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Capt Virgil A Schwab

Birth	:	8 Dec 1915
Death	:	29 Jul 1942
Burial	:	Hooper Cemetery, Hooper, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate	:	41.6032982, -96.5419006
Plot	:	Section 6, Lot 412, Grave 2
Description	:	Without protective fighter cover Captain Roger's formation would be at the mercy of enemy Zeros. The squadron commander had every reason, and every right, to abort and return to Port Moresby for the sake of the thirteen men flying with him. When weighed against the cost for the men in the jungle below him if the enemy troop convoy proceed unmolested, it presented the veteran officer with a difficult decision. Such is the burden of command. In the distance fifty miles from Buna, small blotches came into focus across the swells of the Solomon Sea. The enemy... Read More	Without protective fighter cover Captain Roger's formation would be at the mercy of enemy Zeros. The squadron commander had every reason, and every right, to abort and return to Port Moresby for the sake of the thirteen men flying with him. When weighed against the cost for the men in the jungle below him if the enemy troop convoy proceed unmolested, it presented the veteran officer with a difficult decision. Such is the burden of command. In the distance fifty miles from Buna, small blotches came into focus across the swells of the Solomon Sea. The enemy convoy, target for the mission, quickly morphed from a distant speck on the water into a distinguishable convoy of six troop transports and two escorting warships. Captain Rogers made his decision and wagged his wings to signal his following pilots to prepare for battle. Diving at near water-level into the enemy guns, Captain Rogers felt his own airplane begin to shudder when his gunner, Sergeant Robert Nichols, opened up with the 30-caliber machine guns from his position behind the pilot. Two dozen Japanese Zeros of the Tainan Kokutani tore through the 8th Squadron formation like sharks in a frenzy, chewing the old A-24s into shreds. In a flash of fire Captain Rogers' lead dive bomber rolled over and plunged into the sea. He and Sergeant Nichols were the first casualties in what would become the darkest day in 8th Squadron history. Heedless of the fusillade reaching out for them from the enemy ships below, or the Zeros that swarmed in to devour them from above, the six surviving pilots pushed the attack. On Captain Rogers wing an A-24 dove on a 6000-ton vessel and scored a direct hit with one 500-pound bomb, destroying the first element of the advancing armada. The American pilot, his bomb rack now empty, turned towards shore in a running battle for the clouds and safety. First Lieutenant Virgil Schwab dove on another vessel and felt his dive-bomber coming apart as, no longer capable of flight, it careened into the sea to forever claim his body and that of Sergeant Philip Childs, his gunner. Two more A-24s erupted and Lieutenants Robert Cassels and Claude Dean went down along with their gunners, Sergeants Loree LeBoeuf and Alan LaRocque. In mere seconds Lieutenant John Hill had witnessed more than half of the flight going down in flames. Then his own Dauntless shook beneath a hail of incoming enemy fire. Ignoring the danger Hill dove on an enemy ship. Machine gun bullets from the ships below and angry Zeros above tore through metal and flesh, and behind him he heard a cry of pain from his own gunner, Ralph Sam. The young sergeant slumped to the floor of his battle station, his right hand and arm nearly severed. Sergeant Sam's blood splattered the fuselage as Lieutenant Hill released his bombs and then climbed quickly to clear the enemy mast and turn towards the distant coast of New Guinea. Behind Hill, Lieutenant Joseph Parker released his bomb while Sergeant Franklyn Hoppe fought furiously for survival as his pilot finished the mission and likewise turned to race for home. Seasoned Japanese pilots in nimble Zeros flashed by, machine guns lancing the withdrawing three A-24s as they fought to avenge the damaged ships and one destroyed by Captain Rogers' wing man. Behind Lieutenant Hill, Sergeant Sam found the strength to pull himself back up to his gun, firing back at the attackers with his unwounded left hand. The race, and the running battle, continued for miles. Even when the 30-caliber gun behind Lieutenant Hill fell silent, all its ammunition expended, the Jap pilots kept coming. His mortally wounded but determined gunner refused to give up, pulling his .45 pistol with his left hand and standing at his station to empty it at the enemy fighters. The pilot of the Dauntless that had destroyed the first ship while flying wing for the Captain Rogers raced for a rain cloud. His bullet-riddled A-24 fought for air to climb inland and over the Owen Stanley Range. His young enlisted gunner fought furiously, desperate to defend his own aircraft while simultaneously hoping against hope that the other two surviving A-24s would reach that same small screen of safety. The mist at the outer edges of the cloud began to fog his vision, but not before he saw Lieutenant Parker and his gunner going down in flames while another bevy of enemy fighters converged on Lieutenant Hill and his now-silent gunner. And then the looming rain cloud masked all signs of battle, leaving only one Dauntless to continue its desperate struggle to remain airborne long enough to get home. Of the seven aircraft that had crossed the Owen Stanley range less than an hour earlier on a mission to turn back the enemy convoy, only one badly-damaged Dauntless returned to Port Moresby. When at last it landed there was no celebration. Of fourteen men who began that fateful mission, Lieutenant Raymond Wilkins and his gunner Sergeant Al Clark were the only survivors. from http://www.homeofheroes.com/wings/part2/12_wilkins.html

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Capt Virgil A Schwab's memorial?
Capt Virgil A Schwab's memorial is located at: Hooper Cemetery, Hooper, Dodge County, USA.
When did Capt Virgil A Schwab death?
Capt Virgil A Schwab death on 29 Jul 1942 in
Where are the coordinates of the Capt Virgil A Schwab's memorial?
Latitude: 41.6032982
Longitude: -96.5419006

Family Members:

Parent

Harry Jacob Schwab

(1877 - 1973)

Catherine Alvina Schwein Schwab

(1879 - 1959)

Siblings

Esther Irene Schwab Row

(1906 - 2000)

Harry Edward Schwab

(1908 - 1993)

Donald K. Schwab Famous memorial

(1918 - 2005)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Hooper Cemetery
Hooper, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6032982, -96.5419006

2. Saint Rose Of Lima Cemetery
Hooper, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6104170, -96.5688940

3. Saint Johns Cemetery
Hooper, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6403008, -96.5586014

4. Logan Cemetery
Winslow, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6342010, -96.4944000

5. Bethel Methodist Cemetery
Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5583687, -96.6172409

6. Maple Creek Christian Cemetery
Fremont, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5390200, -96.5973600

7. Saint Paul Lutheran Cemetery
Hooper, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6822680, -96.5718140

8. Immanuel Cemetery Old
Washington County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5964012, -96.4300003

9. Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
Washington County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6122500, -96.4252700

10. West Admah Cemetery
Washington County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6697006, -96.4424973

11. Bluffs Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
Fremont, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5098080, -96.5973720

12. Elim Lutheran Cemetery
Hooper, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6988830, -96.4824170

13. Swaburg Baptist Cemetery
Uehling, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7050018, -96.4978027

14. Fontanelle Lutheran Cemetery
Fontanelle, Washington County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5384827, -96.4214783

15. Telbasta Cemetery
Washington County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5824100, -96.3866000

16. Hartung Cemetery
Washington County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5182991, -96.4257965

17. East Admah Cemetery
Washington County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6693993, -96.4052963

18. Saint Johns Ridgely Cemetery
Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5977000, -96.7048800

19. Scribner Municipal Cemetery
Scribner, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6553001, -96.6919022

20. Romberg Pioneer Cemetery
Scribner, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7272420, -96.5628360

21. Saint Marys Cemetery
Scribner, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.5974998, -96.7208023

22. Saint Johannes Argo Cemetery
Burt County, USA
Coordinate: 41.6980010, -96.4131330

23. Argo Cemetery
Burt County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7233009, -96.4439011

24. Uehling Cemetery
Uehling, Dodge County, USA
Coordinate: 41.7416992, -96.4925003