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As part of the Homecoming 250th Celebration in Philadelphia, Lucas Crowl, an 8th Grader from Rock L Butler Middle School had the honor of representing his division of the US Naval Sea Cadets.

“It was very much an honor to be in front of that many people holding the flag that represents the whole country.” commented Lucas. Lucas marched down through the middle of Philadelphia with the state flag of West Virginia. Only after submitting a form application to his unit commander and meeting all the qualifications was Lucas approved to attend. Trip highlights, for Lucas, included touring the USS Arlington and meeting the captain and ensign of the ship.

Lucas has spent the last year and a half in the Sea Cadets Corp, a youth leadership program revolving around the basis of the US Navy and the Coast Guard. “The leadership opportunities that the Cadets have are really incredible,” said Katie Crowl, Lucas’ mother. “To go into a unit that muster in the morning at drill and they salute the commanding officer and things like that, it was completely foreign to us. He (Lucas) just latched on and learned those things so quickly and now, in just a short amount of time, he is the company commander.”

In the future, Lucas plans to attend the Coast Guard Academy. “The Coast Guard is closer to home. I’m not a big traveler. There is a lot of aspects of the Coast Guard that I just like,” commented Lucas. Speaking of his fondness of engineering, “I’m fascinated with ships and buoys. Lighthouses. All of the nautical markings. It is what I do in my free time is I study them.”

For more information or opportunities for joining the Sea Cadets, visit https://www.seacadets.org