Recently, the Schultz family of Ripon recalled memories of their late uncle, U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Victor Walter Schultz, when they received word that he will be inducted into the U.S. Army Hall of Fame in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in September 2024.
The U.S. Army Hall of Fame was established in 1969, has honored 118 inductees and is co-sponsored by the Memorial Hall Association, Henry Leavenworth Chapter of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) and the Command of Fort Leavenworth.
Its purpose is to honor outstanding military members (who after being stationed at Fort Leavenworth) significantly contributed to the history, heritage and traditions of the Army.
Nominations for the hall of fame are proposed each year by various parties and are voted on by a committee of scholars. The nominees receiving the highest number of votes are inducted into the U.S. Army Hall of Fame in a ceremony traditionally held in April or May.
The inductees are memorialized by a shadow box containing a portrait and an inscription. The original U.S. Army Hall of Fame space was relocated from Bell Hall to the new Lewis & Clark Center at Fort Leavenworth.
According to fellow World War II soldier Ken Faulkner, “Schultz was killed in action by a sniper’s bullet while leading 12 men who were attempting to capture Jallacourt, France from enemy soldiers on Nov. 8, 1944.”
Schultz was nominated for hall of fame status at the 35th Division Association Annual Conference at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. He will become one of three military personnel bestowed with this honor in 2024. An 8x10 photo of Schultz including his story will be exhibited. In addition, photos showing his youth to young adulthood in Ripon, along with military service contributions will be part of the presentation during the induction ceremony.
Family, friends and other relatives are invited to attend.
Military burial on foreign soil
Schultz is buried in a foreign United States-owned grave on military soil — the Lorraine American Cemetery located in Saint-Avold, France. The 48-star U.S. flag which was used during his interment there was shipped home to his wife in Ripon, and was used during a Ripon Memorial Day Ceremony in 1996 honoring the 50th anniversary of the Ripon VFW.
Schultz was posthumously awarded military medals — a Silver Star with Silver Oak Leaves, and a Purple Heart with Silver Oak Leaves. Schultz also is recognized locally with a military memorial plaque in Hillside Cemetery in Ripon that reads his “U.S. Military Grave is on foreign soil and that he was a member of the U.S. Army 137th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division.”
Family life in Ripon
Schultz’s military enlistment card is dated 1940. He attended Ripon schools including Ripon High School, graduating in 1937. Ripon Tiger yearbooks include photos of Schultz as a three-year high school football player and team member.
The Schultz family lived at 728 Fond du Lac St. Following Schultz’s high school graduation, the U.S. Federal Census lists his job was superintendent’s assistant at the Ripon Cemetery Association before he enlisted in the Army going into World War II.
Schultz married his wife, Pearl E. Dudzinski of Ripon, Sept. 3, 1941 in Weathersfield, Texas when he was 21 years old and in military training at Camp Wolters.
The telegram and military funeral card dated 1944 announcing Schultz had been killed in action in France was delivered to Pearl at their newlywed home at 212 Eureka St. in Ripon. Later, on Jan. 27, 1946, Ripon received charter approval to build a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) hall.
This building became the Schultz-Klemp-Wentland Post 5278, and was named for Schultz along with two other veterans who died in service.
Today there are still domestic U.S. and foreign cemeteries for U.S. veterans
Four U.S. federal government agencies now are responsible for national cemeteries and other veterans’ burial grounds — and all began with the U.S. Army. In the United States and its territories, veterans and eligible family members receive burial benefits at national cemeteries. In addition, nearly 124,000 veterans of World War I and II are buried in American cemeteries on foreign soil. The four federal agencies share a mission to honor military service with perpetual care of veteran graves.
The Ripon Historical Society is the oldest continually operating historical society in Wisconsin. It is located at 508 Watson St. and is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For more information follow us at Facebook/riponhistory or www.riponhistory.org.
