A Former Scout Has Gone Home (Long)

It is with regret that I wish to announce the passing of a former Scout.

Albert "Scotty" Olsberg was born in Scotland on February 4th, 1900. He
joined the Boy Scouts in Scotland in 1911 and received the King's
Scout award in 1914.

When "The Great War" broke out, Scotty tried to enlist, but was turned away
because he was too young. He discovered that he _could_ enlist as a drummer
boy, if he had his parents' written permission. It took him awhile, but he
received it, enlisted in the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders and was
assigned to the regimental artillery as a drummer boy.

He deployed with his regiment to France in 1915. The Scots went into battle
preceded by pipers. By early 1916, the losses amongst the pipers were so
high that some of the drummers were cross-trained as pipers. Scotty was one
of them. About the time he was due to go "over the top" in the summer of 1916
as a piper, the Royal Army pulled the pipers out of the front lines (much to
the disgust of the pipers), as they were in danger of becoming extinct.

Scotty was reassigned to serving in the light artillery as a gunner. He
was wounded, and while he was recovering, he applied for officer training
and was accepted. Scotty was commissioned as a subaltern (equivalent to a
2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army) in the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders
shortly after his 17th birthday.

I should mention in passing that almost 25% of the British men between
the ages of 17 and 45 were killed outright in World War I. "The Unknown
Scout" who led William Boyce to the Scout headquarters in London in 1909
was probably among them. Scotty was one of an unknown, but large number
of Scouts from all the combatant countries, including Germany and Austria,
who served with honor in the armed services of their respective countries.

The median life expectancy for Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Army in
World War I was reported to be about 7 seconds when they went "over the
top" in a frontal assault against the German entrenchments. The Germans
tried to shoot the officers first so as to demoralize the enlisted troops.

I imagine the life expectancy of a Royal Army subaltern was much the same.
Scotty beat those odds, but only just.

Scotty went "over the top" several times over the next year and was
severely wounded in the summer of 1918. Whilst he was recovering from his
wounds in England, the armistice was signed, ending World War I. Scotty was
medically retired as a subaltern in the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders.

He emigrated to the USA a few years later. He got into the food service
field, and by 1941, he was in charge of food service for a country club,
was married, and had children.

Sunday, December 7th, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The next
day, Scotty attempted to join the U.S. Army to defend his adopted country.
He was initially turned away because of his age (almost 42) and the severity
of his wounds. However, General H.H. "Hap" Arnold heard about this feisty
little former Scottish infantry officer who would not take "no" for an answer
and selected him to set up general military training for the flood of Air
Cadets who were arriving at Randolph Field in Texas for pilot training.

Scotty became a 42 year old Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps.

After getting that program running, Scotty was sent as part of the advance
party to England to get food service running for the 8th Air Force. When
he had that running well, he requested (for the umpteenth time) a combat
assignment, which request (also for the umpteenth time) was refused.

Scotty started stowing away on bombers flying combat missions over Germany
and served as an enlisted gunner (although he was a Major by this time).
He was wounded severely. After World War II, he was medically retired as
a Major in the U.S. Army Air Force.

After World War II, Scotty re-entered the food service field. Camarillo
State Hospital (insane asylum) had become a "snake pit". The food service
for the patients was terrible. In 1950, Scotty was asked by the governor
of the State of California to go there and square away the food service
there.

He was appalled by what he found. The state of California did not budget
enough money to provide milk for the patients, and that was one of the
milder problens there. Scotty went "ballistic". He went into battle with
the state legislature. He also reportedly at one point pounded on the
governor's desk and roared, "Ye sent me there to make the place livable!
Now gie (Scottish Dialect for "give") me the money to do the damned job!!"
Ultimately, he bulldozed them into providing enough money for him to buy
wood and concrete and some cows.

Scotty and the inmates built a diary from scratch and operated it as a
self-help project. He had intended to stay for a year at most, but ended
up staying for 20 years until he retired in 1970 at age 70.

After retiring, Scotty stayed active in civic affair with the Rotary club,
the Masons, and the Military Order of the World Wars. He also visited with
Scout troops in our local area, waering his dress uniform as a subaltern
of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders.

At his funeral a few weeks ago, Bill Boetticher (A Scouter who piped the
sound track for the movie, "Dead Poets' Society") and I piped for him for
the final time. At the family's request, we played "Amazing Grace" and
then segued into "Going Home" from Dvorak's "New World Symphony".

I miss Scotty. He was a true gentleman and the very epitomy of what a
Scout should be. My feelings for him are best expressed in the verse sung
by the families of Scottish soldiers as their sons, husbands and fathers
went off to war, to the tune of "Will Ye No Come Back Again?":

Off to war, you're bound again,
Will ye no come back again?
If you live or die 's beyond our ken,
Will ye no come back again?

Chorus:
Will ye no come back again?
Will ye no come back again?
Better loved ye canna' be,
Will ye no come back again?

Yours in Scouting,

Rodger
Rodger Morris <rodger@fishnet.net>
Scoutmaster, Troop 852 Wood Badge 416-18
Ventura County Council at Philmont, 1973
Camarillo, California, USA "I used to be a Beaver..."

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