Scoutings Holy Grail
Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 12:57 pm
On Wednesday September 7, 2016 at 3:13pm I received a telephone call from a gentleman from Somers Point New Jersey. The purpose of the call was to verify if I was the individual that had placed a wanted advertisement on the website http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com regarding information about the Remington RS3333 Heroism knife for an article I was writing for Knife Magazine. I said yes, I was the individual that placed that advertisement and from that point forward my world was turned upside down. The caller was the son of a Boy Scouts of America Executive for 40 years serving the greater Philadelphia Area. The travels of a BSA Executive typically lead to the accumulation of memorabilia and amongst his accumulation was an authentic Remington RS3333 Heroism knife. The Holy Grail, The Big Kahuna!
We spoke on the phone a mere 22 minutes but in that time I came to learn that the original recipient of the knife was Harry Berg of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, the last known recipient of the heroism knife, number 46 of 46. The BSA annual report lists 1928 for his Gold Award for saving 3 of his sisters from a house fire. A number of revelations were revealed with the surfacing of this knife:
1. I was under the assumption that with Scout Berg being the last recipient of the BSA Heroism knife that he would have been awarded a variation with a round shield however the cutout shield on this knife erases that assumption
2. The name shield on the pile side of the knife is a feature that was previously unsubstantiated
3. I had assumed that the acorn heroism shield was used on all variations and this substantiates that assumption
The only purpose of the call was to make sure that this knife got into the right hands so that others can enjoy its presence and history. I assured him that the knife would be stabilized and preserved in a manner that generations to come would enjoy its beauty and lineage. The caller’s dad was called home at the early age of 57 after making many family sacrifices for the benefit of the Scouting movement and to the enrichment of many youth’s lives. The fact that this knife with found amongst a Scout Executive’s most valued Scouting treasures is a testimony to not only Scout Berg and his family and but to the family for paying this forward. The fact that I can bring it to you here when my pen was down in writing the story is timing that could never be duplicated.
I hope you enjoy this discovery as much as I have. After many discussions with Scout knife colleagues over the last few weeks, we have determined that nothing will be done to this knife other than to lightly remove the rust that has compromised the blades and backsprings. The missing bail, tipped awl, broken can opener and chipped handle will be left as-is, just as Scout Berg took it out of duty service. Eventually this knife will make it’s way to the National Scouting Museum in Irving Texas.
Tom
We spoke on the phone a mere 22 minutes but in that time I came to learn that the original recipient of the knife was Harry Berg of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, the last known recipient of the heroism knife, number 46 of 46. The BSA annual report lists 1928 for his Gold Award for saving 3 of his sisters from a house fire. A number of revelations were revealed with the surfacing of this knife:
1. I was under the assumption that with Scout Berg being the last recipient of the BSA Heroism knife that he would have been awarded a variation with a round shield however the cutout shield on this knife erases that assumption
2. The name shield on the pile side of the knife is a feature that was previously unsubstantiated
3. I had assumed that the acorn heroism shield was used on all variations and this substantiates that assumption
The only purpose of the call was to make sure that this knife got into the right hands so that others can enjoy its presence and history. I assured him that the knife would be stabilized and preserved in a manner that generations to come would enjoy its beauty and lineage. The caller’s dad was called home at the early age of 57 after making many family sacrifices for the benefit of the Scouting movement and to the enrichment of many youth’s lives. The fact that this knife with found amongst a Scout Executive’s most valued Scouting treasures is a testimony to not only Scout Berg and his family and but to the family for paying this forward. The fact that I can bring it to you here when my pen was down in writing the story is timing that could never be duplicated.
I hope you enjoy this discovery as much as I have. After many discussions with Scout knife colleagues over the last few weeks, we have determined that nothing will be done to this knife other than to lightly remove the rust that has compromised the blades and backsprings. The missing bail, tipped awl, broken can opener and chipped handle will be left as-is, just as Scout Berg took it out of duty service. Eventually this knife will make it’s way to the National Scouting Museum in Irving Texas.
Tom
