Local scout honored for acts during emergency

(Photo submitted) Daniel Vosberg of Spencer received the Boy Scouts Medal of Merit for his actions during the Little Sioux Scout Ranch tornado earlier this year.

The Mid-America Council and Boy Scouts of America recognized the heroes of the Little Sioux Scout Ranch tornado on Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs.

Spencer resident Daniel Vosberg received the Medal of Merit, awarded to a youth member or adult leader who has performed some outstanding act of service of a rare or exceptional character that reflects an uncommon degree of concern for the well-being of others.

The ceremony was both the graduation of the Leadership Training youth were attending when the tornado struck and a National Court of Honor to award medals of various distinction to the scouts.

Run as fast as you can.

That was the thought that dominated Vosberg's mind Wednesday, June 11 when a tornado that resulted in four confirmed deaths, and 48 injuries dropped from the sky a quarter-mile from where he stood with about 40 other Boy Scouts Wednesday evening.

Vosberg, the 14-year-old son of Bob and Carol Vosberg of Spencer, a Life Scout and Patrol Leader, who has been a part of the scouting program since first grade, said that he and his fellow scouts, ranging in age from 13 to 18, were attending a week-long Youth Leadership Training at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Iowa's Loess Hills.

The tornado was not part of the planned curriculum at the camp, but it did provide an opportunity for the leadership and bravery of the scouts to be put into practical use at the midpoint of their Sunday to Saturday scouting experience.

With little sleep after traveling home in the middle of the night, a tired Daniel shared the story of how and the 40-plus members of the green patrol escaped the deadly tornado.

"When we looked up at the sky, we saw some clouds and rain just circling around. We thought, 'Hey that might be a twister.' 'No that's not a twister, there aren't any sirens.' Then all of a sudden it just dropped down. And then then the sirens sounded. It was like a quarter mile away, maybe a little farther than that. It touched down right into our valley," Daniel recalled.

"We were at a shelter already, but it wasn't quite strong enough. The tornado was close by so we ran to the south shelter which was a half mile away. By the time we got to the south shelter it was about a hundred yards away. It was extremely windy. It sucked my hat right off."

Daniel acknowledged the effort of the group to stick together as they attempted to flee the destructive force closing in from behind.

"Some kids in my patrol had asthma so they were wheezing half way there. Some people were carrying them. Other kids tripped on the way there and people stopped and help keep everybody up."

Once inside the safety structure, Daniel and his fellow scouts bent down, placed their hands over their heads and prepared for impact. For the young men in green troop, that moment never came.

According to Daniel, the tornado jumped a ditch and went back into the sky before hitting their shelter.

The red troop wasn't quite as fortunate. The structure they sheltered themselves in was similar in design to original shelter the green group fled from. It was destroyed, resulting in nearly 50 injures and four scout fatalities (see AP story for details).

Scouts in the green troop were unaware of the situation encountered by their fellow campers. They remained in the building for three hours, finding ways to occupy their time, until the rescue workers arrived, placed them in ambulances and whisked them away to buses which took them to Little Sioux.

Vosberg literally returned home with the shirt on his back. It was the camp shirt that he received when he got there. When his parents reached him, he was wearing that shirt, his scout shorts, wet socks and shoes. He carried with him two of a scout's best friends, his water bottle and a folding pocket knife.

Everything else was a loss.

Portions of this story come from an article written by Managing Editor, Randy M. Cauthron at the time of the incident.