mind by reading thousands of books. His career goal was to attend college and become a financial adviser.
“He was a big man and towered over the other boys. They all looked up to him, but he never looked down on them,” said McKenzie. “He was very soft-spoken and detail-oriented. I would say he was a Southern gentleman, but he had lived all over the world.”
There was some good-natured teasing that William was morally straight to the point his peers kidded him for being a “goody-goody,” and that he didn’t much care for hiking and camping. What he did enjoy was being around his leaders and fellow Scouts.
The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared.” Most often you think of the physical things you carry: a compass, a map, a pocket knife, said Hagerty’s father.
“But it is more than that. It is being prepared spiritually … it is in praying, in living your life with moral clarity and integrity.”
Contact Laura Douglass at (910) 693-2475 or laura@thepilot.com.
