Walter L. Schneider lll
Walter Louis Schneider died peacefully at the VA hospital in San Francisco on December 24th 2015. He was 81 years old.
Born in Upstate New York on July 19 th , 1934, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1956 and served as US Navy Patrol Plane Commander of VP-4 Crew 6 between 1964 – 1968.
Regarding his years of service, he wrote: “…. On the way to my career, a notice popped up on the bulletin board saying the navy needed more transport pilots. That sounded great to me. During our youngster summer, I toured Europe, traveling back and forth on military transports, and it seemed like a dream assignment. So, still at Corpus Christi, I requested a new set of orders—much to the consternation of the CO who told me it was an awful career move. Maybe so, it didn’t matter in the long run, but did usher me into some of the finest years of my life with a bunch of WW II and Berlin Airlift veterans. I was sent to VR-22 in Norfolk, a squadron that prided itself on going anywhere in the world and had regular routes to Morocco and Naples, New Zealand, and a two day shuttle to Guantanamo Bay and Roosevelt Roads. We flew the four engine DC-6s configured for cargo and/or passengers. After that it was the postgraduate school for a year, then two and a half at UC Berkeley, before my second squadron, VP-4 at Barbers Point. This got me lots of hours over the Pacific and a stint in Vietnam where I had a good war—if there is such a thing—living in a hotel in downtown Saigon and flying coastal patrols from south of the DMZ to Cambodia, during which, occasionally, we got shot at but, thankfully, never had to shoot back.
Next, I went to Washington, to OP-91 in the Pentagon and the Center for Naval Analysis in Arlington. After getting out of the service, I
finished a PhD. in Political Science at UC Berkeley…”
In 1968, he purchased 140 acres of pristine Redwood forests in Albion, Northern California with visions of forming an idyllic commune. It was there that he spent most of his life as a prolific writer and poet, publishing under the nom de plume David Anirman: http://www.skycloudmountain.com He never married. His ashes remain among the Redwoods.
Ruby Li Long 2016
I am passing this sad news to those of you who may have known Walt Schneider while he was attached to VP-4. He served as PP2P then PPC on Crew 6 and as Air Intelligence Officer. I am not sure what years he actually served in the squadron. His photos were only in the 64-65 cruise book. I found an entry in the United States Naval Academy Class of 1956 Fiftieth Reunion.
Jere Brinkley, VP-4 63-66, sent me this obituary provided courtesy of Ruby Li, a long time friend of Walt Schneider.
—
Larry Hames
VP-4 1975 – 1978
VP-4 Veterans Assn Database Manager
database@vp4association.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.