Rock County, WisconsinBiographies"William Joseph Schneider" |
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WILLIAM JOSEPH SCHNEIDER William J. Schneider was raised on a farm now called Withering Heights on Wright Road on the outskirts of Janesville. Although he was not related to Harry Schneider, a U.S. Marine that was also killed in Vietnam, they were both on the same rural route and mail was often mixed up back in the 1960s. SP4 Schneider joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to C Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB). The Unit was originally scheduled to go to the Dominican Republic, but instead was rushed over to Vietnam in the western portion of the Central Highlands in mid-1966. On November 4, 1966, C Company was tasked to a search and destroy mission near the Cambodian border in Binh Long Province to locate suspected enemy infiltration. Walking "point" man, William was the first to have contact with the enemy. After a fierce firefight, William was shot and seriously wounded. Bob Mann (from Brookfield, Wisconsin) went forward to bring him back to safety. William was short, stocky, and heavy. He was also known in the Unit as a 'shutterbug' and always carried loads of film along and was always loaded down with extra ammunition and gear. As Mann carried and pulled William back, other men remember him having to keep taking William's gear off as it kept getting caught in the dense foliage. He was brought back to a safer area, evacuated to a field hospital, and eventually sent to Japan. Sadly, his wounds were so serious that he died on Dec. 1, 1966. Just after Christmas, a Mass was held for William and attended by some men from Wisconsin including Bob Mann, Mike Halpin, Tom White, and Robert McCartney. Tragically, Bob Mann (Brookfield) was killed only days later on Jan. 8, 1967, Robert McCartney (Janesville) was killed on April 15, 1967, and Tom White died of alcoholism after he returned from Vietnam. Mike Halpin, to this day, still remembers all of these soldiers and that fateful day. For his actions on November 4th, SP4 Schneider was awarded the Silver Star. William Joseph Schneider's name is on the Vietnam Wall at Panel 32W, line 33.  |
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