By Fred Horky, #6390

But how does one write a remembrance of a man who has done so very much? Certainly, his exploits in China are well known, flying alongside General Chennault’s famous Flying Tigers, and then as their commander when the AVG was brought into the AAF as the 23rd Pursuit Group. But those are just the best known of his many exploits.

This true Southern Gentleman had been born and raised in Macon, Georgia; but his adventures kept him away from his boyhood home for most of his long life. Retired to Arizona from the USAF in 1957, there was very little remaining family in Georgia to bring him home. His only immediate family was his grown daughter, living in California. And after all, wasn’t it Thomas Wolfe whose famous book title warns that “You Can’t Go Home Again?”

But his “conventional” retirement in Arizona had quickly chafed. Then in 1972 he had to fight through the agonizing loss of his ”Kitty Rix”, his beloved wife of 34 years. Sunny Arizona now seemed an elephant graveyard. He was much too vibrant and full of life for gloomy “old folks” thoughts.

One of his goals from boyhood had been to see the Great Wall of China, a fascination stemming from as a child reading a 1920’s National Geographic article about the wall while waiting in a Macon doctor’s waiting room. He actually first saw the wall during WWII, from the cockpit of his P-51 during his second combat tour in China: the wall was then still in Japanese-controlled territory. Typically, that brief glimpse had made him vow all the more to see the wall up “close and personal”. But after WWII, China became a hostile communist country; personal travel to the wall was impossible for many more years. But after much effort and many letters, he was actually able to achieve his goal of WALKING the wall’s tremendous length, alone, from the Gobi desert to the sea; he was in his seventies.

On his return to Arizona, the lifestyle of the typical retiree looked even less inviting. He was about to move to California to be near his daughter and her family.

Back in Georgia, the IPMS/Gen Robert L Scott chapter had carried his name (with his permission) from its very beginnings in 1976. By the mid-1980’s, the chapter was meeting in the fledgling Robins AFB Museum of Aviation, even securing a permanent display case to exhibit models and related memorabilia. Someone thought that it would be a super idea if we could somehow get to actually meet General Scott.

Chapter officer Bruce Radebaugh knew that General Scott was periodically invited to speak to senior USAF officer-students at the USAF’s Air University “Gathering of Eagles” leadership seminars at Maxwell AFB in Alabama. The next logical thought presented itself: if the general would be this close, why not ask him to address his namesake IPMS chapter at a dinner meeting, and if possible secure for our display case some mementos of his long career?

We also alerted the Robins museum management to the potential public relations benefits to the museum of a visit by the general. That took some coaching: sometimes modern leadership isn’t necessarily as aware as they should be of the accomplishments of past heroes. One response was “General ‘who’? Scott? Oh yes, now I remember: ‘God is My Copilot’. I thought he was dead!” (Really! We obviously had to do some Public Relations work of our own.)

Sure enough, General Scott DID like our idea, and came to visit our club and the museum. He most thoroughly impressed everyone from the first moment he bounded out of his car and virtually ran into the museum. His vitality and enthusiasm were amazing. Before it was time to leave, he had been invited to return toe middle Georgia as permanent spokesman for the museum. His return to Arizona was only to pack up for a permanent return to Georgia.

At the time, the museum was housed in temporary buildings brought to Robins after earlier being condemned at another base: all aircraft were displayed outdoors. Although he would be the last to claim any credit, his arrival coincided with period of tremendous growth of the museum. (In about twenty years, the museum went from scratch to the 2nd largest USAF museum, and overall the 4th largest aviation museum in the country.) For once, at least, Wolfe has been proven very, VERY wrong!

General Scott with RLS chapter members Bill Paul, Jerry Hall, and Fred Horky,
shortly after he moved to Georgia.  Posed in front of the RAFB Museum’s General Scott display
…note IPMS/USA Chapter of the Year trophy at right.

A tireless promoter, he spoke at events all over the state ….and often at those events, he frequently credited our club for having inspired his return. At every event, he always had time for every visitor …especially the kids. And always, the underlying message was preparedness.

This born fighter pilot will always be identified with the P-40, of course, but his log book contains everything from P-6 through the “century series” fighters, and many more, along the way amassing more than 30,000 flight hours.

General Scott with IPMS/USA 1st VP John Noack, in front
of the RAFB Air Museum’s P-40. General Scott was
famous for being so proud of our “Old Glory” that he not only “carried” the flag,
but (as here) he wore it as well!

He found time to write a string of very successful books; most had an underlining theme of aviation and military preparedness. Some have snickered at the title of General Scott’s first, and most famous, book; “God is My Copilot”, as if anyone who put God in the right seat just HAD to be more than a little self-centered. They couldn’t be farther from the truth: he meant that phrase in every POSITIVE way. You just had to have met and talked with the guy to understand, and I was fortunate to have that opportunity for twenty years.

The other events …the tales of flying the F-16 (solo!), F-15, and the B-1 well into his seventies and eighties and all the rest, can be seen in other obituaries or read in his numerous books. I’ll just close this with the ultimate fighter pilot compliment given by the F-15 pilot who flew with him on the F-15B ride in 1988: “…he’s a good stick!”

And so, the nation has lost a great patriot and hero, a patriot and hero in every sense of those words. The Robins AFB Museum of Aviation has lost its public voice, he will be sorely missed there as well. His namesake chapter has lost a true friend.

And I have a vacant spot inside that will likely not be filled for a very long time.

March 2006