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In mid-May, 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza took part in a “bridge ceremony” with the Girl Scouts, where she and her fellow Juniors reportedly recited the Prom Girl Scout:
“In my honor, I will try to serve God and my country, help people at all times, and live by the Girl Scout Act.”
The fourth-grader had only joined the Scouts in December, but the “helping people at all times” part came naturally. He is known to have defended a classmate in Uvalde, Tex., From the harassers. He was always attentive to his 3-year-old brother, Zayne. In 2021, she was honored with her school’s Heart of Gold Award.
On Friday, less than two weeks after the bridge ceremony, Amerie was recognized at another Girl Scouts performance. This time, he was not there to accept the honors: the Robb Elementary School student received a posthumous Bronze Cross, a national award for scouts who risk their lives to save others, after an 18-year-old gunman shot dead. while he seems to be trying to ask for help. The girl was among the 19 children killed in the May 24 shooting at the school.
In a May 27 letter to Amerie’s family, Girl Scouts executive director Sofia Chang said Amerie “embodies what it means to be a girl of courage, confidence and character that makes the world a better place.” .
“On May 24, 2022, Amerie did everything she could to save the lives of her classmates and teachers and gave her life trying to protect those around her,” Chang wrote. “With her willingness to take decisive action in the midst of this devastating emergency, Amerie serves as a true example of leadership in action.”
Last week, Girl Scouts of the USA posthumously awarded Amerie Jo Garza, 10, of Uvalde, Texas, one of the highest honors in Girl Scouting: the Bronze Cross. The Bronze Cross is awarded to save or attempt to save the life at the risk of the Girl Scout’s own life. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/bFjz0I4awa
– Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas (@girlscoutsswtx) May 31, 2022
Amerie’s stepfather, Angel Garza, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week that after the shooter entered elementary school, Amerie pulled out his phone and was trying to call 911 when the gunman shot him. . Amerie had received the cell phone just two weeks earlier as a gift for her 10th birthday, her stepfather said.
“He died just trying to save his classmates,” Garza said, crying as he grabbed the girl’s photograph. “She just wanted to save everyone.”
It is unclear from official accounts whether Amerie was able to contact police. On Friday, Texas authorities revealed 911 calls from two students desperately seeking help as the shooter shot his classmates; both students survived the massacre, according to Steven C. McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety. McCraw said police had made the “wrong decision” to delay entry into the classroom and remove the shooter.
Born in 2012, Amerie grew up in Uvalde surrounded by a large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. He hated costumes, loved Play-Doh, and devoured meals at Chick-fil-A, his favorite restaurant. When I was not in school, I spent my days swimming and drawing. She hoped to one day become an art teacher.
A spokeswoman for Southwest Texas Girl Scouts told The Washington Post in an email that Amerie was a young woman who had joined the organization around Christmas 2021. On Friday, her family received a green Kelly band carried by the Scouts to his rank, with the Bronze Cross fixed under his troop number, 7000.
“She deserved it,” Amerie’s grandmother, Berlinda Arreola, told People magazine, which first reported the news of the award. “Our baby gave his life for it, but he deserved it.”
In the days since Amerie was murdered, her fellow Girl Scouts have paid tribute to her legacy. On Monday, at a Memorial Day parade in Cranford, NJ, a group of Brownies marched off with patches of felt bearing Amerie’s name on their uniforms. On Tuesday, a troop of St. Anthony dressed in purple, his favorite color, in his honor.
And when a crowd entered a church later that afternoon for Amerie’s funeral, several Girl Scouts entered the lobby to pay their respects.