THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us….

I remember Lt. Schuler as a true leader who was always out front, never requiring his men to do anything that he, himself, would not do! He also taught young Vietnamese children English. A friend forever!!

Jim and I were classmates and were on the wrestling team also,he was a good friend. I always think about you when the Star Spangler Banner is played in Honor. I now serve on the Honor Guard for military funerals

Dear Lt James Schueller, Thank you for your service as a Field Artillery Unit Commander. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

On Saturday, June 17, 1967, a USAF Lockheed C-130B Hercules transport plane, serial number 60-0293, from the 772nd Troop Carrier Squadron with 49 passengers and seven crewmen aboard, was destroyed in a takeoff accident at An Khe Airfield in Binh Dinh Province, RVN. The aircraft was enroute to Pleiku when it developed a mechanical failure while departing. When the Hercules was nearing decision speed on take-off, the aircraft drifted to the left side of the runway. The crew brought the plane back onto the flight strip, but ran out of runway, sliding down an embankment where it burst into flames. None of the crewmen were lost in the crash, however, 34 of the passengers were killed; 15 survived. Of the 34 fatalities, 17 were U.S. military personnel, comprising of ten Army and seven Air Force members. The lost soldiers were SGT John E. Bernard, SP5 Robert L. Clukey Jr., SGT Howard E. Hurst, PSGT George T. Murray, SP5 Thomas R. Raschel, MAJ Benjamin F. Robertson Jr., 1LT James P. Schueller, MAJ Edward E. Strombeck, SSGT Willie L. Thigpen, and 2LT John W. Vaughan; the lost airmen included CAPT Herman G. Ebbinga, CAPT James R. Jones, LTC Paul F. Kiecker, 1LT Dennis S. Pazdan, MAJ Maurice A. Shaff Jr., TSGT William B. Weikal Jr., and SSGT Charles E. West. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and aviation-safety.net]