Ronald James Schultz

Sergeant First Class
D CO, 1ST BN, 506TH INF RGT, 101 ABN DIV
Army of the United States
27 May 1948 - 14 August 1978
Hillsboro, Kansas
Panel 08W Line 039

101 ABN DIV

506TH INF RGT
Combat Medic

Purple Heart, National Defense, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign

The database page for Ronald James Schultz

9 Sep 2002

I have been wearing his bracelet for about fifteen years.

Mary Adams
unicorn_46@yahoo.com
13 Jul 2003

I have been wearing his bracelet for 8 years. I had the desire to find out more about the name around my wrist. I wish good blessings to his friends and family.

David L. Stough
E-mail address is not available.

26 Dec 2004

Before I was born my father was drafted into the Army. He went and served in Vietnam. And thank God for me he came back. As far back as I can remember I have always seen this bracelet in my house. My mother told me that she bought the bracelet when my father was away in Vietnam to help support the troops. Well, it wasn't until I was old enough that I realized that it was more then a name on the bracelet.

I want to tell Ronald Schultz that I wear this bracelet to this day and that I will never let anyone forget that you made the ultimate sacrifice for your country. You may be gone but you are not forgotten.

Kenneth Adams, 26
New York
kendogg97@aol.com

6 Feb 2005

Those days in July of 1970 are always with me, my friend.
You will never be forgotten.

Currahee!

From a friend,
Tony Cox
afcox@webtv.net

20 Sep 2006

The day I left Fort Riley, Kansas with my unit (Service Battery, 1-5 FA, 1 Bde, 1st ID) my buddy placed the bracelet with this man's name on my wrist. It is now three years later and I have never removed the bracelet from my wrist. I am very grateful to finally learn about the young soldier whose name is on this bracelet. I had several wounded and lost one of my soliders while commanding in Iraq. I will never forget those men and this bracelet serves to carry their memory as well.

Pete Mehling
peter.mehling@us.army.mil

29 Apr 2007

My husband served in Vietnam and left about the time Sgt. Schultz was reported missing in action which is the reason I chose to wear his name proudly. I was blessed with the return of my husband, Spec. 5 Michael T. Sorensen.

I watched with anticipation as the MIA/POW's returned and was disappointed when he was not amoung the returnees. It is bitter sweet to know the story of Sgt. Schultz. My prayers and thoughts have always been with his family.

Midge Sorensen
midgesorensen@yahoo.com

Notes from The Virtual Wall

On 21 July 1970, then-PFC Ronald J. Schultz was serving as a medic with D Company, 1/506th Infantry, during operations in the A Shau Valley, when his unit was taken under heavy mortar, rocket, and automatic weapons fire. A number of soldiers were wounded during the initial exchanges of fire, including PFC Schultz, and medevac helicopters were called in.

A landing zone was secured and the casualties moved to it. As the first medevac helicopter approached the LZ it began to take enemy fire and was able to stay on the ground for only a brief period before the crew began an emergency take-off. At this point, PFC Schultz grabbed hold of the aircraft's right landing skid and was carried up with the Huey.

As the aircraft climbed to an altitude of about 400 above ground level - less from the tops of the triple-canopy jungle - PFC Schultz lost his grip and fell. The point at which he entered the jungle canopy was outside the US defensive perimeter and the enemy presence prevented any ground search. Other helicopters did make an unsuccessful air search of the area where he had fallen. Although a direct fall from 400 feet would have been fatal, there was a remote possibility that PFC Schultz' fall was broken by the jungle canopy and that he might have survived. If so, capture was a certainty, since the area where he fell was in enemy hands.

PFC Schultz was carried as Missing in Action until the Secretary of the Army approved a Presumptive Finding of Death on 14 August 1978, changing his status from MIA to Died while Missing/Body not Recovered.



Five men from D Company, 1/506th, were killed during the action described above:



Visit John Dennison's
Medics on the Wall
memorial which honors the
Army Medics and Navy Corpsmen who died in Vietnam.




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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 9 Sep 2002
Last updated 08/10/2009