Richard Merle Schooler
MilitaryAssigned to 815BS, 483BG, 15AF USAAF. Failed to Return (FTR) Weiner Neustadt in B-17F 42-29856 flak hit, lost two engines and trailing fuel, crew baled out before aircraft exploded. Prisoner of War (POW). 10-May-44. MACR 4836.
Awards: DFC, AM (6 OLC), PH, POW, WWII Victory, EAME, UN and Korean medal.
Post war: Remained in USAF, serving in Korean war and rising to the rank of Captain. Killed in a car accident 28-Jul-55.
Connections
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Units served with
![Seen through a 433rd Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress' strike camera, a 816th Bomb Squadron B-17 Flying Fortress (serial number 42-5786) nicknamed "Whizzer II" goes down over Nis in Yugoslavia on the 15th of April 1944 in a gout of flame after taking a direct flak hit. There were no survivors. Official caption on image: "(483BG:4M3:2VI) (4:15:1208) (24:21300) ([south-west arrow] 140 [degrees]) (Nis M/Y Yugo) (Ship 111 816 Sq)." Handwritten caption on reverse: '15/4/44. 483BG, 15AF. Nis, Yugoslavia. 42-5786](https://assets.americanairmuseum.com/s3fs-public/styles/teaser_thumb_x2/public/freeman/media-457805.jpg.webp?itok=YT0rrjph)
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Fifteenth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Patches
- Unit: 483rd Bomb Group 815th Bomb Squadron 99th Bomb Group 346th Bomb Squadron
Places
- Site type: Prisoner of war camp
- Known as: Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany
- Site type: Airfield
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
Sedgwick County, KS, USA | 9 October 1920 | Twin son of Garth Dewitt and Elma Raye [Barnes] Schooler. |
|
Enlisted |
Fort Riley, KS, USA | 30 March 1942 | Fort Riley Kansas USA |
|
Other Shot down / baled out |
Wiener Neustadt, Austria | 10 May 1944 | Failed to Return (FTR) Weiner Neustadt in B-17F 42-29856 flak hit, lost two engines and trailing fuel, crew baled out before aircraft exploded. POW. 10-May-44. MACR 4836. |
|
Other Prisoner of War (POW) |
Tychowo, Poland | 10 May 1944 | Prisoner of War (POW). Stalag Luft IV. |
|
Died |
Roanoke, VA, USA | 28 July 1955 | Killed instantly in a car accident at Roanoke, Virginia. 28-Jul-55. Car skidded and hit a tree, his wife and son were injured but survived. |
| Wichita, KS, USA | |||
|
Based |
Tortorella | 10 May 1944 | Assigned to 815BS, 483BG, 15AF USAAF. |
|
Buried |
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington Arlington County Virginia, USA |