No Longer Missing – A Rather Special Case
A soldier’s remains will be interred with full military honors during July. They will be interred long after his demise.
That, unfortunately, is not terribly uncommon. But this case is, for two reasons.
First: the individual – SGT Charles Schroeter, US Army – was a recipient of the Medal of Honor. It’s relatively rare to see a MoH recipient interred long after his demise.
Second: the man received his MoH in 1870 – for gallantry in action the previous year. His heroism occurred during an engagement with the Apaches in Arizona during the Indian Wars.
That engagement occurred during SGT Schroeter’s second enlistment. He had previously served in the Union Army during the Civil War, which began shortly after he immigrated to this nation from Germany.
SGT Schroeter’s remains were unclaimed after his death. His remains were cremated; the ashes were stored for a long period in a basement at Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego. Some years ago, they were interred in a communal crypt in that cemetery’s mausoleum.
Enter CAPT Bill Heard, USN (Ret).
CAPT Heard learned of SGT Schroeter’s remains being buried in that communal crypt. He researched the man’s history.
With substantial assistance from both the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the San Diego History Center, CAPT Heard was able to determine that this was the same SGT Charles Schroeter who had been awarded the MoH. After additional effort, CAPT Heard was able to convince the National Cemetery Administration of that fact.
SGT Schroeter’s remains were removed from the communal crypt containing them. They will be properly re-interred will full military honors at Mirimar National Cemetery on 9 July 2015. (The article gives more of his history, and is IMO well worth the time to read.) He will be the first MoH recipient interred at that cemetery.
Rest now in peace, my elder brother-in-arms.
And thank you, CAPT Heard.
Category: No Longer Missing, Real Soldiers, We Remember
Thanks Hondo.
These stories restore my faith.
Rest well, SGT.
What a great story, especially for an MOH recipient long forgotten. Thanks for sharing Hondo.
This story got me to thinking about the CMOH or, if you prefer, the MOH again. During the whole of World War II, 464 medals were issued, with more than half (266!) posthumous. During the Indian Campaigns, the numbers were 426 medals issued and 13 posthumous. That’s a helluva stark contrast, easily explained. The explanation is not that soldiers (all Indian Campaign medals were to soldiers) were more valorous and field hospitals better able to keep wounded soldiers alive than in World War II, but that the medals were more freely given for such things as bringing water to wounded troopers and pursuing cattle rustlers. The lack of lesser valor medals meant that some soldiers received either an attaboy or a CMOH. Citations were conclusory (e.g., “Gallantry in Action”) without much, if any, explanation. The medal simply didn’t carry the great import attached to it in modern times. I suppose it’s no skin off anyone’s nose to regard a WW II and Indian Campaign CMOH recipient as equally valorous and deserving, but the fact is, in view of the changed standards and additional valor awards available for those who followed the Indian Campaign troopers, they aren’t necessarily equal by a long shot. How else does one explain the number of peacetime medals formerly issued; that is, medals issued absent combat or an enemy?
Yeah, you can call me a party pooper, or worse. This trooper will have a proper military funeral and that’s enough for me.
Do you think this is an aberration? Think again. The most disposable items in this nation are human beings.
RIP
Whatever the circumstances of his MOH, he deserves the same care that all the others receive.
It is impossible to know the events so I believe that it is better to err on the side that he earned it.
Godspeed and thank you CAPT Heard.
I do not mean to suggest that he did not merit the medal. He most certainly did under the standards that existed in his day. Under today’s standards, maybe yes and maybe no. I can say that an inordinate number of medals were awarded for things that would be grounds for a Bronze Star, Silver Star, DSC, or a Soldier’s Medal nowadays.
My thanks to Captain Heard and all he did to bring this right. Rest in peace now SGT Charles Schroeter. Never forgotten and never will be.
This reminds me of another story. There is a MOH recipient buried in the old cemetery on Mare Island in Vallejo California. I have seen the grave stone, but can’t remember the conflict. It seems to me that it was after the Civil War but before WW I. Any one living in that area might want to check it out. The cemetery is on the far end of the island down by the freeway bridge.
He was one Alexander Parker. His medal citation reads, in its entirety, as follows: “For gallant conduct in attempting to save a shipmate from drowning at the Navy Yard, Mare Island, Calif., on 25 July 1876.” It is one of those instances that I referred to above in which, under quite different standards, not in combat, and without lesser medals to award, a serviceman received it or an attaboy.
Good work, 2/17. You have amazing Google Fu. I was there in 1979 servicing an ATON when we stumbled across the grave yard. It amazed me that it was in such sad shape. I would have thought that the Navy could have mowed the grass and cleaned up the weeds. It would have been good work for some of the brig rats. There were several historic graves therein. Some of the earliest american burials in California.
Wow! R.I.P. SGT Schroeter.