Roosevelt Scott, Jr., age 81, is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, having served for 26 years in the U.S. Army.

He was raised in Wetumka, Oklahoma, born to Jodie McGraw and Roosevelt Scott, Sr.

Scott describes his early years in Wetumka as similar to most small towns in the United States way back when.

“It was a small town where everyone knew each other and helped each other,” said Scott.

Hampton resident Roosevelt Scott, Jr. completed two tours in Vietnam and was there during the Tet Offensive. Photo by Erin Lopez

Scott’s father was one of the first graduates from Douglas High School and Scott was one of the last. He graduated in 1956 and the school was integrated in 1957.

After graduating from high school, Scott joined the Army Reserves. However, the Reserves was not what he had imagined.

“When I went to my first Reserves summer camp, I experienced something that I didn’t like- a lot of hard work, being told what to do and when to do it,” laughed Scott. “So, when I got back home, I just asked my mom if I could go to college.”

He went on to attend Lincoln University in Missouri and joined the ROTC program. He graduated college as a Second Lieutenant with a major in Mechanical Engineering in January of 1962.

Scott got married in February of 1962 to Phyllis Scott. In March of 1962, Scott went on Active Duty. He began his Army career as a Transportation Officer at Fort Eustis, Virginia.

He was then transferred to Oakland Army Terminal in Oakland, California, the West Coast Army shipping port, or “home,” as Scott said.

After two years at Oakland, Scott went to Korea for 13 months, leaving his wife behind in California.

Following a brief detour in Virginia for a career course, he was detailed to the Corps of Engineers and came to Fort Stewart, Georgia because they were re-forming the 34th Engineer Battalion.

“I was not an engineer, but the Army made me one,” laughed Scott. “They said ‘You are an engineer, go to Fort Stewart.”

After a year at Fort Stewart, Scott was deployed to Vietnam. He came home briefly for a class, got promoted to Major and was then sent to Bangkok, Thailand for three years.

Scott was then deployed to Vietnam for a second time, from 1967 to 1968.

On January 31, 1968, Scott found himself confronted with the harsh reality of what Vietnam had to offer. On that date, roughly 85,000 troops in Vietnam backed by the Northern Vietnamese government, began simultaneous early morning attacks on major cities, villages, and military installations located in South Vietnam. Scott was a witness to the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive.

“I was on group staff at that particular time. My office was all shot up. My quarters was all bullet hole ridden,” said Scott. “But no one was injured at all. That was particularly hair raising.”

The military police and gate guards were warned by a Vietnamese lady that there were Viet Cong troops in Widow’s Village across from the the Long Binh Army complex and the Headquarters for II Field Force Vietnam.

Scott said the guards did not believe the woman and told her to come closer to talk but then “all hell broke loose.”

“We had two helicopter gunships fly over our area and it would attack that village and I think that was about the only part that saved us from really having a hard time,” said Scott.

Normally, Scott said, the Viet Cong would only harass them before daybreak, when aircraft could not respond. This time, however, they stayed and fought all day long.

“We never knew what was going to happen there, said Scott. We always had a saying in Vietnam: ‘Don’t worry about the bullet with your name on it. It’s the one that says To Whom it May Concern that worries you,’” laughed Scott.

Scott also did his fair share of traveling during his time in the Army. He completed two tours in Vietnam, spent time in Bangkok, Thailand with his family, working as the transportation officer, moving troops in and out of the country.

“We got to live the good life for a while in Bangkok,” said Scott.

He also traveled around the United States to various in-country installations, was the Professor of Military Science at Central State University, and even retired in Germany for 22 years until their move in 2007 to Hampton.

Not only did Scott serve during the Vietnam War, but also during a time when race issues were polarizing the United States.

Scott had the ability to attend Webster University and receive a Masters degree in Human Relations.

“That degree helped a great deal because the military at that time was really struggling with race,” said Scott, who was then the Commander of the St. Louis area support center, which was located in Granite City, Illinois and was an all-white town.

“By that support center being there and by me being a black officer, that changed a lot of things in the relationship between the city and the Army,” said Scott. “It all worked out.”

In terms of race, Scott says these topics “need to be talked about if we ever want it ended.”

Like many Vietnam veterans, Scott reserved some discretion for things he simply did not want to discuss about his time in Vietnam. However, the legacy of the war in Vietnam lives on in the consciousness of the public to this day. Veterans like Scott remain the living testament to a tumultuous time in America’s history.

Today, Scott and his wife enjoy traveling to see their grandchildren, bowling, and going to dinner together. Scott and his wife Phyllis have four children named Kevin, Keith, Kenneth and Kara.