28 Mar 2003 Bob Giselbach, left; Jim Schueller, right. April 1967. 1LT Schueller extented his tour of duty in Vietnam for 6 months. As was the policy at that time the U.S. government would fly you to any place in the world. LT Schueller chose Germany to see and visit with his grandparents whom he had never met. As the plane was taking off it crashed. We were told a LT that fit the discription of LT Schueller was thrown clear of the burning aircraft, a C-130, but he chose to return to the flaming airplane to help the survivors when the airplane explosed. The photo is of me (left) and LT Schueller (right), taken in April 1967. I have the utmost respect for Lieutenant Schueller. He was a great officer. Bob Giselbach beg378@aol.com

 

A note from The Virtual Wall On 17 June 1967 a C-130 of the 722nd Troop Carrier Squadron, 463rd TCW, Mactan AB Philippines, was making a scheduled "round robin" flight originating at and returning to Tan Son Nhut. The aircraft was to make seven stops within South Vietnam before returning to Tan Son Nhut. At An Khe the Hercules started its take off roll for the next leg to Qui Nhon. Just before the aircraft was about to lift off it suddenly veered to the left and departed the runway. The pilots steered the aircraft back on to the runway but it overshot the end, ran down an embankment and burst into flames. Of the 56 passengers and crew on board a total of 35 were killed, including US, South Vietnamese, and South Korean troops. QL 19, the major highway from Qui Nhon and Pleiku, runs through the An Khe Pass and (about 35 km west of An Khe) the Mang Yang Pass. The Mang Yang Pass was the scene in 1954 of the ambush which effectively destroyed the French Groupe Mobile 100; the opening scene of the movie "We Were Soldiers" depicts this battle. Firebase Schueller, just past the Mang Yang Pass, was named for 1LT James Schueller.

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