Tim Delarm and his sons Zach and Clint light candles at the Boy Scout vigil in Sioux City, held to remember the four Scouts killed in a tornado at the Little Sioux Scout Camp last Wednesday. The Delarms, who live in Le Mars, are members of Troop 188. [Click to enlarge]

No local Boy Scouts were directly involved in the tragedy at the Little Sioux Scout Camp near Blencoe last week, but the tornado that claimed four Scouts' lives affected all of them.

"We didn't know the boys but in a sense we're all brothers -- we have the same background, the same morals, the same beliefs," said Dean Christoffel, the Scoutmaster for Troop 184 of Le Mars.

Seven representatives from Troop 184 and another 15 from Troop 188 joined hundreds of others in a solemn candle light vigil on Friday along the riverfront in Sioux City.

They came to honor the four boys whose lives were claimed when a tornado hit the little Sioux Scout Camp on Wednesday, June 11.

Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Eagle Grove, and Ben Peterzilka, 14, Josh Fennen, 13, and Sam Thomsen, 13, all of Omaha, Neb. were killed in the storm.

Many others were injured, including several that remained hospitalized this weekend. More than 90 Scouts were attending the Youth Leadership camp, including one from Sioux City, one from South Sioux City and one from the Dakota Dunes.

The vigil at the Anderson River Pavilion began with a prayer by a Scout now attending seminary, then a short biography of each of the boys was shared.

"They lit a candle when they read each boy's name," said Trudi Hall, Scoutmaster of Troop 188. "There were tears, but it was all very respectful."

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Christoffel agreed.

"It was a perfect setting -- trees, birds, the water rushing by," he said.

Most of the Scouts attending were in uniform, Hall said.

"Scouting is a big family. We pull together for whatever people need," she said.

Several local Scouts are preparing to head out to adventure camps and trips this summer, and the storm at the Blencoe Scout camp was a sobering reminder of nature's ability to be harsh.

Christoffel and another leader attended a 16-hour wilderness first-aid and training camp about six weeks ago.

"We had scenarios set up and we played roles as if we were in any situation such as this," he said. "We trained for any type of natural disaster we might encounter."

Boy Scouts are also constantly learning survival techniques, he said.

"At just about every camp out they have scenarios set up or work stations to go through these situations," he said.

Trips this summer are scheduled for members of both Troop 184 and 188, including a shared trip to New Mexico. But Friday's unscheduled trip to Sioux City for the vigil was just as much a part of being a Scout, according to Linda Schlotfeldt, whose sons are Scouts.

Maybe we didn't know those kids that died, but they still were brothers," she said. "Scouting is a brotherhood, and those kids were brothers to my boys. They could have been my sons."