Mark Pellegrini, Rye High School junior and Boy Scout Troop 2 senior patrol leader, stood in the sunshine at Greenwood Union Cemetery on North Street and remembered being there a year ago.
He had come then to help place the usual 200 Memorial Day American flags on the graves of veterans. But he wondered then, is that every veteran? Who are they? Where are they buried?
This year, on Saturday, May 17, as part of his project to become an Eagle Scout, Pellegrini directed nearly 200 volunteers from all over the area to fan out with maps he had created and American flags he had procured tucked under their arms.
Thanks to his effort, every veteran would get an American flag placed next to their grave. “Two thousand buried here,” Pellegrini said. It took a year. He found every last one. And he got a flag for every last one.
When deciding on what to do for his Eagle Scout project, he was searching for something that would have an impact and “last even when I am out of the troop.” He found himself standing at Rye City Hall staring at the wall of veterans’ names, and then doing the same in Port Chester and Mamaroneck. Then he gathered lists from the Greenwood Union Cemetery itself.
He knew he had his project.
Pellegrini discussed the matter with his mother, Laura Pellegrini, and she encouraged him. Laura said with a laugh that there is “no one busier,” saying that Mark fit in the mammoth research project to locate veteran graves at Greenwood between being an Academy student at Rye High School and active in EMS and Rugby.
Pellegrini said findagrave.com was helpful, and he went to surrounding towns including Port Chester and Mamaroneck to find veterans who might be buried in Greenwood Union Cemetery. Google helped, too, and eventually he was able to map all the graves. He organized a day to take on the flag operation, placing volunteers in teams and dividing up the map so people could place flags.
The City of Rye routinely provides the Boy Scouts with 200 flags for the Memorial Day project. Pellegrini applied for a grant from the Rye Fire Department, which awarded him nearly $2,000 to buy 1,400 flags. Combined with a Port Chester flag donation, Pellegrini had 2,000 flags on hand for the Memorial Day project.
A call went out for volunteers to supplement the Rye Troop, and people responded.
At Greenwood Cemetery, after a week of rain the sun broke through and the temperature rose to 80 degrees as the volunteers entered the cemetery where a single American flag marked the way. In this hallowed place, its trees adorned with spring leaves, the volunteers gathered with bottled water and reverence, waiting to set off on their assignments.
As one leader said, “the maps are just a guide.”
Standing in the sun and waiting to be checked in were Jordan and Rohita Land, Manhattan residents, who had heard about the project. Jordan is a teacher in New York City and noted that “the news is bad” and he and Rohita were inspired to take some time to support something good. Rohita, who works in finance in New York, said of these times, “We need the butterfly effect,” referring to the concept that small changes can make a big difference. They were there, not knowing anyone else, to help plant flags.
Moe Acevedo, district commissioner for Scouting America, stood near the gathering crowd and nodded. “This was overdue,” he said. “Duty to God and country. That is the Scout’s oath and what better time of year to show it?”
“This embodies what Scouts stands for,” said Shy Biswas, who was there with her son Tipy Ghosh, a member of Troop 2. “It will have an impact for many years to come.”
“Boy Scouts took the lead and it is a heroic effort,” said Tim Moynihan, finance officer and adjutant for the Rye American Legion Post, who attended with Commander Fred De Barros.
Marcie Buono, a technologist at Greenwich Hospital who works with Laura Pellegrini, wore a cap noting that she is an Air Force veteran.
“The Air Force trained me to be the mammographer I am today,” she said with pride. She was there, she said, “to give back.”
Pellegrini surveyed the teams signing in and headed out to place flags with a system he had designed to find the grave, set the flag, and mark the moment with a photograph.
“This is a reset,” he said. “This year we place all the flags and next year we can begin a rotation to replace flags over time.”
Pellegrini expressed gratitude for his family’s support. His father, Christopher Pelligrini, is a retired policeman. His brother Matthew is at Loyola University, an Eagle Scout and studying to be an EMT. His oldest brother, Daniel, also is an Eagle Scout, and his youngest brother, Nicholas, was there to help with the volunteers.
Service flows through the family, including his mother’s history as a paramedic. Pelligrini said he hopes to make a career in the medical field. His iHmom is “Rye born and bred,” and his godmother, Anna Santonastasco, lives next door — and was the first volunteer at the cemetery.
“In Rye we are a strong community,” Pelligrini said, reflecting on how the Scouts helped in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. “As much as we put into it with community service, the community gives back to us.”
