On October 2nd, 1942, fourteen-year-old Charles Follette Jr., known to his family as Junior, was serving as a Boy Scout at a Lincoln High School football game, helping keep spectators off the field. Although he had successfully tried out for the coed cheerleading squad the week before and had asked his father if he could sit in the stands with a friend and enjoy the game before starting with the squad the following week, his father told him it was too late to find a replacement, and Junior accepted his duty. During the game, seniors were holding a fundraiser by wheeling a gasoline-powered popcorn roaster around the stadium to sell popcorn. The machine caught fire, and Junior and other Scouts moved toward the scene to push the crowd away from the blaze. A second eruption sprayed them with burning gasoline. Junior's clothes caught fire, and he began to run. Several reports say a sailor came down from the stands and wrapped Junior in his peacoat to douse the flames. Junior's sister Deanna, who was four years old at the time, remembered hearing him tell their father that he did not want to die, and she also recalled him speaking with another injured Scout, Jack Lindgren, saying, "Pray, Jackie, Pray!" Junior's father said he was able to walk into the hospital on his own, but his lungs were severely burned and the damage was irreparable. Junior died from his wounds that same night.