Always enjoyed his smile and kindness to others

I remember Craig from the summer of 1998. I worked with him at Camp Evergreen Boy Scout camp up high in the Uintah mountains of Utah. He worked on the rifle range and I worked at the Pioneering merit badge. I remember he was very good with people at the rifle range. He was careful and watched everybody carefully, as the rifle range is a dangerous place. He was a good teacher. He helped me with my shooting, I being a lefty and having hardly shot a gun in my life.

He was very cheerful. He wore a big smile all the time. He once asked me, "Hey, where's your smile?" He taught me to smile, and I have a big smile now like him. He had a very important role at scout camp. He was the bugle boy. He played his trumpet at our campfires as one of our nation's flags were retired. He played it very well. Those were very meaningful and powerful moments at scout camp as the flag was retired and Craig played Taps on his trumpet. Those very vivid memories keep me fighting back tears.

He would play Taps at other times as well, at 10:30 pm as everyone was going to sleep. And everybody's favorite time in the morning was the sound of "Reveille" from Craig's tent, actually, that probably wasn't so popular. Anyway, I always remember him as a great kid and a good friend, as I was very shy in those days.

I had the chance to see Craig again, 9 years later! I recognized him instantly. I was with my wife attending a BYU devotional for Nursing students and Accountants, my wife is a Nursing student. He was sitting right in front of me and I spent the whole time trying to remember if his name was Craig Decker or something else. But I tapped his shoulder after the meeting and said, "Hi, this is kind of random, but did you work at Camp Evergreen Boy Scout Camp?" He said, "Yeah!" I said, "Is your name Craig Decker?" He said, "Yeah!" He recognized me as well. It was good to see him again after so many years. I told him about my life and he told me about his. I look forward to someday giving him a good Boy Scout handshake again someday.

--Chris Tate