Jerome Alan Schuett

Private Jerome Schuett
Private Jerome Alan Schuett from Reedsburg, was killed in action while serving with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam. Private Schuett was a rifleman with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. He was killed as a result of small arms fire on February 13, 1968 at the age of 19 years, 11 months and 23 days. His unit was in the city of Hue at the time, participating in what became one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the Vietnam war.


The Battle of Hue was a part of the Tet Offensive, a major campaign staged by the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong which began on the early morning hours of January 30, 1968. There was a prior agreement between North and South Vietnam that there would be a truce so both sides could celebrate the Tet festivities (Lunar New Year). However, the Viet Cong broke the truce by launching a coordinated military attack on more than 100 cities and towns throughout South Vietnam. This was the largest military operation of the war to date.



The initial attacks took the US and Vietnam armies by surprise but most were quick to recover and inflict massive casualties on the communist forces. The battle of Hue, however, was a different story.

Joshua Sanford

Captain Joshua Sanford


Joshua Sanford was a pilot with the 14th Air Force, 75th Fighter Squadron based in China during WWII. This Air Force was tasked with the job of helping defend China against the Japanese and to provide supplies to the Chinese Army. They were better known as "The Flying Tigers",  a name previously attached to the American Volunteer Group that was comprised of 100 pilots and 150 support personnel. 


The original Flying Tigers were under the command of Claire Chennault who took on the job of reorganizing the Chinese Air Force. President Roosevelt signed a secret executive order which allow Chennault to organize "unofficial" assistance with the Chinese. 


The AVG compiled one of the greatest records of the war before being discontinued in 1942. The name Flying Tigers came from the nose art painted on each plane which depicted the grinning mouth, flashing teeth and the evil eye of the tiger shark. Newspapers tagged them "Flying Tigers" and the name stuck. This group was credited with 294 enemy aircraft shot down while the Flying Tigers only lost 12 aircraft during their short tenure.

Bernard L Anderson

How a boy from LaValle became a Filipino Warlord.

In December, 1941, Bernard L. Anderson, who grew up grew up in LaValle, was frantically driving south in a brand new Oldsmobile. His cargo was yeast. Anderson was a First Lieutenant in the Air Corp serving as an administrative and supply officer in the city of Manila on the northern most island of Luzon of the Philippines. The Americans, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, had been order to retreat to Bataan when the Japanese invaded Luzon from the north at then end of 1941.

The retreating army had taken truckloads of flour with them for making bread but they forgot the yeast. Anderson returned to the nearly abandoned city to retrieve the yeast and then catch up with the armed forces whose destination was Bataan. The Bataan Peninsula was the last stand destination for the US and Philippino forces. They hoped to hold out until reinforcements could arrive from the United States. However, the Japanese forces began their siege on January 7, 1942. The majority of the American and Filipino forces surrendered on April 9 and were forced to march the 62 miles from Bataan to Tarlac, which became known as the Bataan Death March.

Anderson and a companion escaped into the mountains when the order to surrender was given. They hid from the Japanese in the jungle and trenches. With nothing to eat and very little to drink, they wandered through the jungle until they stumbled across a hidden mountain camp of Filipinos. “Those people took care of us, and they shared everything they had with us, ” Anderson said.

Several other American officers and men escaped from Bataan and guerilla groups began to form throughout the 40,000 square mile island. Eventually, 1,400 groups developed consisting of 250,000 guerilla fighters.