FALL RIVER — Chris Christopulos IV has known for years what he wanted his Eagle Scout project to be. 

Christopulos, a Wareham resident who’s part of Rochester’s Boy Scout Troop 31, visited Battleship Cove in Fall River when he was 12. The park is a war memorial and museum and hosts the battleship USS Massachusetts, the destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. and other military vehicles. 

“I said to myself, ‘I’m going to do my Eagle Scout project here,’” said Christopulos, remembering his trip to the park. 

Now, he’s getting the chance to do just that.

Christopulos is working to refurbish the food service room where meals were prepared for sailors on the USS Kennedy. The vessel is the official memorial for Massachusetts citizens who died in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He’s painting, cleaning and chipping away at rust in a cramped space within the bowels of the ship. 

Helping Christopulos in his work are other members of his boy scout troop as well as members of DeMolay International, a fraternity for young men in which Christopulos is a Master Councilor. 

The work is part of a whole-ship renovation of the USS Kennedy, with other volunteer groups working on other areas, said Battleship Cove Board of Directors Vice President Rich Angelini. 

Christopulos said he had several options for where to do his project, and chose the food service room because it was a “bigger project” where the other scouts and DeMolay members could help as well. 

The museum relies on volunteer work in many aspects, and makes a practice of working with Eagle Scouts. 

“He’s carrying on the path of a lot of other great young men who’ve volunteered on this ship,” said Angelini. 

That tradition includes Angelini, who said his father served on the USS Kennedy and he did his own Eagle Scout project on the ship. 

The renovation work on the ship should be completed in June, said Angelini. However, it is unlikely to mark the end of Christopulos’ love for military ships. 

Christopulos said his interest in WWII history started when he was four years old, when he turned the TV to a channel showing a documentary about the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. To this day, he has visited many ships, but the Enterprise is still his favorite, he said.