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Scout And Dad Honor Uncle

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By CHERYL KUCK

Tribune correspondent

Published: September 10, 2008

PLANT CITY - In May, Ryan Christopher Campbell of Troop 733 earned Scouting's highest rank.

In June, the new Eagle Scout took on a new challenge: a grueling, 12-day, 75-mile hike through the Rockies at a Boy Scout wilderness camp in New Mexico.

Campbell, a 17-year-old Plant City High School senior, tackled the wild and pristine terrain with nine Scouts from Tampa and Winter Haven. Their advisers included Campbell's father, Chris, and Joe McDade of Tampa Troop 46.

For the Campbells, the rugged hike included a mission: They wanted to raise a flag on the 11,800-foot pinnacle of Mount Phillips to honor an ailing relative, William J. Campbell Jr., a decorated World War II Marine veteran.

William Campbell is Chris Campbell's uncle and Ryan's great-uncle.

During the 1945 invasion of Iwo Jima,William Campbell, a 22-year-old sharpshooter, landed on the small Japanese-held volcanic island with the third wave of Marines. The corporal single-handedly wiped out a five-man pillbox bunker during the battle to take the island, one of the fiercest during the Allies' Pacific campaign.

Ryan and Chris Campbell trained for their New Mexico trip with hikes in the Ocala National Forest, Little Manatee River State Park and along the Hillsborough River. But they discovered the high mountain altitude was one of their biggest challenges.

"Even some of the young Scouts had trouble adjusting, and one of the kids had serious altitude sickness. Being older, I felt like I couldn't catch my breath the whole time. You just can't train for something like that," said Chris Campbell, a 47-year-old general construction contractor.

Nodding his head in agreement, Ryan Campbell added, "Every day was full from the time we broke camp in the morning until we made camp at night."

The Campbells planted a Marine Corps flag on Mount Phillips' crest to honor William Campbell, an 86-year-old Jupiter resident who is battling cancer. The father and son had a photo taken for him with the flag and a handmade sign with the Marine Corps motto, "Semper Fi," which is Latin for "always faithful."

"We're so glad we made it and that we could honor Uncle Bill's service to our country and remember those still serving," Chris Campbell said. "It feels like being at the top of the world. ... this was an adventure of a lifetime!"

Correspondent Cheryl Kuck can be reached at wkuck@tampa bay.rr.com.

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