Eagle Scout Christopher Plate chose to honor one of Toms River’s fallen war heroes for his Eagle Scout project last year. At the December meeting of the Toms River Board of Education, Plate was recognized by the board.
Plate built a retaining wall and landscaped the area around the sign on Old Freehold Road which was dedicated in honor of Major James Matthew Weiss, a Toms River North alumni who was killed in Afghanistan in 2010. Weiss was a Marine Corps helicopter pilot.
Weiss was piloting a Cobra helicopter when he was shot down providing air support for Marines pinned down by Taliban fighters.