READER C. SCOTT, LCDR, USN

Reader Scott '32

Date of birth: August 10, 1909

Date of death: November 21, 1942

Age: 33

Lucky Bag

From the 1932 Lucky Bag:

READER CLARENCE SCOTT

Peoria, Illinois

"Scotty" "Gil"

What would the Navy do without "Scotty"? Plebe year he started to repair things, and has been at it ever since. Nothing is too great or small to claim his attention—and it holds no interest if there is nothing wrong with it. His desk, locker, and strongbox are full of gadgets and tools for repairing, from a watch to a radio. The password to his room is "Scotty, there is something wrong with my. . . ." There is no other known method of arousing him, but this method has never failed.

Perhaps the most outstanding characteristics we think of when someone mentions "Scotty" is his unfailing good nature. Practical jokes he takes in good part, and "renders unto Caesar that which is Caesar's." If anyone was dragging and had the guard, it would be "Scotty, how's to take my watch?" And the invariable answer: "Sure."

2 P.O.

READER CLARENCE SCOTT

Peoria, Illinois

"Scotty" "Gil"

What would the Navy do without "Scotty"? Plebe year he started to repair things, and has been at it ever since. Nothing is too great or small to claim his attention—and it holds no interest if there is nothing wrong with it. His desk, locker, and strongbox are full of gadgets and tools for repairing, from a watch to a radio. The password to his room is "Scotty, there is something wrong with my. . . ." There is no other known method of arousing him, but this method has never failed.

Perhaps the most outstanding characteristics we think of when someone mentions "Scotty" is his unfailing good nature. Practical jokes he takes in good part, and "renders unto Caesar that which is Caesar's." If anyone was dragging and had the guard, it would be "Scotty, how's to take my watch?" And the invariable answer: "Sure."

2 P.O.

Loss

Reader died on November 21, 1942 from wounds received on November 15 during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. He was executive officer of USS Walke (DD 416), which was sunk during the battle.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Reader graduated from Peoria High School in 1928. Student Council, Manager Stage Crew, Student Prefect, Junior Prom Committee, Science and Math, French Club, Philaxia, President Radio Club, English Club, Jusendra. Our capable stage manager knows his rheostats and kilo-watts. Class Prophecy: Reader, property man of the Schubert Brothers’ productions.
From his yearbook page on The Stage Crew: Another good ship scene, which was in the Jusendra play, “Warnings,” was the deck of a modern ship, “The Empress.” It contrasted sharply with the “Captain Applejack” pirate galley. The stage crew, and the various organizations that use the stage, are much indebted to Reader Scott, the student manager. Reader, besides telling his helpers how to do things the best way, did a lion’s share of the work himself.
In April 1938, Reader sailed from Hamburg, Germany, to New York City.
His father was listed as both Leon Clarence or Clarence P. In 1920, he was a cemetery superintendent.

From Find A Grave:

Lt. Commander U.S. Navy, World War II-Lt. Com. Scott died of his wounds on 11-21-1942 while serving as the XO on the USS Walke {DD-416} in the South Pacific during the Battle for Guadalcanal in the area of Iron Bottom Sound. This ship was sunk by a Japanese Submarine. The USS Walke was Sims-Class Destroyer that was named after Rear Admiral Henry A. Walke, 1809-1896. It was built in Boston, Ma.
He is the son of Mr. Clarence P. & Mrs. Irene {Campdoras} Scott of 1500 North Prospect Road in Peoria, Illinois, and is a 1928 graduate of Peoria H.S., and a 1932 graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.
Commander Scott has been in the Navy for ten years, and sailed around the world, spent two years in China, two years of Marine Engineering at the Naval Academy, and the last time his parents saw him in Peoria was 1939. Mr. Scott was never married, but leaves one brother, Major Leon Scott, West Point graduate, Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, and one sister, Miss Ione Scott of Peoria.
Awards: Silver Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, American Defense Medal, China Service Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, 2nd Award, Pacific Campaign Medal with two Battle Stars.
Footnote: Commander Scott received his Silver Star for rescue operations on the USS Walke.

USS Walke (DD 416) was sunk on November 15, 1942 at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.

His mother was listed as next of kin.

Photographs

From his high school yearbook, as a member of the stage crew
From his high school yearbook

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together, or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.