He is originally from East Tennessee and told me that he joined the US Marines at age 19 looking for a brighter future when compared to others in his small community. Shortly after boot camp, he said he was sent to Iraq where he spent 8 months starting in 1991.
When Scotty returned to America in about 1992, he was prematurely discharged, but would not elaborate other than to say that the military continues to pay him a little over $200 per month for life. He told me that he found life troubling when returning to the states.
After being released from the Marines, he soon found himself in trouble with the law for attempted rape, felony theft and more. He then spent multiple years behind bars eventually being released in 2010. Scotty has been homeless on and off since his time in Iraq, according to what he told me on Sunday.