Free Republic

Before his death, Navy flier escorted president to carrier Monday, September 13, 2004 By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette On May 1, 2003, Lt. Cmdr. Scott Zellem was standing in a briefing room at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego when President George W. Bush entered, wearing an olive-green naval flight suit. "Mr. President," Zellem said, "you look awesome." Lt. Cmdr. Scott Zellem, right, stands with Lt. Rockne Baker, left, and President George W. Bush.     "Thanks, 'Z-man,' " Bush replied, using Zellem's Navy call sign.Later that day, the president made a tailhook landing on the USS...

The U.S. Navy confirmed Friday that an aviator from Indiana was among four crewmen killed in the crash of a Navy jet in the Pacific Tuesday. Lt. Commander Scott Zellem, 35, was one of four San Diego-based airmen in a S-3B Viking jet that crashed on an uninhabited island after it had taken off from the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, deployed in the Western Pacific. The others killed were Lt. Patrick Myrick, 31, of Santa Monica, Calif.; Lt. James Pupplo, 34, of Selden, N.Y., and Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Joshua Showalter, 24, of Fontana, Calif. Zellem was...