Airman 1st Class Donald Scott
U.S. Force – Electric Lineman
Civil Engineers
Colorado, Guam
1982-1986
U.S. Force – Electric Lineman
Civil Engineers
Colorado, Guam
1982-1986
Don Scott was born March 25, 1958, in Granite City, Illinois. After a year the family moved to Biddeford, Maine and a year later moved to Saco, on the Maine coast. Don had four sisters and three brothers. Saco was one of the biggest towns in the state but was really a small town with a population of around 12,000. Don recalled his idyllic childhood being similar to the kids in the movie Sandlot. He remembers trading comic books with the “Carnies” at the summer carnival for free rides. Most of his time was spent outside climbing and falling out of tree. He rode his bike everywhere and each neighborhood had its own baseball and football team.
Don’s father worked in a tannery and his mother was an emergency room nurse. Don and his siblings would often see their mother while she was working.…when they were being treated for injuries. Don recalled his mother speaking several languages and being “a real go getter”.
Don attended Thorton Academy in Saco, Maine. He recalled there were “a couple hundred kids” in his graduating class. The school had the feel of a college campus, and residents of Saco attended free of charge. While Don didn’t enjoy school, he did enjoy art and history. That will be important later in his life. He graduated in 1976 and “didn’t really have interest in anything”.
After high school Don found a job at Bill’s Pizza in Orchard Beach, Maine. In the 1970’s Orchard Beach was a tourist destination, and its population swelled in the summer. Don’s friend, Mike Martel, always talked about hiking from Maine to California since he was in the Boy Scouts. Don said he would like to do that, and the boys headed to the mall to buy a map (no GPS then), picked out sights they wanted to see and plotted out their trip.
The modern-day Lewis and Clark left Maine in late 1979. They hiked from Saco across to the Appalachian Trail and headed south. Over 11 and a half months the hikers passed through 23 states and logged 3,500 miles. They walked briskly and were able to cover 15 miles each day. Most nights they camped in their tents. “We camped wherever we could”. When they came upon a town or city, they would knock on someone’s door and ask permission to camp in their back yard. Sometimes they would sleep in the woods or out in the open when they hit the western states with their wide-open spaces. The boys had some relatives along the way, and they stayed with them. “It was the trip of a lifetime”. The trip left them with a treasure trove of stories.
In Kentucky, they camped in the woods. One night “guys with guns and dogs woke us up”. The men wanted to know what the boys were doing. After they explained their story, everything was fine. The men told them, “We’re having problems with kids planting marijuana in the neighborhood. We thought you were them”.
“Every place you went there was a great story”. They camped on the bank of the Buffalo River in Arkansas. “It was loaded with fish”. One evening they were awakened by splashing in the river. There was a full moon, but they couldn’t see anything. They next day they saw bear droppings and bear prints. They boys packed up and began hiking through thick brush. Off in the distance they could hear “some banging” in the woods, and they were sure it was the bear. Mike started banging his mess kit, but the bear began running at them. Don pulled out his camera “to at least get a picture of what ate us”. From the brush emerged a man with a camera wanting to know what the noise was. “We thought you were a bear.” The man replied, “I was trying to climb the tree, to get a picture of the river”.
The hiker’s plan was well thought through. They sent extra cloths, boots and freeze-dried foods to various national parks and asked them to store them until they arrived. Don said multiple times, “we met the nicest people”. Sometimes people would invite them to barbeque with them, allowed them to sleep in their home, allowed them to fill up their water bottles and take showers in their homes. On two occasions the homeowner allowed them to sleep in the house and when they left for work the next morning, they told Don and Mike “the house yours, just close the door when you leave”. On Christmas Day they were camping in Texas, and they were invited for Christmas dinner.
Don was the photographer, and Mike kept a journal. They recorded the daily weather, plants and rock formations they came upon and other noteworthy sites and happenings. When they reached California they took a bus back to Saco, Maine. The trip left Mike and Don with a lifetime of memories.
When Don arrived back in Saco he still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life. He found work at a local Nike plant, but he didn’t like being cooped up inside. Don decided the military would be a good place for him to find his path in life. Don’s father was in the Air Force in Korea and two of Don’s Brothers were in the military. Don went to see the Air Force recruiter and scored well on his test. The recruiter told him he could do anything he wanted in the Air Force but Don couldn’t find anything that called him. He elected Open Electronics as his job. He hoped that this would lead to something he would really enjoy.
Don went to Lackland Air Force Base for eight weeks of boot camp. He found the physical aspect very easy. “It was a joke”. “It’s a mental game…they’re just gonna see if you can take it”. One drill instructor appointed Don as the Road Guard. The Road Guard was the last man in the squad and during a march and when the squad approached a road, the command would be given “Road Guard Out”. The Road Guard would sprint from the back of the line to the front and block traffic. When the unit had passed through then the Road Guard would fall into the back of the line. The other responsibility was to get in line for meals. When a Road Guard took his place in line no other airman could pass him to get into the mess hall. As you can imagine this led to some uncomfortable situations. Don recalled being sent ahead to hold his squads place in line for lunch. Don’s squad was late in arriving and he was holding up 100’s of men who wanted to eat. He had drill instructors screaming in his face to allow the other airmen to pass. Don refused. Finally, his squad arrived, and his drill instructors were impressed.
One day the airmen were given the opportunity to take a climbing test. This would determine if they qualified to be an electrical lineman or a telephone lineman. Don passed the test and received orders to report to electrical lineman school at Shepard Air Force Base in the Texas panhandle. The mornings were spent climbing poles of various sizes and Don became quite proficient. The training lasted 10 weeks. As the training came to a close Don completed his dream sheet of where he wanted to be assigned next and his number one choice was Lowery AFB in Colorado. This would allow him to spend a lot of time out of doors rock climbing and skiing. Don got his wish.
For the next two and a half years Don worked on the electrical lines around the base. Don was part of the Civil Engineers. “If you need something constructed, they’re the guys”. Don maintained the lines and was assigned other mundane jobs when things were slow. As the junior lineman in the squadron, he would be sent to Roads and Grounds where he shoveled sand on to the roads during snowstorms. As his time at Lowery wound down, he completed another wish list with Guam as his first choice. Guam would allow him to scuba dive. As luck would have it, he was assigned to Guam.
Don arrived at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, and it was decidedly hotter than Colorado. When work was slow, Don did his best to hit the beach and scuba dive. This tour lasted 15 months and Don decided he would not extend his enlistment.
Don returned to Saco, Maine and took a temporary job with a cable company installing cables and then a job with Central Maine Power as a meter reader. Don decided to take a trip to visit a buddy from the Air Force who lived in Schenectady, New York. When he returned home to Maine, he found he had left his camera in New York. Luckiliy, in more ways than one, his buddy’s sister-in-law was going to Maine on vacation and agreed to return the camera. Don went to pick up the camera from Mary Curran and the two hit it off. In March of 1989 Mary and Don were married.
The couple decided to settle down in Schenectady, New York. Eventually Don landed a job as a lineman with New York Telephone which eventually morphed into Verizon. He retired 30 years later in 2021.
Don had enjoyed history and art, especially painting, in high school. He always had his sights set on resuming his painting when he retired and now, he had his chance. His first painting was of a co-worker who agreed to pose. He painted a dramatic portrait of him with the U.S. Constitution in the background. The painting was rich in colors and very vivid. It created quite an interest, and a friend suggested he paint veterans. Don painted his first veteran and posted a photo of his work it online. It created great interest and soon referrals were coming in. Don’s process includes taking several photos of each veteran that he will use to create his painting. He also interviews the veterans to capture and preserve their history. Thus far he has painted 17 veterans, and he has a backlog. It takes him about a month to complete a painting. In retirement Don finds himself giving back to fellow veterans.
Don, thank you for serving your country and thank you for giving your time to paint and interview U.S. veterans. Preserving their image and history is very important.
Don’s father worked in a tannery and his mother was an emergency room nurse. Don and his siblings would often see their mother while she was working.…when they were being treated for injuries. Don recalled his mother speaking several languages and being “a real go getter”.
Don attended Thorton Academy in Saco, Maine. He recalled there were “a couple hundred kids” in his graduating class. The school had the feel of a college campus, and residents of Saco attended free of charge. While Don didn’t enjoy school, he did enjoy art and history. That will be important later in his life. He graduated in 1976 and “didn’t really have interest in anything”.
After high school Don found a job at Bill’s Pizza in Orchard Beach, Maine. In the 1970’s Orchard Beach was a tourist destination, and its population swelled in the summer. Don’s friend, Mike Martel, always talked about hiking from Maine to California since he was in the Boy Scouts. Don said he would like to do that, and the boys headed to the mall to buy a map (no GPS then), picked out sights they wanted to see and plotted out their trip.
The modern-day Lewis and Clark left Maine in late 1979. They hiked from Saco across to the Appalachian Trail and headed south. Over 11 and a half months the hikers passed through 23 states and logged 3,500 miles. They walked briskly and were able to cover 15 miles each day. Most nights they camped in their tents. “We camped wherever we could”. When they came upon a town or city, they would knock on someone’s door and ask permission to camp in their back yard. Sometimes they would sleep in the woods or out in the open when they hit the western states with their wide-open spaces. The boys had some relatives along the way, and they stayed with them. “It was the trip of a lifetime”. The trip left them with a treasure trove of stories.
In Kentucky, they camped in the woods. One night “guys with guns and dogs woke us up”. The men wanted to know what the boys were doing. After they explained their story, everything was fine. The men told them, “We’re having problems with kids planting marijuana in the neighborhood. We thought you were them”.
“Every place you went there was a great story”. They camped on the bank of the Buffalo River in Arkansas. “It was loaded with fish”. One evening they were awakened by splashing in the river. There was a full moon, but they couldn’t see anything. They next day they saw bear droppings and bear prints. They boys packed up and began hiking through thick brush. Off in the distance they could hear “some banging” in the woods, and they were sure it was the bear. Mike started banging his mess kit, but the bear began running at them. Don pulled out his camera “to at least get a picture of what ate us”. From the brush emerged a man with a camera wanting to know what the noise was. “We thought you were a bear.” The man replied, “I was trying to climb the tree, to get a picture of the river”.
The hiker’s plan was well thought through. They sent extra cloths, boots and freeze-dried foods to various national parks and asked them to store them until they arrived. Don said multiple times, “we met the nicest people”. Sometimes people would invite them to barbeque with them, allowed them to sleep in their home, allowed them to fill up their water bottles and take showers in their homes. On two occasions the homeowner allowed them to sleep in the house and when they left for work the next morning, they told Don and Mike “the house yours, just close the door when you leave”. On Christmas Day they were camping in Texas, and they were invited for Christmas dinner.
Don was the photographer, and Mike kept a journal. They recorded the daily weather, plants and rock formations they came upon and other noteworthy sites and happenings. When they reached California they took a bus back to Saco, Maine. The trip left Mike and Don with a lifetime of memories.
When Don arrived back in Saco he still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life. He found work at a local Nike plant, but he didn’t like being cooped up inside. Don decided the military would be a good place for him to find his path in life. Don’s father was in the Air Force in Korea and two of Don’s Brothers were in the military. Don went to see the Air Force recruiter and scored well on his test. The recruiter told him he could do anything he wanted in the Air Force but Don couldn’t find anything that called him. He elected Open Electronics as his job. He hoped that this would lead to something he would really enjoy.
Don went to Lackland Air Force Base for eight weeks of boot camp. He found the physical aspect very easy. “It was a joke”. “It’s a mental game…they’re just gonna see if you can take it”. One drill instructor appointed Don as the Road Guard. The Road Guard was the last man in the squad and during a march and when the squad approached a road, the command would be given “Road Guard Out”. The Road Guard would sprint from the back of the line to the front and block traffic. When the unit had passed through then the Road Guard would fall into the back of the line. The other responsibility was to get in line for meals. When a Road Guard took his place in line no other airman could pass him to get into the mess hall. As you can imagine this led to some uncomfortable situations. Don recalled being sent ahead to hold his squads place in line for lunch. Don’s squad was late in arriving and he was holding up 100’s of men who wanted to eat. He had drill instructors screaming in his face to allow the other airmen to pass. Don refused. Finally, his squad arrived, and his drill instructors were impressed.
One day the airmen were given the opportunity to take a climbing test. This would determine if they qualified to be an electrical lineman or a telephone lineman. Don passed the test and received orders to report to electrical lineman school at Shepard Air Force Base in the Texas panhandle. The mornings were spent climbing poles of various sizes and Don became quite proficient. The training lasted 10 weeks. As the training came to a close Don completed his dream sheet of where he wanted to be assigned next and his number one choice was Lowery AFB in Colorado. This would allow him to spend a lot of time out of doors rock climbing and skiing. Don got his wish.
For the next two and a half years Don worked on the electrical lines around the base. Don was part of the Civil Engineers. “If you need something constructed, they’re the guys”. Don maintained the lines and was assigned other mundane jobs when things were slow. As the junior lineman in the squadron, he would be sent to Roads and Grounds where he shoveled sand on to the roads during snowstorms. As his time at Lowery wound down, he completed another wish list with Guam as his first choice. Guam would allow him to scuba dive. As luck would have it, he was assigned to Guam.
Don arrived at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, and it was decidedly hotter than Colorado. When work was slow, Don did his best to hit the beach and scuba dive. This tour lasted 15 months and Don decided he would not extend his enlistment.
Don returned to Saco, Maine and took a temporary job with a cable company installing cables and then a job with Central Maine Power as a meter reader. Don decided to take a trip to visit a buddy from the Air Force who lived in Schenectady, New York. When he returned home to Maine, he found he had left his camera in New York. Luckiliy, in more ways than one, his buddy’s sister-in-law was going to Maine on vacation and agreed to return the camera. Don went to pick up the camera from Mary Curran and the two hit it off. In March of 1989 Mary and Don were married.
The couple decided to settle down in Schenectady, New York. Eventually Don landed a job as a lineman with New York Telephone which eventually morphed into Verizon. He retired 30 years later in 2021.
Don had enjoyed history and art, especially painting, in high school. He always had his sights set on resuming his painting when he retired and now, he had his chance. His first painting was of a co-worker who agreed to pose. He painted a dramatic portrait of him with the U.S. Constitution in the background. The painting was rich in colors and very vivid. It created quite an interest, and a friend suggested he paint veterans. Don painted his first veteran and posted a photo of his work it online. It created great interest and soon referrals were coming in. Don’s process includes taking several photos of each veteran that he will use to create his painting. He also interviews the veterans to capture and preserve their history. Thus far he has painted 17 veterans, and he has a backlog. It takes him about a month to complete a painting. In retirement Don finds himself giving back to fellow veterans.
Don, thank you for serving your country and thank you for giving your time to paint and interview U.S. veterans. Preserving their image and history is very important.