Robert Francis "Dutch" Schoultz (February 9, 1925 – October 9, 2017) was a vice admiral in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He was a former commander of the Naval Air Force U.S. Pacific Fleet and a former Deputy Commander in Chief of

U.S. Naval Forces Europe United States Naval Forces Europe and Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF), is the United States Navy component command of the United States European Command and United States Africa Command. Prior to 2020, NAVEUR-NAVAF was previously referred to as United States ...

/U.S. Commander Eastern Atlantic. He also served as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air Warfare. From June 26, 1981 until his retirement on February 17, 1987, he was U.S. naval aviation's Gray Eagle, the second longest serving senior active-duty naval aviator. In retirement he became president of Rosco, Inc., an aerospace industry consulting firm, and served on the board of Reflectone Inc. Schoultz was born in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

and raised in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. After graduating from

Omaha Central High School Omaha Central High School, originally known as Omaha High School, is a fully accredited public high school located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It is one of many public high schools located in Omaha. As of the 2015-16 academic year, ...

in 1942, he enrolled in the

NROTC The Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 19 ...

program at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. Schoultz began training to be an officer and pilot in August 1943. He was designated a naval aviator on September 1, 1945, too late to see combat during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Schoultz was then assigned to the torpedo and attack squadrons on the carrier . From March 27, 1962 to March 2, 1963, Schoultz served as commanding officer of VA-93 deployed on the carrier . He later served as executive officer of the carrier . Schoultz was given command of the attack cargo ship ''Arneb'' from December 20, 1969 to January 1971 and the carrier from June 23, 1971 to November 1, 1972. He was on staff duty and professional education in 1973-77, then from April 1977 to July 1979 was commander of Carrier Group Two assigned to the United States Sixth Fleet. Following this he had a brief tour on the OPNAV staff before becoming Commander, Naval Air Force, US Pacific Fleet, in January 1980. In 1983 he became Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air Warfare), then from February 1, 1985 until his retirement in 1987 was US Commander Eastern Atlantic and Deputy Commander in Chief US Naval Forces, Europe. His awards include the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

(three awards),

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

(three awards),

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, Joint Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Republic of Korea National Security Merit Gugseon Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with six Bronze Stars, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device.

Personal

His wife Rosemary Parker Schoultz served as the sponsor for the dock landing ship . In their later years, Schoultz and his wife moved to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The couple had two sons, four grandchildren and, as of 2017, one great granddaughter. Their eldest son Robert Parker "Bob" Schoultz is a retired Navy SEAL captain. After his death in 2017, Schoultz was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

on April 25, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoultz, Robert 1925 births 2017 deaths People from Racine, Wisconsin Military personnel from Omaha, Nebraska Omaha Central High School alumni University of Nebraska alumni United States Naval Aviators United States Navy personnel of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal People from Arizona Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Military personnel from Wisconsin