Did you know that 500 American soldiers once died in Bethlehem while in service and were buried here?

Did you know that a few of them -- four, to be specific -- are still interred in the city, while the others’ bones were scattered who knows where? Does it matter?

It matters to Robert Henry, a rising senior at Bethlehem Catholic High School, and he did something about it. A Boy Scout since kindergarten and a member of Troop 352 of Notre Dame Catholic Church of Bethlehem, Robert completed scouting’s final challenge, the Eagle Project, on the Fourth of July.

According to the Boy Scouts of America, the Eagle Project “can be to construct something or to render a service.” Robert, who plans to study history in college, did both. His project challenges Bethlehem to think about an extraordinary episode in its life with a connection to Independence Day.

First Avenue in Bethlehem is the site of a very small cemetery, the burial place of the remains of four men, their names lost, who fought for America’s liberty in the War of Independence. Five hundred soldiers who died at the Continental Army hospital in the Moravian Sister’s House were buried nearby between 1776-1778. One man’s remains were found at the spot.

In 1931 a small crypt was created and a plaque honoring his service was mounted by the Bethlehem chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Valley Forge chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.

The remains of three other soldiers were discovered in 1996 during excavations in the area to clear the way for Rt. 378. They were buried next to their comrade and a second plaque mounted over their gravesite. A flag pole was also erected at the site.

“Benign neglect” describes what happened during intervening decades. Bethlehem is proud of its veterans, but this small military cemetery has largely been ignored -- even on Memorial Day, when taps were played across the city but not here. By this summer, Robert Henry reports, the site was an overgrown mess.

To complete his Eagle Project, Robert decided to do something about the situation. With generous assistance from Chris Sule of Bethlehem’s grounds department, Robert cleaned the site of weeds, spread mulch on part of the monument and joined city workers in spreading stone chips elsewhere.

Finally, he planted flowers. The work was spread over three days.

Robert is concerned that his effort not go the way of previous interventions at the site, which seem to have been forgotten by Bethlehem. For a modest investment the city could clear and maintain the graves every year. Also, the site could be recognized in future Memorial Day celebrations.