When Scott returned to civilian life, he enrolled at Miami-Dade Community College under the G.I. bill. While Scott studied the history of Indochina and the pretext to the Vietnam War, he was amazed by the half- truths and lies that were being told by politicians in the press concerning the war effort. With the national press coverage of the reported massacre at Mai Lai, Scott was stunned to hear high ranking officials claim that the incident in question was isolated and that those practices and policies were not the norm. Scott knew first-hand that this was not the truth. He had participated in wiping out entire villages and knew of other battalions doing the same.
Upon graduating from Miami-Dade, Scott enrolled at the University of Florida. Scott found out about the Winter Soldier Investigation and was flown out to Detroit in 1971 to participate. During the three-day testimony, veterans recounted their personal tales of brutality and concurred that the atrocities committed in Vietnam were standard operating procedure.