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.



Hue was a city of historical and cultural significance and because of that, Allied forces were ordered not to shell the city. When enemy troops moved into the city from the north, they had sufficient time to dig into their defensive positions, set up multiple sniper locations in buildings as well as makeshift machine gun bunkers. This was the situation facing the Allies when they tried to retake the city from the south. Private Schuett, along with the rest of Company F, were brought into southern Hue by helicopter shortly after 3 p.m. on January 31 and began a month long battle for the city of Hue.

Progress was very slow due to heavy street fighting. They measured their success one block at a time. Sniper fire  came from almost every building. It was midway through the battle that Private Schuett was mortally wounded. Finally, on February 29, 1968, victory was declared by the Allies and they controlled the city. 


The city itself was 80 percent destroyed when, due to the intensity of the fighting, the Allies eliminated the policy preventing them from dropping bombs and artillery shells on the city. Although Hue was considered a military victory, the heavy losses sustained by American troops brought about a decline in American support for the war which continued until 1975 when the last American troop left Vietnam. The Battle of Hue was considered the beginning of the end.