The Scoutmaster- Lessons in Service and Leadership from an American Hero

The Scoutmaster – Lessons in Service and Leadership from an American Hero is the story of the wonderful life of Paul Eason, Brooks Eason’s father.

Paul Eason grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi, and earned the rank of Eagle in Boy Scout Troop 12 the year he graduated from high school and started college. He served in the Navy during World War II, then returned to his hometown, where he spent his life serving others for the next sixty-five years.   

 In early 1947 A. P. Bennett, then Troop 12’s Scoutmaster, stopped Paul on the street and asked if he would help with the troop for a few months. Paul agreed to help because he always agreed to help. Mr. Bennett soon saw that the Scouts were in good hands, bowed out, and Paul became the Scoutmaster. He was twenty-five.

Paul served as the head Scoutmaster for fortv-five years and as an assistant for fifteen more. He was a young man physically until he was very old. He camped with the troop for the last time two months after his eighty-sixth birthday.

Paul served as a beacon and role model for three generations of young men in Tupelo, more than 350 of whom followed in his footsteps and became Eagle Scouts in Troop 12. In 1951 one of his Scouts suggested that the troop should go camping every month. Paul agreed again, and that summer a tradition was born. Since then, no matter the weather, Troop 12 has gone on an overnight camping trip every single month. In July 2023 the troop completed seventy-two years of consecutive monthly campouts when it camped for the 864th month in a row.

Troop 12’s records of Eagle Scouts and campouts are extraordinary, but they pale in comparison to Paul’s invaluable influence on the thousands of young men he led on their journey from childhood to manhood. He was kind, humble, and encouraging. His patience and energy were inexhaustible. He loved adventure. His moral compass never wavered. He always did the right thing. He was born to be a Scoutmaster.

The Scoutmaster is the story of a wonderful man and his remarkable life of service and leadership. It includes interviews with more than forty of those who knew and loved him and benefited from his sterling example. As one of them put it, “We were fortunate to have an American hero like Paul Eason to guide us during that all-important time when we were boys learning to be men. I would have done anything for him.” Another said, “If you can make a difference for at least one person, then you have tremendous merit indeed. Paul Eason’s wonderful life has made a difference to thousands.”