Edison
Scholes
Scholes
CPT · HQ ·
Known as "Angry Skipper 6"
In-Country Service
1967 – 1968
Home of Record
McCaysville, Georgia (raised; born Copperhill, Tennessee)
Character of Service
Honorable
Archive Status
Active
Primary sources: Edison Earl Scholes obituary (Dignity Memorial / Brentwood-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home, Oct 2024); Special Forces Green Beret Memorial career biography; Marquis Who's Who press release (4 May 2017).
1967
Company Command
Took command of D Company, 2/8 Cav — and became "Angry Skipper 6"
Capt. Edison Scholes assumed command of D Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 8th Cavalry Regiment (also serving as S-3, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry), 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile), during his first Vietnam tour, 1967–68. His commander in the division gave him the radio callsign/nickname "Angry Skipper 6" — "Skipper" was D Company's own callsign; "Angry" reflected, per his obituary, his "prickly disposition and immense desire to keep his men safe." The company's veterans' organization, the Angry Skipper Association — representing the men who served from 1968 through 1972 — takes its name directly from this nickname, "based on Ed's insistence to live by this creed." This archive's own working title traces to the same source. Participated in combat operations across I and II Corps Tactical Zones, including Bong Son, the An Lao Valley, Tuy Hoa, Dak To, Tam Quan, Hue, Quang Tri, Khe Sanh, the A Shau Valley, and the 101 Base Area. Awarded the Silver Star during this tour (specific action and date not yet documented in sources gathered).
1970
Ranger Advisor
Second Vietnam tour — Senior Advisor, I Corps Ranger Command
Returned to Vietnam 1970–71 as Senior Advisor, I Corps Ranger Command (ARVN), responsible for nine Ranger battalions (transitioned that year from Special Forces battalions) and a three-battalion Ranger Group, including the 75th Ranger Battalion, and for the American advisors embedded with them. Assisted in planning and support for BDQ participation in Operation LAM SON 719 — the first operational-level test of Vietnamization, conducted into Laos.
2024-10-23
Passed Away
Major General Edison Earl Scholes, USA (Ret.), dies at 85
Passed away peacefully in Franklin, Tennessee, surrounded by family, closing a 35-year Army career that ran from platoon leader to Deputy Commanding General, XVIII Airborne Corps, and a major NATO command in Turkey. Married to his wife Elva for 63 years. To be interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
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