Encyclopedia Dubuque
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SCHILTZ, Howard F.
SCHILTZ, Howard F. (Dubuque, IA, July 21, 1913--Tulsa, OK, June 10, 1998). After graduating from DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, Schiltz attended Iowa State College and received his bachelor's degree in engineering economics in 1934. (1) He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers and entered active service in 1937. (2)
From 1941-1944, Schiltz served as an engineering instructor at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. (3) In 1944, he served as assistant army engineer and commander of an engineer combat group. Returning to the Engineer Training Center in 1946, he was commissioned in the regular army as a first lieutenant, Ordinance Corps. His first tour of duty at Fort Eustis in 1947 saw him detailed to the Transportation Corps. From 1948-1951 he served in the Transportation Section, Far East Command in Japan for which he received the Legion of Merit. (4) He then served in the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel, Department of the Army and as Assistant Secretary of the Army General Staff.
In 1956 he assumed command of the 28th Transportation Group in Germany. He served in that capacity until 1958 when he became the Deputy Transportation Officer of the European Communications Zone. From 1959-1962, he served as the Executive Officer to the Chief of Transportation, Department of the Army and in the Transportation Division of the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He then became the Transportation Office of the United Nations Command and the Eighth United States Army in Korea. (5)
General Schiltz was designated the Army Project Manager of the Mohawk Aerial Surveillance System in Washington. He then moved to take command of the Aviation Material Command in St. Louis. He held this position until reassigned to Headquarters, United States Army Material Command as Director of Major Items in July 1967. He became the Director of Distribution and Transportation, Army Material Command in 1968. He returned to Fort Eustis in 1969 designated Commanding General of the U. S. Army Transportation Center. (6)
It was as Fort Eustis that Major General Schiltz was involved in what has been called "a milestone in military underground publishing." General Schiltz gave permission for the antiwar paper Rough Draft to be openly distributed after a four-month effort by the publication's representatives. The paper was first distributed on August 28th. Future permission for distribution was to be granted on an "issue-by-issue basis." As a result of the victory at Fort Eustis, more antiwar papers were allowed distribution on other bases across the United States. (7)
He received the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star, and the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters. (8)
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Source:
1. "Resume of Service Career-Howard Francis Schiltz, Major General" Online: https://transportation.army.mil/history/GO_bios/schlitz.pdf
2. Obituaries. Telegraph Herald, June 14, 1998, p. 4
3. "Dubuquer Gets High Army Post," Telegraph-Herald, June 15, 1952, p. 17
4. Ibid.
5. Obituary
6. Ibid.
7. Sawyer, Kaylyn L. "A Divided Front: Military Dissent During the Vietnam War," The Gettysburg Historical Journal, Vol. 16, 2017, p. 144
8. Obituary