SURROUNDED BY THE ENEMY Family’s prayers saved Scott more than once

“You can see stuff on TV but you can't relate until you get down in that hole in Vietnam and (you see) people get killed. People got killed.”

This is George Scott’s truth and probably any soldier who served in combat’s truth. You can’t relate, unless you were there. Scott’s first stint in the military was from 1968-1970 and during that time he was deployed to Vietnam where he fought in one of the most infamous wars in American history. Prior to that time he recounts his experience in basic training, what the military did for him and the discipline that it begot.

Scott says there were times during basic training where soldiers would go into classrooms to learn a lesson and inevitably some would fall asleep. If that happened, soldiers would get gum put in their hair.

“It was awful, but that’s what they did, that’s the training, anything we did was for discipline.” Scott said. “If you didn’t do this, or do this, there’s consequences.”

Scott recounts his time in Vietnam where his duties as a mail carrier allowed him to do odd jobs throughout his stationing there because he would finish his work early enough in the day where he would need more to do.

One of the things Scott did was haul aircraft. One day Scott was hauling aircraft to Saigon with another soldier.

“I had sideline jobs when I was there, like by 10:30 a.m, I’d be done for the day and I had to do stuff like haul aircraft to Saigon on a semi-truck, a gas burner, with an escort, one guy with me,” Scott said. “Whenever you did that, you always had a cobra (combat helicopter) escort because they didn’t want to lose the aircraft. And you feel good because you hear the blades sputtering.

“That thing can spray a round every square of a football field in one pass, that’s how many rounds they shoot out,” said Scott. “But on this particular day, we were riding along on the gas burner, it wasn’t the fastest thing, but when you keep it on the floor, you’re running about 50 (mph) at top speed. After a while it got silent and you know what that means. The chopper wasn’t there. So there was some weather. And when it runs into bad weather it turns around and goes back home.

“And this particular day, if I remember correctly, we looked up about two miles and (saw) a bunch of people in the street. So, you know, we can’t turn around, so we’ve got to decide ... Are you going to try to kill before they kill you?

“And so what do you do? You snap that pedal to the floor, get all the speed you can get, and break out those 14s and all your clips, take out the 45, put it on the seat, take the safety off, and ride.”

Thinking back Scott said he was “blessed” because when they arrived on the crowd it just happened to be Vietnamese crossing the road and not the Vietcong.

“And like I said, when every condition was so bad, it was just like a big swamp where we lived, inside that compound, but that’s what we were there for, to really make a difference, because really, they needed our help,” said Scott.

He talked about the Taiwanese forces that they fought with.

“They ain’t scared of nothing, like not scared of dying, and of course, my attitude, I never thought about living, I never thought about dying. I just did what I had to do, and I did some crazy things.”

Scott says this attitude, of not being afraid to die was prevalent among all the soldiers who were there in Vietnam. There was a hardening that took place and to think about life meant to dwell on things that were out of their control. Scott said it didn’t take long for the numbing to take hold.

“For me 30 days, (life) didn’t matter any more, absolutely zero,” said Scott. “Of course, I didn’t write home like I should have, and my mama thought I was lost, and I really didn’t know how she actually felt about it until about a year ago, she started talking about it. (She said) her and this friend, she actually had a son in the war, and they used to talk all the time and they didn’t know whether their kids were dead or alive because I wouldn’t write home, man.”

He says the war made him numb and detached from the world. Most of the time the soldiers’ focus was to get their minds off of the conditions and the struggles that go along with being at war.

Vietnam was a dangerous place to be. In this foreign land they were surrounded on every side by enemy. Scott mentions that there were spies in the midst of being over in Vietnam and there was a need to be constantly vigilant.

“(The Vietcong) knew exactly where everything was on the compound,” said Scott. “Because, we had Vietnamese workers. And you could tell when we were going to get hit, they’d leave early. I noticed that right way. (The Vietnamese workers) would be trying to go out and get out that gate. Everybody got ready ‘cause they’re getting ready to throw something on ya. And I’m sure they told.

“To give an example, we had this black commander to take over from the previous commander, and he wanted to do some stuff for the guys. So, he made some deals and cut some deals with different people and got material and built a French restaurant in Vietnam. Imagine being on compound, we’re sleeping in this rat hole, and he built this French restaurant. The day that it got completed one round took it out. Tell me they didn’t know where it was. We never did get a chance to eat in it.”

With so much danger lurking around and a cavalier approach to living Scott believes it was his family’s prayers that kept him safe in such a tumultuous time.

“My grandma was praying for me, and she’s the kind of woman that loved the Lord. I realized in those days, they did what they thought was right, and they believed in God, and my grandmother used to tell me all the time, she said, ‘Boy, you’ll never live till you’re 35 at the pace that you’re living.’ Because I was pretty wild, you know. But you know what? I realize that didn’t stop her from praying for me, she said that out of her mouth, but she covered it with a prayer.”

Scott’s grandmother played an important role in his life. When he shot his thumb off at the age of 12 she was the one who calmed him down and got him to the hospital for care. He believes that his grandmother’s prayers built a spiritual foundation that he was later able to build on. Those prayers kept him alive. It wasn’t until years after his treacherous journey in Vietnam that Scott would give his life to Christ.

He said his family joined a church not long after he had been stationed at Fort Rucker and after a while he was interested in becoming a member because he saw how excited his family had become about church and what was going on there. Still, he didn’t give his life to Christ on the day he committed to the church. His decision came after, on a day in 1995 when he and his wife Ann Scott were on their way to see TD Jakes at a church out of town. There was a light rainstorm on I-65 and the roads were wet.

“We were driving, going about 70, light rain, and all of a sudden, the van just slid, and all I knew was to ask God, I said, ‘Lord, save us. Save us.’

“That’s the day I really got saved, when God pulled us out of that van and when the van stopped, it was over here facing (the opposite) way in (the opposite) lane, and they pulled us out. I don’t know what Ann was doing over there, but all I could say is, ‘Lord, save us.’ And that’s my salvation story, that’s when I really, really, really believed that God was on my side, because he saved us.

“There’s a God that saved my life that night in the car, and that’s why I’m comfortable in knowing that He’ll never leave us nor forsake us. I trust Him. I’m like Job, even though He slay me, I trust him because of some of the situations (He brought me out of).

“And even in Vietnam, how He honored my grandmother’s prayers, my momma’s prayers, when they didn’t know where I was, whether I was dead or alive, but they didn’t stop praying, they didn’t cease to pray for a minute, and they knew I was an idiot, but because they kept praying and called to God in the Lord’s Prayer, that’s why I’m here today. God is wonderful.”

Scott is currently the head pastor at a church in Enterprise and preaches out of the knowledge of that salvation that God had for him. He witnesses to many that he comes across about the goodness of God and how he took a sinner whose life was headed down a dark path and showed him the light.