Tom William Scott

Tom William Scott (October 8, 1902 – December 22, 1988) was a brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force who served in World War II and the Korean War. He started his military career in 1930, becoming a fighter pilot and flying instructor. He was posted to the Philippines in the late 1930s. He commanded an air base in the United Kingdom during World War II. During the Korean War he served as vice commander of the 20th Air Force and went on two combat missions. He retired in 1957. He was the father of astronaut David Scott.

Early career Tom William Scott was born in Wichita, Kansas, on October 8, 1902. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1926, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Air Corps in May 1930.

Scott served as a fighter pilot and assistant aircraft engineering officer at Rockwell Field, California, and as a flying instructor and supply and mess officer at March Field, California. He was stationed at Nicholas Field in the Philippines from 1937 to 1939. On returning to the United States, he was posted to Brooks Field, Texas.

Scott returned to the United States in 1946, and became the deputy chief of staff for materiel of the 12th Air Force at March Field. He attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1949, and then became the deputy commander of Ellington Air Force Base in Texas. In September 1949, he was posted to Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma as a wing and base commander, and served as the deputy commander of the Flying Training Air Force at Waco, Texas until 1952. His final posting, on July 15, 1955, was deputy commander of the San Antonio Air Materiel Area, at San Antonio, Texas. He retired on March 1, 1957. Scott's decorations include the Legion of Merit with an oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star Medal and the Croix de Guerre with palm.