After Scout's Death, Friends Helping Him Get Eagle Rank

Scores of friends, family members, and fellow Boy Scouts have joined forces to help a Pennsylvania Boy Scout win his Eagle badge weeks after his sudden death. Noah Cornuet, 16, collapsed and died after football practice last month from what turned out to be a rare heart tumor, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. This past weekend, at least 70 people worked to finish the improvements the teen had begun at the Puckety Presbyterian Church in Lower Burrell as part of his Eagle project. A review board will meet tonight to decide whether to award the teenager the highest rank in scouting.

Noah had already completed work that included setting mulch and laying two military headstones, and the leader of Troop 180 tells ABC that awarding the Eagle rank—which just 4% of Scouts achieve—is only being considered because so much work had already been completed. The teen's father, who achieved Eagle rank himself, says he would be "as proud as possible" if the badge is awarded. "The troop we're in is just—they're fantastic, it's a big family," he says. "The boys are struggling as much as we are with the loss of Noah, and so they had near-perfect attendance as far as coming out and working." (One of the newest Boy Scout merit badges: game design.)