Veterans Month
November 2003
NS Veterans Remember
Richard Scott
Supervisor of Imaging-Archives
Atlanta
I am a United States Marine Corps veteran. I served in the first Gulf War for a tour of approximately six months. I spent time in various places such as Dyrhan, Myshab, Bahrain, Kobar Towers and all three major American ammunition dumps, one of which was just a few miles outside Kuwait.
I went over with 2nd Field Service Support Group, 2nd Landing Support Battalion, 2nd Air Delivery. After two weeks in country, the war ended. Our duties became to guard, patrol and load the remaining ammunition - including everything from rifle .50 caliber rounds to 2000 pound Hawk missiles - on trucks, ships, trains and planes for transport home. Ammunition that was not safe for travel was demolished/exploded. That lasted 24 hours a day until we left.
There were oil wells burning around us the whole time we were there, so even at noon on most days the sky was black with smoke. And on the horizons, you could see the flames and black funnels at various intervals all the way around you. That first gave me a kind of "Dante's Inferno" feeling at first sight, but after a week or so it was just part of being in the Gulf.
We lived in tents dug into the desert this whole time, working in blazing heat during the day and freezing at night. Some days, we didn't sleep at all, and on others we got a couple hours. We had gravity showers or used canteens and rags to wash and ate MREs or care package items sent from home when available. And when we were done with a camp, we would pull our gear down and just bulldoze the dune walls flat as if we had never been there.
My group made Marine Corp magazine and won Presidential Unit Citations, Meritorious Unit Citations, Letters of Appreciation from President Clinton, and had the Marine Corp Commanding General actually come to our last load to congratulate us for moving the largest amount of ammunition in America's history (to include Vietnam and Korean War) with the least amount of injuries and in the shortest amount of time.
Oh, and the last three days in country, they took us to Bahrain. One of the Princess Cruise ships was docked there. For our hard work, they let us stay on there as if we were on a cruise, without going anywhere of course. But it was a nice change.
After making it through Saudi and returning home, I was in a car accident. The doctors were convinced I would be paralyzed, and by all accounts I should not have lived through it. I made it through the war without a scratch. Oh, the irony.
After four months in three or four hospitals and several surgeries, I proved them wrong and walked out of Portsmouth Naval hospital.
I was determined to return to the Corps, my platoon and to jumping from airplanes. However, even though I completed the Marine Corp physical which included 80 sit-ups in 2 minutes, 20 pull ups and 3 mile run 18 minutes, I fell short due to the injuries. Therefore, I had no choice but to take a temporary retirement at the end of my four years without the option to reenlist.
After getting out, I married a great woman from West Virginia, used my G.I. Bill to get a 4-year degree in Secondary Education with an English specialization and decided Norfolk Southern was more suited to my abilities. We now have a wonderful 2½-year old daughter.