#VeteranOfTheDay Air Force Veteran Gerald J. Scoville

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran Gerald J. Scoville, who retired from the Air Force and Pearl Harbor naval police.

Gerald J. Scoville was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in December 1930. Before enlisting in the Air Force in 1948, he dropped out of high school to work on a farm and provide for his family.

Scoville completed basic training at Lackland Air Force base near San Antonio, Texas. Afterward, the Air Force sent him to England to train as an air policeman aboard a troop transport ship.

An air policeman, Scoville guarded the aircraft used in the Berlin airlift during the Cold War. He later deployed to Korea during the Korean War. Despite being on active duty during the Vietnam War, Scoville never deployed due to a serious knee injury he incurred during training.

In total, Scoville served in England, Germany, Korea, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Nevada, and Hawaii.

He met and married his wife, Christina, in 1951. Throughout their marriage, the couple had five children and four grandchildren.

After 24 years of service, Scoville retired from the Air Force in 1972 at the rank of technical sergeant. He became a Pearl Harbor naval police major of operations before his retirement in the early 1990s.

Scoville died in Kapolei, Hawaii on Feb. 2, 2013, at the age of 82.

We honor his service.

Nominate a Veteran for #VeteranOfTheDay

Do you want to light up the face of a special Veteran? Have you been wondering how to tell your Veteran they are special to you? VA’s #VeteranOfTheDay social media feature is an opportunity to highlight your Veteran and his/her service.

It’s easy to nominate a Veteran. All it takes is an email to newmedia@va.gov with as much information as you can put together, along with some good photos. Visit our blog post about nominating to learn how to create the best submission.

Contributors

Writer: Rachel Heimann

Editor: Kailey Miller 

Fact checker: Crystal Moore

Graphic artist: Deanna Cannon