In 1968, Lt. Gary A. Scott, who grew up in Le Roy, Genesee County, was killed by gunfire in Vietnam. He died while protecting a fellow soldier, risking his life for another.
Scott’s friends and family have worked hard to honor his memory, to keep his story alive. As a Black man, Lt. Scott grew up in predominantly White community where he was accepted by all. He gained that same respect at Syracuse University and in the Army.
And on Aug. 27, the efforts to remember Lt. Scott bore fruit with the dedication of a section of Route 19 to Lt. Gary Scott. It runs from Bergen through Le Roy and to Pavillion, all in Genesee County.
I wrote in 2019 about a gathering to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the annual awarding of a scholarship in memory of Lt.
Scott.
Thanks to the efforts of his Syracuse roommate Jim Bruen and several others, the scholarship continues to recognize a Le Roy Central graduate who has overcome difficult circumstances.
Scott’s cousin Kathy Damann of Greece and others had advocated for dedicating the highway to further honor Lt. Scott, who received the Silver Star posthumously for his bravery.
“Our family and friends loved Gary dearly and always knew what a remarkable person he was,” she wrote in a tribute. “Now all of Le Roy and beyond has the opportunity to know Gary as we knew him – to learn about his accomplishments in just 22 short years, the strength of his character, and his extraordinary heroism.”
Bruce Brattain, who was a medic in Lt. Scott’s platoon, came from his home in Alaska along with his wife, Kathy, and son Carl, to attend the ceremony.
Brattain, who is 80, and Lt. Scott had been trying to save two fellow soldiers who had been wounded by enemy fire. It was March 29, 1968, a year after Lt. Scott graduated from Syracuse, where he had been a member of ROTC.
Lt. Scot’s last words to Brattain before he was fatally shot, were, “I got you, Doc.”
Brattain spoke at the ceremonies dedicating the highway.
“I wrote out a speech,” he said in a phone interview afterward. “And I had it practiced and all that good stuff. I walked up there and said that 'I’m not going to read a speech. That’s cold.' I winged it, and I talked directly to Gary and told him I loved and missed him.”
Brattain was struck by the welcome he received from Lt. Scott’s family. They are his family now.
“It felt so good coming down here,” he said. “All my thoughts about Gary were validated. They felt the same way I did. He was the same guy.”
All who knew and remember Lt. Scott hope that the scholarship continues.
“The big donors are all in their 80s, and this could come to an end,” Brattain said.
Anyone who would like to donate can send contributions to: Gary Scott Scholarship Fund, Le Roy Central School, 2 Trigon Park, Le Roy, NY 14482.
First days of school
It’s that time of year again, so here’s a bit of advice to all you kindergartners out there who have started, or are about to start, school. Be brave and take notes.
First day of school stories are key. You’ll tell them for years to come. But there will always be skeptics, especially family members, who will push back and tell you that your memory is faulty. You’ll need the notes, and pictures, too, to prove them wrong.
I love my first-day story and have told it often. But critics, led by my own mother, pushed back, resisted my version of the facts.
We lived in Little Valley, a small village south of Buffalo, and, as I remember, when I walked home from my first day of kindergarten, I got lost. A kind villager spotted me and gave me a lift home. I was saved.
The story demonstrates that it always takes a village. I like it.
My mother’s version was that I just dawdled coming home because I was angry that she didn’t take me to the school in the morning. She had two younger kids at home. They took priority,
Nonetheless, I’ll continue to tell my story, though I wish I had thought to write it down when I was 5 years old.
So, kindergartners, take pen (or crayon) in hand and record your version of that wonderful, awful, scary, first day. Then get to work. School’s OK. It really is.
From his home in Geneseo, Livingston County, retired senior editor Jim Memmott writes Remarkable Rochester about who we were, who we are. He can be reached at jmemmott@gannett.com or write Box 274, Geneseo, NY 14454,
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: This new highway designation keeps a local hero’s story alive
