For conspicuous devotion to duty, extraordinary courage, and complete disregard for his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. The compartment in the U.S.S. California in which the air compressor to which Scott was assigned as his battle station was flooded as the result of a torpedo hit. The remainder of the personnel evacuated that compartment but Scott refused to leave, saying words to the effect "This is my station and I will stay and give them air as long as the guns are going."