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Schulte reminisces on service with 104th Infantry Division

Posted November 01, 2015 10:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Staff Writer

The memories are still fresh for Melvyn "Jack" Schulte.

The 92-year-old World War II Veteran, who now lives at The Manor at Craig Farms in Chester, was recently reunited with his long-lost war buddy, Ken Thompson, 70 years after the war ended.

The reunion was arranged by Schulte's nephew, Dan Schutte, who tracked Thompson down in an assisted living facility in Littleton, Colo.

The pair were reunited during a ceremony to award Thompson his service medals that he never received after the war.

The journey started on a request from Schulte.

"My father was a World War II vet and we came back to bury him in January," Schutte told the Herald Tribune. "There was a family reunion in Perryville and we had some one-on-one time. It was a good, sincere plea.

"It wasn't point-blank asking me to do something, it was him asking to see if it could be done."

Schutte said the process of finding Thompson took about a month through internet research and phone calls.

"It was interesting," he said of the process. "It was a matter of blitzing voicemails everywhere and three weeks later, (Thompson) returned a call.

"His speech was labored because he had a stroke recently. I asked if I could come visit him and he said sure. Given enough time, he was able to share everything and that's when I got him in touch with Uncle Jack."

Schulte and Thompson served with the U.S. Army's 104th Infantry Division, 413th Regiment Cannon Company - referred to as the "Timberwolves" due to their patch insignia.

"It was a combination of artillery and crawl-on-your-belly," Schutte said. "These guys gave their all and they never asked for anything back."

The 104th landed in France in September 1944 and fought its way through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany before meeting up with Soviet forces on April 26, 1945.

"It was awful fierce fighting in Holland," Schulte said in an interview with the Herald Tribune. "You couldn't dig the foxholes too deep or the sea would come in it."

The 104th was under the command of Maj. Gen. Terry Allen, whose preferred approach to fighting the enemy was to "never let them sleep" and regarded the Germans and Italians as little more than vermin.

"He liked all-night attacks," Schulte said.

The 104th suffered more than 6,000 casualties in the European Theater of operations, becoming famous for 195 consecutive days in a combat zone.

"When the war ended, we were 40 or 50 miles from Frankfurt, Germany," Schulte said. "They thought they had a record, but we found out another unit had a few more days."

After the war, Schulte - who is a charter member of the Perryville VFW - worked on the Mississippi River barge lines for 15 years, including six as a fleetman.

He then spent another 15 years working for Chester Mental Health before retiring.

"The years caught up to him, so he sold his place and moved into Craig Manor," Schutte said.

On Nov. 11, Chester VFW Post 3553 will be hosting a Veteran's Day program at 11 a.m., with the featured speaker being State Rep. Jerry Costello II (D-Smithton).

The Chester High School Band and Choir will be performing and the public is invited to attend.

"I grew up as a proud son of a Veteran," Schutte said. "They literally saved our world and changed it with what they did."

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