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name
SCOTT, James Cecil - Date of
birth
23 April 1920 -
Age
25 -
Place of birth
Mississippi -
Hometown
Webster County, Mississippi
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-791343 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Pilot -
Unit
55th Fighter Squadron,
20th Fighter Group
-
Awards
Distinguished Flying Cross,
Purple Heart,
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Death
-
Status
Finding of Death - Date of
death
17 July 1945 - Place of
death
IJsselmeer, Holland
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten - Walls of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Leonard A. Scott (father)
Mary E. Scott (mother)
Leonard J. Scott (brother)
Thomas R. Scott (brother)
Plane data
- Serial
number
42-67864 -
Data
Type: P-38J
Destination: Berlin, Germany
Mission: Bomber escort
MACR: 2782
More information
1st Lt James C. Scott attended college and was an actor.He volunteered for the Air Corps of the Army of the United States as an aviation cadet in Jackson, Mississippi, on 17 December 1941.
Statement of 1st Lt Roy M. Scrutchfield:
"I was leading red flight. We had made landfall in below IJmuiden at 1219 hours at 26,000 feet. Lt Scott was leading yellow flight (in place of Lt W.B. Taylor, who had to turn back) and was flying to my left. Capt McLary called and told me to take yellow flight and Lt Scott to lead my second element. I was crossing over to take this position and was almost abreast of Lt Scott when he called on the R/T, 'I'm out of oxygen. I've got to go down quick.' Before he had finished his sentence, I saw him peel off in a diving turn. He went into the overcast. That was the last time I saw of him. Several minutes before this happened, he had said he was having trouble with his oxygen."
The mission took place on 4 April 1944. 1st Lt Scott was officially declared dead on 17 July 1945.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Michel Beckers, 20th Fighter Group, www.ancestry.com - The Blumhorst-Fortner Family Tree
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.20thfightergroup.com - Mike Murray, Stephen Scott Griffin