TV Pioneer Awarded Eagle Scout Posthumously

TV Pioneer Awarded Eagle Scout Posthumously


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Brooke Walker ReportingUtah native Philo T. Farnsworth is recognized as the Father of Television; he's the original mind behind the screen you watch. But Farnsworth's efforts went largely unrecognized until after his death in 1971. Today he received another belated honor.

Many young boys work for years to earn the rank of an Eagle Scout. It demands hours of learning and service -- not an easy task. So you can imagine the disappointment of completing all the requirements, but never receiving the award. This is a story that brings truth to the saying "better late than never."

A television seemed the appropriate background for Pem Farnsworth to accept this long overdue honor.

"Today we make the recognition more formal; we make it a fact, we make it a reality for the Farnsworth family."

More than 70 years after completion, today the Boy Scouts of America presented Farnsworth with her late husband's award.

Pem Farnsworth: "I'm very happy that he finally got an Eagle award. He used to talk about his youth all the time."

Talk about his youth and about his scouting days. The 97-year old widow spoke of those days in a radio interview earlier this year.

Daniel Farnsworth, Great-nephew: "One of the questions that was asked if Philo was a scout. She commented that he was, that he was an Eagle scout, but he was always disappointed that he was never able to receive his Eagle scout award."

In those days an Eagle project was not required. To qualify, a scout had to earn a certain amount of badges. Farnsworth earned those badges, but never officially received the award.

Paul Moore: "I'm sure he was a little busy in those years, doing all that he was doing."

Boy Scout CEO Paul Moore says Farnsworth stands as an example for other scouts.

Paul Moore: "I would hope they see him as a role model alongside the astronauts and other government leaders. And other people who have earned their Eagle scout that they can look at that and say, 'I want to be among those people.'"

Pem Farnsworth: "He was one to always remember and appreciate his friends and family for what they have done."

And today they had a chance to appreciate him in return. Farnsworth joins a long list of prominent Eagle Scout recipients, among them former President Gerald Ford and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

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