MS SC679

Master Sergeant Scott E. Pruitt, 38, from Gautier, Mississippi, was killed in action on April 28, 2012, by an improvised explosive device in Nimruz Province, Afghanistan.

Pruitt had voluntarily returned to combat duty just two months before his death, despite being scheduled to retire within a year, and served as Comptroller Chief with I Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton, California.

Pruitt graduated from Pascagoula High School in 1992, earned a BA in Criminal Justice from American Military University, and received multiple decorations including the Purple Heart Medal and Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal three times.

Pruitt is survived by two daughters, Jennifer (9) and Jordyn (4), and his fiancée Tricia Anderson-Lane of Virginia, with full military honors burial scheduled for Arlington National Cemetery on May 8, 2012.

The resolution honors Pruitt as one of at least 79 service members with Mississippi ties who died in Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan.