MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJUENE, N.C. -- Family, friends, and fellow service members gathered at the base auditorium aboard Camp Johnson, a satellite installation of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, to celebrate the life of Master Sgt. Scott E. Pruitt, and remember his sacrifice, May 31.
Master Sgt. Scott E. Pruitt, a financial management Marine for 18 years and also instructor with the Marine Corps Combat Service Support Schools, was killed in action by enemy fire when his vehicle was struck by a roadside improvised explosive device on April 28, 2012.
“Pruitt never stopped surprising me,” said retired Master Sgt. Ron Scott, one of Pruitt’s mentors. “I had a special bond with him. He grew from this young, wide-eyed kid to someone I called a brother.”
Pruitt deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Nimroz Province in 2012.
“He not only wanted to deploy as a Marine,” said Lydia Hobson, Pruitt’s mother. “But as a human being. He wanted to help the people and children over there. When he got to Afghanistan he asked me to send him crayons and coloring books for the children in the hospital because they didn’t have the things American children had. He was a great man.”
It was his first deployment, said Hobson. He felt It was all he needed to do to complete his Marine Corps career. He volunteered to go on deployment to follow his junior Marines.
Pruitt is survived by his two daughters, Jennifer and Jordyn and his fiancée, Trisha Lane.
“Much of our relationship was a sacrifice,” said Lane. “But we did exactly what we had to do to make it work-because we loved each other.”
Pruitt was recognized for his actions and awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart in recognition for his actions and sacrifice in during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was also recognized by the Marine Corps Combat Service Supports Schools’ “Wall of Heroes” where his memorial frame hangs now.