Veterans Day 'A Good Day to Remember’

As Veterans Day approaches Nov. 11, many Americans give thanks for the sacrifices made by past and present members of the military. 

Veterans of past eras may salute the young people they were, answering the patriotic call and going in for “the adventure of it all.” They may grin as they think of the people with “colorful personalities” they’ve met through bootcamp and their service and the adventures of seeing new places. And then they may quietly reflect on how these memories helped offset times of the “doldrums” of everyday military life and the tragic backdrop of war and conflict that called them to their overseas stations.

“I wanted to make a man out of me and also I wanted to travel,” said Lucius Scott, 89, a native of Hammond and veteran of the Korean War. At 19 years old he was drawn to the Navy, so he enlisted in 1951. 

He went through the ritual of “shaving of the head” and went through bootcamp at the Naval Training Center in San Diego. 

“It was lonesome in a way,” said Scott about his first time being away from home. But he said California was “a beautiful state” and he enjoyed the social life.

After bootcamp he came home and married his high school sweetheart, Ida, who is now deceased. The ship he was stationed on, the U.S.S. El Dorado, was being renovated in Vallejo, California, so the newlyweds rented a cottage for their honeymoon before he shipped out.

Scott’s dreams of “seeing the world” took him to places such as Japan, China, the Philippines and Pearl Harbor.

But a majority of Scott’s time was spent in Korea. He served as a seaman and his duties included taking care of dry provisions and working in the ship’s galley. There were about 1,000 men aboard.

The U.S.S. El Dorado was an amphibious force flagship, a floating command post with advanced communications equipment which provided information to the amphibious forces and landing force commanders during large-scale operations. 

Although he spent most of his service offshore of Korea Scott did not spend much time on land because of the conflict. 

“It was kind of scary. It had been bombed. It was pitiful looking,” Scott said.

One of the most challenging times for Scott was caused by Mother Nature, something that resonates with many Louisianans. When the ship was on its way to Japan it was battered by a typhoon.

“They had to weld it to keep it together. It was really rough and we had to put our life jackets on,” Scott said. “We didn’t lose the ship but under the big waves the whole ship would go underwater, and it was pretty tall.”

When he visited Japan he had “liberty every day” and was able to see “the Great Buddha” statue, climb mount Fuji and see a little bit of the artwork of that country. He enjoyed the scenic beauty and people he visited in each of the countries.

But his time in the service and “seeing the world” deepened Scott’s appreciation of home.

A graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University with a degree in interior design, Scott opened a popular art gallery in downtown Baton Rouge. He ran the Lyceum, a popular wedding reception hall and ballroom. This drew him to belong to the Downtown Business Association, of which he was president for five years.

Now a resident of Ollie Steele Burden Manor Nursing Home in Baton Rouge, which is owned by the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady, Scott keeps in touch with his two sons, Thomas, who lives in Colorado, and Brian, who retired after 35 years in the Army and lives in Oregon. He has seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Keeping a faith-perspective helps people make it through difficult situations, said Scott, who is Methodist. He still watches the news and sees those currently serving in harm’s way and finds that Veteran’s Day is a good way to keep them, and veterans of all ages, on people’s minds and in their prayers.

“It’s a good day to remember,” said Scott.