Photo by Eric Keith / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Boy Scout Lawton Huffman holds a piece of steel from the USS Arizona that will be the centerpiece of his monument to U.S. service members to be placed on the Atchison riverfront.

WESTON, Mo. — A dream will become reality for a teenager who’s spent two years making it happen.

A student of military history — especially World War II — and an avid Boy Scout, Lawton Huffman dreamed about creating a veterans’ memorial. Lawton challenged himself by making the dream his Eagle Scout project.

An article in the Wall Street Journal about pieces of the USS Arizona became his inspiration.

“You know, don’t you, that 10 percent of the casualties on the ship were from Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska,” Lawton said. “December 7th (1941) was the Arizona’s second day in port, and 1,177 sailors and Marines went to the bottom nine minutes after the Japanese hit her.”

Several tons of wreckage were removed from the Arizona when the memorial was constructed in 1960, and in 1995 the Navy issued a policy for how pieces of the ship can be dispersed.

Weston and the local history museum were his first choice, but that wasn’t to be, because the memorial wouldn’t be part of the community’s local history.

A visit to Atchison, Kan., solved his dilemma. The city has a riverfront park, and part of it is designated as the Veterans Memorial Park.

Talks with Atchison’s riverfront development committee and numerous other groups gave the Scout support letters. The Military Officers Association of America, Pershing chapter, agreed to take ownership of any piece of the USS Arizona that the Navy might release.

With the letters, Lawton wrote the Navy, asking if his project could qualify to receive a piece of the ship. In November, he was told the Navy said yes. And then he had to wait for eight months.

Lawton didn’t rest on his laurels. He got busy finding Robert Mason, a former Boy Scout and an Eagle Scout, who agreed to do the masonry work. And U.S. Stone Industries in St. Mary’s, Kan., agreed to donate half the stone. The city will do the excavating. And a lot of Boy Scouts are going to get the chance to help build the memorial.

In late July, he made a trip to Oshkosh, Wis., to see an aviation show because he has another dream of going to the Air Force Academy.

Waiting at home was a heavy cardboard box from Hawaii that the mail carrier had left. Inside the bubble wrap, he found a heavy iron beam from the Arizona’s superstructure, filled with holes.

“The holes have expanded because of corrosion, so I can’t say those are Japanese bullet holes,” Lawton said, “but it would be a nice story.”

The goal is to have the project ready for a dedication ceremony no later than Dec. 6. “That was the day the Arizona pulled into Pearl Harbor,” Lawton said.

“He wants to do it right so that the new memorial will blend in with the existing architecture,” said Kelly Van Elder, the city’s architect for the park. “He approached the park in a professional manner and was a joy to work with.”

Mr. Van Elder designed the memorial, which will be made of brick, stone and other materials.

“It’s going to include a hole so visitors, including those with disabilities, can touch the relic,” Lawton said. “It was my idea to have an access point so people can touch the USS Arizona.”

He’s working on the final pieces of his dream, raising $25,000 to cover all the costs associated with building and installing the memorial. Anyone who wishes to help can contribute by sending funds to: The Atchison USS Arizona Memorial, in care of the Exchange Bank, P.O. Box 189, Atchison, KS 66002.

Marshall White can be reached at marshall@npgco.com.