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Biography of The Worlds Greatest Fighter Pilot
Authors
Note: If we were to tell the complete story of "SCOTTY", it would take
as long as our hero has lived- 90 years and still going ( I refer you to
the Energizer Bunny)... Indeed, Gen. Scott's life has been one adventure
to the next, a life filled with the experiences of 1000 normal average joes
like ourselves, and while we can only dream about giving in to wanderlust
and the spirit of adventure, our crusader has been living an adventure for
the past 90 years that continues to this day. People in our thirty-something
generation cannot keep up with him no matter how hard we try! He is an example
for all to follow and the very least we can do is allow some cyberspace for
him and hope we get the word out on this amazing fellow! So, if you would
be so kind as to indulge three Macon boys who believe in America, apple pie,
and heroes.....
Robert Lee Scott, Jr. was born in Waynesboro, Georgia on April 12, 1908, but lucky for us Maconites, he grew up in Macon, Ga. He was the oldest of three children born to Ola Burkhalter and Robert L. Scott, Sr. One of his earliest remembrances as a human was when his mother took 4 year old Rob to the local fairgrounds and he witnessed an airplane crash in which the pilot, Eugene Ely, was killed. Ely had the distinction of being the first to fly from a navy ship. That event decided his destiny, and while growing up as a youth he "acquired" some canvas from a tent revival and fashioned himself a homemade glider, which he took to the owner of the highest roof in town, got permission to fly his airplane , and promptly discovered the joy of flight for about one second,with the next few seconds resulting in a crash to the ground into the thorny bushes of the state flower, the Cherokee Rose.
Further adventures as a youth would include riding freight trains without permission, making a canoe and attempting to reach the Atlantic Ocean, only to narrowly escape drowning, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean while working on a freighter, and becoming an Eagle scout. Schoolwork was never a priority with Scotty as he was too busy even then with his adventures. But at some point he decided that the only way to become a fighter pilot was to gain entry into West Point. He went back to high school (he had already graduated) to get the academic basics he had missed out on, decided to join the local National Guard unit, which would let him enlist into the active Army, then try to get into the West Point Prepatory School. He was successful in this endeavor and in July, 1928, Robert Scott became Cadet Scott at the United States Military Academy. He managed to hang in there until graduation four years later, pleaded to by his father to "just hang in there,son, just hang in there". Immediately after graduation, newly commissioned 2LT Scott bought a motorcycle and traveled some 15,000 miles through Europe and Asia, ending his trip in time to get back to Randolph Field, Texas, to undergo flight training. During his flight training there, he had not forgotten about a particular young lady back in Georgia, a one Katherine Rix Green of Ft. Valley. This courtship would eventually lead to matrimony, but not without the expense of putting 84,000 miles on his automobile in the process. Lt. and Mrs. Scott spent their first assignment at Mitchel Field, New York, during which time the Army took over flying the mail. Flying what was known as the "Hell Stretch" from Newark, New Jersey to Cleveland, Ohio, provided him with priceless experience in navigation and weather that would help him throughout his career.
His next assignment was a three year tour in Panama, where he further honed his skills as a Fighter Pilot. He was reassigned to the largest flying school in the United States in Ontario, California. His daughter, Robin Lee, was born here during this time, and it was at Cal- Aero Academy that he would find himself when World War II began.
He immediately began a campaign of letter writing, phone calls, and various other methods to get himself into the war as a Fighter Pilot. By this time he was a Major in a great assignment and on track to be the youngest Colonel in the Air Corps. Many would have jumped at the position that Scotty had, but he knew that his destiny could only be fulfilled in combat. What good had it been to go thru all that training as a Fighter Pilot if he could not test his skills? Most of his requests were denied with the fact that he was 34 years old--Too Old for Combat! In March,1942 he volunteered and was accepted for a top secret mission. We know now that this mission was to bomb Tokyo, Japan, but at the time it was under the cover of Task Force Aquila. Before he was accepted as a member of this task force,he was asked had he ever flown a B-17. Well, he not only had not flown a B-17, but never had been in one! This "lie" would be the turning point of his entire life. As luck would have it, Task Force Aquila was scrubbed when they had made it to Karachi, India. He was reassigned again in India as the Deputy for Operations for the Assam-Burma- China Ferry Command. Their mission was to fly supplies over the Himalaya mountains, commonly referred to as the "Hump", to among others, Gen Claire Chennault's American Volunteer Group, or Flying Tigers.
Colonel Scott finally met Gen. Chennault, and despite the fact that he was a Regular Army West Pointer (who were considered as much the enemy as the japanese were!), he was able to befriend Chennault and the other members of the AVG by making sure his supply runs consisted of the right supplies- ammunition, repair parts,and fuel to keep the already antiquated P-40s flying (Remember- Chennault had only received 100 of these when the AVG was formed, and several had been destroyed by this time.. just a handful of P-40s to defend the entire skies of China!). Scotty impressed Gen. Chennault and convinced him to loan him a P-40 of his own to fly, in order to further provide air support for the unguarded C-46s and C-47s that flew the hump. Gen. Chennault also let him fly with the AVG on "guest" missions, which provided the tactics that Chennault had been practicing for years before, tactics that were the reason that the Flying Tigers, and later the 14th Air Force, were so successful!
By July, 1942 it had been decided that the AVG would be inducted into the U.S. Army Air Forces. The requirement existed for a U.S. Army Colonel to be the Commander of the newly formed 23rd Fighter Group, and who else better to do the job than Scotty? By this time he had already acquired a reputation as a "One man Air Force" from strafing and bombing missions he had planned and conducted. By Thanksgiving,1942, he was a double ace, and by February, 1943, he was leaving the combat zone and headed back to the states to make war bond speeches as the leading ace of the war. It was during one of his speeches in Buffalo, New York, that he met Charles Scribner the publisher. Scribner thought his experiences in China would make a good story and asked Scott to write a book. As it turned out, another speech was made in California at Scotty's old Command at Cal-Aero Academy, and the instructor there introduced him to Jack Warner of Warner Brothers, who, like Scribner, thought the story needed to be told, but this time as a screenplay! Warner Brothers purchased the movie rights before the manuscript was edited!! The title, by the way, for both the book and the movie was GOD IS MY CO-PILOT.
Meanwhile, the Scott family finished another tour of duty at Winter Park, Florida at the school of Applied Tactics, then in 1947, he was assigned as Commander of the first jet fighter school at Williams Field, Arizona. In 1950, he was again reassigned to Furstenfeldbruck, Germany, as Commander of the 36th Fighter/Bomber Wing. In 1953, he was assigned to Washington, D.C. after graduation from the National War College, as Director of Information for the Air Force and promoted to General. His "political incorrectness" in telling things how they actually were got him into hot water with his bosses in this assignment, saying things like Russia was ahead of the U.S. in the space race (Sputnik was put into orbit before the U.S. got there, by the way), and he was reassigned back to Arizona, this time to Luke AFB, where he was once again flying fighters. He retired on October 31,1957, after 36 years in uniform.
He and Kitty Rix stayed in Arizona (daughter Robin had already gotten married and moved to Bakersfield,California, supplying the General with Four grandchildren). General Scott continued his speech-making, book writing (see the books on this site) and other adventures. Unfortunately, his wife and best friend passed away in 1972. He spent most of the next few years studying, planning , and finagling a way to accomplish his dream of retracing the footsteps of Marco Polo. By 1980s end, this too had been accomplished- over 2000 miles walking,riding, and camel train!
By the mid 1980s, a group of folks from Middle Georgia had asked him to come make a speech and donate some items to the newly forming Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base. Now, this is a neat part of the story. In Warner Robins, there was a local chapter of the International Plastic Modelers Society (IPMS) that just so happens we three founding members of the RLSFCA were members of--in fact, it was our idea to name the chapter after Gen. Scott..in other words, we like to think we had a hand in the thing! If not for our association with Scotty, and subsequently the Model builders, which in turn led to the Museum... well, you get the drift!
Anyway, not only did he donate some items to this fledgling museum, the folks there talked him into staying and becoming the director of their fund raising campaign. And, if you have any doubts to how successful Scotty has been, then we implore you to go to the Museum and take a look around!
And now for the present time. Since his return to his native Georgia, Gen. Scott has busied himself in numerous activities, most of which benefit the Museum of Aviation. He has managed to get himself flights in the F-16, F-15, and B-1, and in 1996 at age 88, he RAN..yes, RAN with the Olympic torch for the summer games in Atlanta! The only thing left for our modern day, southern accent speaking Marco Polo is the Space Shuttle, and we should all write our congressmen and NASA and help in this cause!
On any day at the Museum, you can find the most remarkable man, 90 years young, going like a house afire, talking to the most important resource on this earth, our YOUNG PEOPLE, and explaining to them as only he can do, that this is the greatest country in the world, and if we are prepared at all times by having a good defense, we will remain the greatest country in the world. He is , without a doubt, the Reddest,Whitest,and Bluest American on this planet!! (Hence the colors of this site!) He continues to influence and inspire any of those who happen to be so lucky as to get within earshot. As for us three Macon boys, we consider ourselves blessed.
