Scott Ottesen Awarded Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal

I thought that handsome soldier whose dress uniform photograph appears prominently on the top right hand corner of the Northwest Herald’s web page looked familiar.

I talked to this self-effacing McHenry man at the first NASA Veterans Stand Down that I attended at Camp Algonquin.

He’s Gunnery Sergeant Scott Ottesen.

“I’d rather have my Marines back than the medal. There’s nothing I can do about that,”

he told the Northwest Herald.

Here’s what I wrote next to his picture in working clothes:

” One of the service providers really played a salesman’s role. McHenry Scott Ottesen tries to let veterans know where they can obtain medical care.

“Locally, that is in McHenry across Route 31 from Centegra Hospital at the Central Medical Arts Complex (620 S. Rt. 31, Suite 4). The phone number is 815-759-2306. It’s open from 8:30 to noon and 1 to 4:30 Monday through Friday.”

School was off that day and his son accompanied him.

Sgt. Ottesen received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal from Congresswoman Melissa Bean (D-8th) on Sunday at Wauconda High School, says the NW Herald.

The Daily Herald reports,

“According to the official citation that accompanied his medal, Ottesen — then a staff sergeant — was leading amphibious assault vehicles in April 2005 when they were ambushed by the enemy. Although his vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, Ottesen provided cover for exposed infantry troops until they were clear.

“Then, in a separate clash that July, Ottesen maneuvered his troops under heavy enemy fire to support a platoon and evacuate casualties, the citation reads.

“Although his platoon commander recommended him for the commendation in 2005, Ottesen never received the medal — one of the U.S. military’s highest — because the paperwork got lost at the Pentagon. Bean’s staff tracked down the documents and secured the medal.”

And, this final comment about the war from both newspapers:

“We are winning this battle, no matter what you hear in the newspapers or on the news.”


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