Scope and Contents

This collection consists of thirty-one 35mm color slides documenting James Scott's service with the US Army. Nine of the images are from Scott's time with the 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War. Five were taken during an assault by the 1/11 infantry on the abandoned Khe Sanh Combat Base at the initiation of Operation DEWEY CANYON II on January 30, 1971. The other four images from Vietnam are views taken from helicopters flying in the region of Khe Sanh. The remaining twenty-two slides in the collection were taken at the 101st Airborne Division Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in 1973--1974 and show various training and aircraft familiarization activities. Several show the experimental Helicopter Tree Landing Platform (HTLP). Aircraft shown in the photographs include the Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey), Sikorsky (S-64A) CH-54A Tarhe (Skycrane), Boeing-Vertol CH-47A Chinook, Bell AH-1 Cobra, and the Bell OH-58 Kiowa.

Arrangement

Collection is in original order. It was organized by the donor in two series - images taken in Vietnam and images taken at the 101st Airborne Division Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Biographical / Historical

James Scott served in the US Army, 1st Battalion, 11th Infantry, 1st Brigade (Separate), 5th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War. On January 30, 1971, Scott's Battalion was the lead unit to move into the abandoned Khe Sanh Combat Base, while encountering limited enemy contact en route, as part of Operation DEWEY CANYON II. This allowed for an airstrip to be established at Khe Sahn to serve as a support base for Operation LAM SON 719, an offensive campaign to cut enemy supply lines and clear the way for an invasion of Laos by the Republic of Vietnam. Following his tour in Vietnam, Scott was transferred to the 173rd Airborne Brigade (later deactivated and redesignated as the 3rd Brigade (Airborne), 101st Airborne Division (Air Mobile)) and went with that unit to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Scott was an infantry captain on the team which created the 101st Airborne Division Air Assault School in 1973. James Scott earned Senior Parachute Wings, was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, the Bronze Star, and the Army Commendation Medal, before leaving active duty with the US Army in 1975 at the rank of captain. Following his military career, Scott was a civilian employee with the Department of Defense including work at the US Army Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama and the Naval Air Systems Command in Arlington, Virginia.