Photo By Sgt. Felicya Adams | Spc. Bobby Scott, a petroleum supply specialist with the 310th Expeditionary...... read more read more
By: Sgt. Felicya Adams
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – Like clockwork every Friday, a little boy returns to his routine. He grabs his younger brother, runs to the living room and is instantly glued to the television. For the next hour of his life, he has no worries, and nothing that he would rather do except devote his time to that one particular television show.
The show would come on at 8 o’clock, and it was a household occasion for the little boy and his family. It all started with a car called the General Lee.
“It was 1979, I was nine years old and I started watching ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ every Friday night,” said Spc. Bobby Scott, a petroleum supply specialist with the 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command and a Mooresville, Ind., native.
Scott grew up to become an avid collector of “Dukes of Hazzard” memorabilia and now owns a replica General Lee and Sheriff Rosco cruiser.
“I looked at my little brother and said, ‘I’m going to build me one of those cars one day,’ and I sure did,” Scott said. “I decided that I wanted to build a General Lee so I bought a ’69 Charger and made it the exact replica … same motor and everything.”
He has been fortunate enough to meet the original cast members from the show and befriend them. Part of living out his “Duke” dreams is by touring the country with his vehicles.
“I got to drive for five hours on the Atlanta Motor Speedway giving people rides around the track,” Scott said. “I also had the honor to meet John Schneider [who played Bo Duke] and handed my keys to Bo and Luke [Tom Wopat] and they both got to drive my car around the track,” he said.
His hobby has given him the opportunity to make new friends and share his love for the good ol’ boys.
“It’s been a whirlwind and a hobby that’s turned into a good friendship with a lot of good people and something that is innocent and a lot of fun,” Scott said.
He has also brought his love of the show to unit gatherings in the past to help raise the morale of the soldiers.
“I bring my cars to unit functions, because it brings back a lot of good memories for people, and I just like sharing my fun with people,” Scott said. “It puts people in good spirits.”
Not only has Scott been kind enough to share his memorabilia with his unit, but he has gone as far as introducing James Best, the actor who portrayed Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” to 310th ESC soldiers prior to their departure for deployment. Best spent an hour visiting at the 310th ESC home station telling stories and signing photographs for the soldiers.
Scott said, “Rosco did a show in Greenfield, Ind., and I called him on the phone and said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in coming to the 310th and meeting some of the soldiers and saying hi?’ and he said, ‘Absolutely Bob.’ It was his way to say thank you to the troops.”
Soldiers were definitely pleasantly surprised when Best showed up to the unit.
“I thought it was really awesome to have somebody so well-known to come see us and talk to us,” said Spc. Kaila Powell, a finance management technician with the 310th ESC and a Greenwood, Ind., native. “I also thought it was cool that somebody from our unit was willing to pull some connections and give us a morale boost.”
Scott said he enjoys sharing his experiences and fun with other people.
He also said he has loaned out his “Dukes of Hazzard” DVDs to soldiers in the unit to give them something fun to watch on their downtime.
“It makes me feel great to share it with the other soldiers because it’s something lighthearted and funny,” he said.
To help soldiers make their way through deployment and lift their spirits, Scott has got in touch with some of the cast members from the show and asked them to send autographed photos to individual fans in the unit.
“I got a hold of Daisy Duke [Catherine Bach] and Cooter [Ben Jones] and they both sent me an autographed picture specifically made out to some soldiers in the unit,” Scott said.
Ben Jones, who played Cooter, the Duke boys’ mechanic, continues to support the soldiers of the 310th ESC in his own way. Jones and his wife found some “Dukes of Hazzard” season DVDs, autographed them for the 310th soldiers and had them mailed in a care package to Iraq, Scott said.
When the package arrived, Scott was more than happy to share the gifts with fans from the unit. He shared items including stickers, hats, games, and of course, DVDs.
“It feels awesome to get things like this over here, stuff that people have a passion for,” said David Gonzalez, a support operations administration assistant with the 310th ESC and an Indianapolis, Ind., native.
Jones said over the years he has gotten requests and has sent packages in the past.
“I have great respect for people over there serving,” Jones said in a telephone interview. “It’s a cool thing that they love the DVD and we are glad as a cast to still bring joy around the world.”
“It makes me feel good, happy and proud to be a part of something that builds morale,” Jones said. “We want you all to come back to Hazzard County, and we sincerely appreciate the efforts there and we are proud to support.”
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2011 02:37 |
| Story ID: | 71604 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 129 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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