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Truth or Consequences, New Mexico: Memorial to Drowned Boy Scouts

According to the memorial's inscription the Scouts "lost their lives through adventure that ended in tragedy." It happened in 1943.

Address:
Route 177, Truth or Consequences, NM
Directions:
Take Hwy 51 to the south end of Elephant Butte Lake. Just east of the dam, turn toward the lake onto Route 177. Follow it until you come to the turn for the Damsite Restaurant and Bar. Turn down that road and follow it until it ends at a parking lot. The monument will be all the way to the right, at the lakeshore, next to the furthest right parking space.
Admission:
Free
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Boy Scouts Memorial.

Memorial to Drowned Boy Scouts

A monument to four Boy Scouts who drowned in 1943. Details on the monument are scarce, and the day that we visited there were no Park Rangers around to ask. Information online indicates that the Boy Scouts were on a camping trip and were left unsupervised. Five of them found an old boat and took it out on the lake in an attempt to row to Rattlesnake Island. Four of the five drowned. Only one body was recovered, many days later, by family members of the boy who were searching the lake. The Truth or Consequences museum may have more information.

This was sad, and the memorial was oddly poetic in a way.

[Jackie B, 01/20/2017]

Nearby Offbeat Places

Ralph Edwards Room and Wax GeronimoRalph Edwards Room and Wax Geronimo, Truth or Consequences, NM - 4 mi.
Spaceport America TourSpaceport America Tour, Truth or Consequences, NM - 4 mi.
Mini-Vietnam Wall and Statue of LibertyMini-Vietnam Wall and Statue of Liberty, Truth or Consequences, NM - 5 mi.
In the region:
El Toro, Flea Market Bull, Las Cruces, NM - 59 mi.

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