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Scott recalls military service

The Inter-Mountain photo by Tim MacVean Randolph County Commissioner Mark Scott holds a picture of himself as a member of the United States Marine Corps as well as a book that is received by each individual who serves in that branch of the military.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Tim MacVean Randolph County Commissioner Mark Scott holds a picture of himself as a member of the United States Marine Corps as well as a book that is received by each individual who serves in that branch of the military.

Editor’s note: This is the 10th article in The Inter-Mountain’s Unsung Heroes series, which will feature veterans in our area and share first-hand accounts of their military service. The series will publish each Monday through Veterans Day. To suggest an Unsung Hero, call 304-636-2121, ext. 120.

ELKINS — In addition to serving the citizens of Elkins and Randolph County in various capacities, Mark Scott served his country as a member of the United States Marine Corps.

Scott, 48, served from 1986 through 1990, was a Lance Corporal, and his duties included being an ammunition technician and managing explosive ordinance disposal.

He began his service in Greenville, South Carolina — roughly 150 miles from his hometown of Sumter, South Carolina — before moving to Columbia, South Carolina and on to Wilmington, Delaware.

“I was kind of like a lot of guys that went in the military. I served during peace time. I served at the end of the (Ronald) Reagan administration and the beginning of the (George H.W.) Bush administration,” Scott said. “I served just before the original Iraqi War, Operation Desert Storm. As a matter of fact, I received my discharge the day Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait City.”

Scott noted that he and his brother Rhett, who is four years older and served for six years in the Air Force, were both discharged on the same day.

“It’s interesting, (Rhett) had pretty much the same job in the Air Force that I had in the Marine Corps. He was munitions as well,” Scott said. “We received our discharge papers the exact same day. The timing is the most ironic thing. That same evening I received my papers I called him on the phone and he said ‘Yeah, I got mine today too,’ and that very same evening is the same evening that – I actually watched, I served with a tank crew at the time and I watched my tank crew that I just separated from get mobilized (to Operation Desert Storm).”

Scott’s family has a long history of military service.

“I came from a family of military service. My brother was in the Air Force, my mother was in the Navy and I’ve got a lot of uncles that were in the Army so I came from a family of military service,” he said. “It was just natural to me.”

His time in the service taught him discipline and how to make decisions under pressure, which he utilizes in his current role as a Randolph County commissioner as well as his former role as a Third Ward Elkins city councilman.

“The big thing is discipline and leadership. One of the things they ingrain in you at Parris Island (South Carolina), is being able to make decisions in under-pressure situation,” Scott said. “Being able to make those decisions when the pressure was on serves me to this day. I look back and I would do it all over again. It has benefited me to this day.”

Scott made several friends while serving in Greenville that still hold reunions today.

“There are some guys that, when I was in Greenville, that I really got close to. From time to time they do reunions and that type of thing. During my service there I got to know some really good friends,” Scott said. “To listen to their military service – many of them served in Vietnam – and to hear what they went through, what their service was like, showed me how much we should value peace and peace time.”

Although many veterans never saw combat, Scott said he believes they are still unsung heroes.

“It’s not just about my service but about all the guys and gals that served during peace time. When we took that oath, we all committed. All the people that served during peace time served vital roles,” Scott said. “Although we were not in war – we did not see action against an enemy – just the mere presence of our service was a deterrent to other countries not to attack. I think those guys and gals are unsung heroes as well.”

Scott concluded by saying he looks back fondly on his time with the Marine Corps.

“It’s been almost 30 years ago. You look back on it and it’s like a life ago but yet the skills and the training that you learned just carry with you for a lifetime,” he said. “That’s the bond that everyone in the military has. We’ve all been through that –a tough boot camp experience and whether we’ve experienced the action of war. I think they have a totally different brotherhood that they’ve been shot at, and that’s a totally different thing, but all of us have that comradery, especially Marines — the Marines are just a different brotherhood. They coined the phrase ‘The few, the proud.’ Once a Marine, always a Marine.”

Scott began serving as a Randolph County Commissioner on Jan. 1. Before that he served as a member of the Elkins City Council for six years. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and has worked for Allstate Insurance for nearly 25 years.

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