ARLINGTON, Va. - An Oregon National Guard Soldier serving on a Title 10 active duty tour at the National Guard Bureau was killed in a Monday afternoon car crash near Fort Belvoir, Va., while driving home for a family dinner.
Army Master Sergeant William Scott Pitts’ more than 22 years in the military began in the active Army. He was posthumously promoted to master sergeant on Tuesday.
Colleagues at the National Guard Bureau remember him fondly, saying his strongest quality was how much of a family man he was to those he is survived by; his wife Vicki R. Pitts and their three children, daughters Crystal, 16, and Tonya, 9, and son Scott, 12.
“Scott was a wonderful provider, father and husband,” Vicki Pitts said of the Citizen-Soldier she called her best friend and soul-mate. “He was ambitious and outgoing with a great sense of humor.
“He was the kind of man that when he set his mind to something it would get done: I always knew that if Scott said he wanted it done, it would get done.”
“He was definitely a family man who loved his kids,” said Army Sgt. Maj. Euripides Perez, training noncommissioned officer, Joint Staff Current Operations. “The type of family man he was, you could tell that he really loved them.”
Perez said Pitts, who had family in Georgia, took the time to visit, even tending the graves of relatives who had already passed.
“He would go down there and cut the grass and repaint their headstones,” he said, “and that was his forte: You could tell that he was passionate about it and his family here too.”
“Sgt. 1st Class Pitts leaves a legacy for all to emulate, officer and enlisted alike,” said Army Sgt. Maj. Steven Howard, Domestic Operations and Joint Force Development sergeant major.
“We talked constantly, and he always wanted to know how to improve things; it was never just about him,” Howard said. “He wanted to know what he needed to do and learn so he could help others; he never took ‘no because I said so’ as an acceptable answer.
“He wanted to know the regulation or policy that supported a decision so he could share that information with others. He was always leaning forward seeking opportunities for him, his family and his Soldiers.
“He felt, as I do, that if a Soldier was in the same organization, they were his, and his goal and desire was to share with and improve all. … He was one of our future leaders and will be missed.”
Other colleagues remember Pitts as their “go-to” guy inside the Guard Bureau’s Joint Operations Communications Center.
“You could rely on him for anything,” said Brian Bailey, a civilian operations officer in the JoCC. “He was very knowledgeable and really knew how to do everything around here.
“He had a lot of responsibilities, and he was very passionate about his job.”
He could have done the job of everyone in the office, performing the functions at each of the positions that are vital to our nation, said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Darrell Clendennen, Joint Staff Current Operations sergeant major.
“In his military role, Scott’s heart and soul was with taking care of Soldiers, it’s what drove him at work,” Vicki Pitts said. “But at home he was a loving, caring father who took pride in his family. That includes the dogs, [Shasta and Buddy]. When Shasta had puppies last weekend, he called work to tell his co-workers she was having her puppies.”
“He came in … saying that he had gran-pups,” said Perez, still laughing about it. “He had a dog that he loved, and she had puppies, so he said he was a grandpa.”
Even though he carried a lot of responsibilities and was passionate about his work, his colleagues remember him as someone who would be the first to joke around or try to lift everyone’s spirits.
“He cracked jokes a lot,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Edward Gish, a noncommissioned officer in the JoCC.
“My daddy could move mountains,” Crystal Pitts said. “When he set his mind to something, it happened.”
The first time Crystal saw her dad move a mountain, it wasn’t a metaphor: When Crystal was still very young, the Pitts family lived on a large piece of property.
Scott thought an earth mound was too close to the house, so he moved it. To the young Crystal it seemed like a mountain.
“That may have been the first time, but not the last,” Vicki Pitts said. “I miss him.”
Outside of work, Perez remembers Pitts as an avid boater who loved the water and warm weather, and all of his colleagues remember him being a real estate enthusiast, who owned about nine properties.
“He was always inviting all of us to come out and hang out on his boats with him,” said Perez. “He was a good guy, a great NCO and really great to work with.
“He was my right-hand man. I leaned on him a lot, and he will be missed a lot.”
Pitts was not at fault in the accident, which remains under investigation, civilian media reported.
A Memorial Ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Fort Belvoir Main Post Chapel, 12th and Belvoir Road, at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 25, with Old Guard members providing Honor Guard and Bugler support.
Members of the NGB JoCC will provide escort services to Conyers, Ga., where the family will hold a graveside service in the near future.
Those arrangements are being handled by Wheeler & Harwell Funeral Home, 11405 Brown Bridge Road, Covington, GA 30016-3360, (770) 786-7111. The family has requested that any flowers, cards or donations be sent to the funeral home.
– Army Staff Sgt. Monette Wesolek contributed to this report.