James Scott
Frank Hughes and Linda Moss Mines
James Scott and Rose Decosimo
James Scott, education curator at the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center, has been recognized with The National Medal of Honor Foundation’s Excellence in Character Education Award.
The Excellence in Character Education Award honors teachers who inspire their students to live by the values of the Medal: courage and sacrifice, commitment and integrity, citizenship and patriotism. Four educators from across the nation were honored at the recent Medal of Honor Foundation Gala at the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles.
Mr. Scott’s award was presented by Medal of Honor recipient, Brian Thacker, U. S. Army, Vietnam Conflict. Along with the award presentation, Mr. Scott received a $5,000 grant to further the educational program at the Heritage Center. Mr. Scott was accompanied to the awards ceremony by his mother, Rose Decosimo and the Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center was represented by Col. Frank Hughes, USMC [Ret], vice-president for Capital Campaign and Linda Moss Mines, vice-president, Education and Programming.
Mr. Scott was recognized for innovative curriculum design and a multi-faceted outreach program that reaches young people in public and private school classrooms, City of Chattanooga Recreational Center After-School programs and in community settings across the Southeast Tennessee region. Mr. Scott’s ‘Character Club’ booklets caught the attention of Medal of Honor recipient Chuck Hagemeister when he visited Chattanooga in July for a MOH Character Development Teachers’ Workshop, attended by more than 50 area teachers. His ideas are being adapted for other programs within the Medal of Honor instructional model.
Mr. Scott earned his B.A., History, summa cum laude, from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he was awarded the Iphigene Ochs Sulzberger Scholarship for American History, received the Outstanding Senior Award for scholastic achievement in history and was elected to membership in Phi Alpha Theta, National History Honor Society and Golden Key International Honor Society. In 2015, he earned his Master of Letters in War Studies from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, with distinction. He has served as an adjunct instructor in the History Department at UTC.
A U. S. Army veteran with two tours of duty in Iraq, Mr. Scott served as the Explosive Ordinance Disposal [EOD] platoon sergeant and team leader and was awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service in Iraq. Among his many duties with EOD, he planned and executed a UXO clearance operation in southern Baghdad, resulting in the removal and disposal of over 8,000 ordinance items.
A recognized piper, Mr. Scott is the son of Rose Decosimo and the late Robert Bruce Warren Scott, and he and his wife, Vanessa, are parents to Bobby.
For more information about the Coolidge Medal of Honor Character Development Program, contact the Center at localhistorycounts@gmail.com.