History a focus at St. George’s, veterans cemetery

St. George’s School senior Cody Mekus brought some students last fall to Frankie Doodle’s in downtown Spokane to interview a group of Vietnam War veterans. Mekus, a history buff, was compiling a database of area veterans for his Eagle Scout project.

Mekus interviewed a man who said he had never found anyone he could talk to about one of his wartime experiences until then, and it felt good to get it off his chest. Mekus said the Army helicopter pilot “had one of the most interesting stories.”

The next week, Mekus got a call saying he had died.

Still in possession of the photos the veteran had given the volunteers to scan, Mekus offered to create a movie for the man’s family using the photos of him and audio from the recent interview.

“It was really nice because the family hadn’t really heard the story, it didn’t sound like,” Mekus said.

The Photo Database Project, which will go on display at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery in Medical Lake, was just part of the service that Mekus gave to the cemetery through his Eagle Scout project. He also spearheaded an effort last fall to improve the cemetery’s scattering garden, where loved ones bring ashes to spread.

The main part of the project involved designing and installing two 12-foot-tall arbors. Mekus said the arbors help draw visitors’ attention as they are driving to the cemetery.

Mekus and fellow volunteers also laid in a new drainage system and added a handrail to a staircase that becomes slick in the winter.

Part of Mekus’ interest in the project stemmed from his relatives’ military service.

“There are a lot of veterans in my family so it was pretty important to me for that reason,” Mekus said.

He is close with his grandfather, an Air Force veteran, and interviewed him for the database, hearing some of his stories for the first time.

Mekus said the biggest challenge of his project at the cemetery was organizing the other volunteers. Learning to delegate was key. His years as a Boy Scout have taught him a lot about responsibility and leadership.

“It’s definitely given me a sense of responsibility toward the community but also taught me how to be a leader very directly,” Mekus said.

History teacher David Holte called Mekus a “quiet leader” and said his peers recognize him as a great student who works hard and is involved in the community.

Holte said Mekus has great enthusiasm for history and “always comes to class with some bit of knowledge he knows that I don’t know.”

That knowledge has helped Mekus do well on the school’s History Bowl and Knowledge Bowl teams. He has been on the History Bowl team for the past three years and joined the Knowledge Bowl team this past school year.

He enjoys traveling with the teams and the competitive aspect. The Knowledge Bowl team won the state title in its division this year, and the History Bowl team took second in the state among all schools.

He traveled with the History Bowl team to the Washington, D.C., national championships this spring for the second year in a row. The team placed 57th, and Mekus came in 59th among more than 200 students in the individual competition.

Mekus will attend Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, where he plans to study political science.

Mekus said veterans organizations and the cemetery director are determined to see the Photo Database Project continue after he moves on.