Ronald Alan Schulz (March 29, 1965 – circa December 8, 2005) was an American civilian contract worker in Iraq who was

kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

and killed by Iraqi insurgents.

Early life

Schulz graduated from Jamestown High School in Jamestown, North Dakota in 1983. He joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and served from 1984 to 1991. After leaving the Marines, Schulz moved to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

Death in Iraq

In 2005, Schulz went to Iraq as a civilian contract worker initially doing electrical work for KBR (Kellog Brown & Root). He had left them to do electrical work for an unspecified

private security A private security company (PSC) is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors. Overview Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Stat ...

organization. On or around November 25, 2005, Schulz was kidnapped by unknown insurgents, although the US government didn't announce the kidnapping until December 6.MacPherson, James, "North Dakota Family To Bury Slain Hostage", '' San Diego Union-Tribune'' (

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

), October 31, 2008. On December 6, 2005, the

Islamic Army in Iraq The Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI) ( ar, الجيش الإسلامي في العراق ''al jaysh al islāmi fī'l-`irāq'') was one of a number of underground Islamist militant (or '' mujahideen'') organizations formed in Iraq following the 2003 inv ...

uploaded a video to the internet showing Schulz sitting in a white plastic chair with his hands tied behind his back. The group threatened to kill him in 48 hours unless the U.S. government freed all Iraqi prisoners and paid compensation to Iraqis affected by military offensives led by U.S. troops against militants in the Sunni Muslim-dominated Anbar province. On December 8, 2005, the group declared that they killed Schulz after the U.S. refused to give in to their demands. On December 19, 2005, the militants uploaded another video showing Schulz's death, in which he is shot in the back of the head with an automatic rifle. The video included footage of Schulz's identification card. Schulz's remains were found in a grave in Iraq in September 2008 along with those of Susan Bushra, his Kurdish fiancée. The remains were confirmed to be Schulz's in October and they were returned to

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

for burial.

Notes

1965 births 2000s missing person cases 2005 deaths American people taken hostage Foreign hostages in Iraq Kidnapped people Male murder victims Missing person cases in Iraq People from Jamestown, North Dakota United States Marines Civilian casualties in the Iraq War {{paramilitary-action-stub

Early life

Death in Iraq

See also

Notes