STEPHEN D. SCOTT, 1LT, USMC

Stephen Scott '77

Date of birth: September 28, 1954

Date of death: February 13, 1980

Age: 25

Lucky Bag

From the 1977 Lucky Bag:

STEPHEN D. SCOTT

Daly City, Prep School, and Navy Football all benefited from Steve’s presence. Never lacking a wise crack or confidence, this quiet, dark haired preppy from the Coast won friends from the start. Steve is the only one who can walk through a gale and come out with his hair unruffled. One thing is certain, from the classroom and J.F.K. Stadium he will take the winning spirit and determination that so characterized him at the Academy.

STEPHEN D. SCOTT

Daly City, Prep School, and Navy Football all benefited from Steve’s presence. Never lacking a wise crack or confidence, this quiet, dark haired preppy from the Coast won friends from the start. Steve is the only one who can walk through a gale and come out with his hair unruffled. One thing is certain, from the classroom and J.F.K. Stadium he will take the winning spirit and determination that so characterized him at the Academy.

Loss

Stephen was lost on February 13, 1980 when the A-4 Skyhawk he was piloting crashed immediately after takeoff at Yuma, Arizona.

From A-4 Skyhawk:

1st Lt. Steve Scott perished in a takeoff accident in TA-4J BuNo 155101 at MCAS Yuma, AZ.
JET PILOT KILLED IN CRASH.
Yuma (AP) -- The California pilot of a Navy jet trainer carrying live ordnance was killed when his plane plunged into a line of parked aircraft shortly after takeoff at the Marine Corps Air Station here and burst into flames, authorities said.
Officials Wednesday identified the pilot as Marine 1st Lt. STEVE SCOTT, 25, Daley City, Calif. Marine Maj. Dan Dorn said the A-4 Skyhawk was assigned to VT-25 Squadron based at the Navy Air Station in Beeville, Texas.
He said cause of the crash was undetermined but apparently involved "mechanical failure of some kind" following takeoff. Witnesses said the aircraft appeared to lose power just before it plummeted into the parked planes. Dorn also said some of the Navy jet's ordinance exploded during the crash.
The two planes into which the Navy jet plunged, also A-4 Skyhawks from the Beeville base, were destroyed. Dorn estimated the loss at $3 million.
Casa Grande Dispatch Arizona 1980-02-14

Other Information

From the April 1980 issue of Shipmate:

Appointed to the Naval Academy after having attended the preparatory school, he was graduated with the Class of 1977 and accepted his commission in the Marine Corps. At the Academy he was known as a quiet, confident, well-liked midshipman.
He is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Denzil G. Scott of Daly City, California; and three brothers and three sisters.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

He was also survived by his fiancée Laura Youngs of San Antonio; his mother Mary; and his siblings Joanne, Michael, Robert, Thomas, Nancy and Mary.
He was a graduate in 1972 from Junipero Serra High School, San Mateo.

He is buried in Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

Junipero Serra High School Hall of Fame

Stephen was inducted into the Junipero Serra High School Hall of Fame in 2022.

Stephen Scott '72

Football
Stephen Scott played freshman, junior varsity and varsity football at Serra, lettering the last two years. He also lettered in baseball, playing freshman and varsity.
While at Serra, Scott quickly showed his leadership qualities and was elected to Student Court. During his senior year, he was vice-president of the Block "S" Club.
As an outstanding receiver, Scott received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. He first attended the Naval Academy Prep School (NAPS) and proceeded to letter in both football and lacrosse. Moving on to the Naval Academy, Scott established himself as the top receiver on the Plebe (freshman) team. In their one game against NAPS that year, he had 10 receptions alone. He became a two-year letterman (1975-76) as Navy's starting split end during those years. Navy was nationally ranked in 1975 and competed against some of the top football programs, including Michigan and Penn State. Against Notre Dame that year, although losing 14-7, Scott had eight catches for over 100 yards. As a senior, he had 20 receptions for 310 yards (15.5 average yards per catch) and two touchdowns.
Upon graduation from the academy, Scott accepted a commission in the Marine Corps. He was assigned to Marine Officer School in Quantico, Virginia and later worked for the Commandant of the Marine Corps, while waiting to get into flight school. Scott received his initial jet fighter training in Pensacola and had additional training in Beeville, Texas, where he earned his gold wings and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. While training in Yuma, Arizona, on October 13, 1980, Scott was killed as a result of an aviation accident due to mechanical failure on a take-off. He was buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno.
Serra created a Stephen Scott Memorial Award given to a member of the varsity football team who through dedication, commitment and role modeling has served as an inspirational player to his teammates and coaches. Scott honed those qualities at the NA after he first developed them at Serra, where he learned to be a leader and a team player. Most important, Scott learned that by committing to a goal, despite all obstacles, one could be successful. Although Scott only lived a short 25 years, he lived life to the fullest, succeeded in all that he did, and died living his dream of being a jet fighter pilot.

Photographs

All photographs except his high school yearbook photo are courtesy Stephen’s sister, Nancy Scott.

From his high school yearbook
Stephen with Nancy.
Stephen with Nancy.
Stephen as a plebe.
Stephen while a 3/c Midshipman.
Stephen parading on Worden Field with 36th Company, possibly shortly before graduation.
Stephen parading on Worden Field with 36th Company, possibly shortly before graduation.