Valley
Patriot of the Month -
Scott Dempsey
Tech. Sgt. James
Moore, USAF
 LAWRENCE
- Scott Dempsey and his contributions to
his country are nothing short of
noteworthy. They have been honorable and
just. He has been brave and steadfast.
The Valley Patriot is delighted to
showcase his service as November’s
Valley Patriot of the month.
Scott Dempsey was born in Lynn in 1982 to
the late Brian survived by his mother,
Laurie. Scott has one sibling, sister,
Lindsay. He pretty much lived a normal
life in the suburb of Boston where he
played little league baseball and Pop
Warner football with dreams of playing
for the Red Sox and the beloved Pats. He
was also raised in Lynn where he attended
Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute,
studying the Electrical Program as well
as lettered in Varsity Football.
Shortly after his 20th birthday, he
enlisted in the United States Army to
become a “19 Delta”, or also
known as a Calvary Scout. He left for
basic training on Apr 14, 2003 and earned
his stripes with the 5/15 Calvary, Bravo
troop, second platoon and graduated from
Basic Military Training. His
Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was
trained to be a 19 Delta, Armored
Reconnaissance Specialist. After 17 weeks
of total training, called OSUT, one stop
unit training, he graduated on August 15,
2003.
He traveled home to take some leave after
Basic Training and prior to going to
Germany for his first assignment and
boarded a flight to Germany. He reported
to Friedberg, home of the 1-37 ARBN (1st
Battalion, 37th Regimen Armored
Battalion), the Bandits.
Immediately upon his arrival to
Friedberg, he was informed that most of
his post was already deployed and he,
too, would soon be heading in that
direction. The foreshadowing of the story
was very obvious for Dempsey and he soon
left for Baghdad at the end of September
to join his scout platoon.
Since his unit was deployed and he was
the new guy, he had to work twice as hard
to be “squared away”. It was a
light scout platoon, or a platoon of
Hummvees. During the day, the scout
platton would provide gun truck security
to convoys, conduct route clearance
missions, special operations, and
sometimes, humanitarian missions. Scouts
wear many hats on the battlefield
including providing personal security for
the battalion commander as well as the
Command Sergeant Major. Dempsey, took his
responsibilities as a driver and scout,
“very seriously”.
By “very seriously”, he says, a
driver held the truck together, making
sure that it was up and running, every
day. Requiring it to be mission capable
at a moment’s notice-being a good
scout meant being a good mechanic and
very good at “acquisition” he
said tongue-and-cheek. Making sure the
job got done.
In April, 2004, Dempsey was promoted to
Private First Class and soon learned that
the tour had been extended indefinitely.
They moved from Baghdad to Karbala, where
intense door-to-door fighting took place
as well as heightened awareness for UXOs
(unexploded ordnance) and IED’s
(improvised explosive devices), since
this was new territory for the unit. For
the unit’s work in Karbala, they
were awarded the Presidential Unit
Citation. Additionally, Dempsey was
awarded Combat Spurs and Stetson. This is
the HIGHEST honor for a Calvaryman. By
the Order of the Combat Spur, he was
dubbed a Knight and entered in the rolls
of the grand and noble, Order of the
Spur. He was also awarded the Army
Commendation Medal for his actions in
Karbala.
After his time in Karbala and in late
August of 2004, he redeployed with his
unit to Germany. After a year and a
half there, he was honorably discharged.
When asked the simple question of
why he joined the Army, Dempsey answered
in a manner with such resolve and
fortitude that it can only come from a
war-weary veteran himself: “to sum
it up, my favorite subject is (American
History) the American Revolution. I love
the principles this country was founded
on. In the Battle of Lexington, four men
from Lynn were killed and two wounded.
Men from my city had a huge impact on the
formation of this country.”
He continues, “Also a long
tradition, as the Pine Grove Cemetery in
Lynn will show of great men giving their
lives for this great country.”
“…I came from a long line of
soldiers including a great grandfather
who stormed the beaches of Normandy,
winning the Bronze Star and Purple Heart…a
cousin served in Bosnia and another in
Somalia.”
In regard to his passion and love for our
wonderful nation and what it means to
benefit from being an American, he humbly
states:
“All these men that have come before
me…(have) given me this country that
I enjoy today. They passed the torch to
me, and it was my turn to have the honor
of defending my country-the honor of
carrying my nation’s flag into
battle.”
Dempsey, 26, is currently attending
Northern Essex Community College in hopes
of finishing his degree in Education and
becoming a high school History teacher.
“[I would like to] show tomorrow’s
young people how great this country is
and how it is worth defending and show
them how important the past is and its
relationship to the future.”
He is also battling another war within
himself due to his selfless service in
the Middle-East. He wants people to be
aware of and to not turn a blind-eye to
the affects of war.
“I would like to get involved
with Veterans and to help them navigate
the Veteran’s Affairs (VA) system.
In a sense, “a way of keeping a
brotherhood together even after service
is complete.”
He vows that, “the best way for a
Veteran to learn about the VA system is
through Veterans, not a teleprompt.”
So stay tuned for next month’s issue
of the Valley Patriot as we’ll learn
of PFC Dempsey’s struggles to obtain
assistance through the VA system, in his
words….
Scott, you are no doubt a Patriot. We
commend you for your service and look
forward to reading about your story, next
month-same place.
Tech. Sergeant James Moore is a recruiter
for the United States Air Force and our
Valley Patriot Hero Columnist. You can
e-mail Sgt. Moore at James. Moore.73@us.af.mil
or you can call him at
978-686-1464
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All
pictures and material are
(C) copyright, Valley Patriot, Inc., 2008
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