RELEASED BY Lt Col. Greg Hapgood

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER
OFFICE:   (515) 252-4582
CELL:       (515) 971-6385
HOME:     (515) 986-5725

JOHNSTON, IOWA…
 

//s// Gregory O. Hapgood, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel

FUNERAL SERVICE SCHEDULED FOR IOWAN KILLED IN IRAQ

Funeral services have been scheduled for Cpl. Jonathan “Jon” E. Schiller, 20, an active duty U.S. Army Soldier from Ottumwa. Schiller was killed during combat operations when insurgent forces detonated an improvised explosive device directly adjacent to the armored Humvee in which he was a passenger. The attack occurred during a combat patrol near Baqubah, Iraq at approximately 3 p.m., Iraq time, on December 31. He was assigned to the 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
 

Schiller was born March 1986 in Iowa and graduated from Ottumwa High School in 2004. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in March 2005. Schiller is survived by his mother and father, Elizabeth “Liz” and William “Bill” Schiller, and brothers, Charlie and Max, all of Ottumwa.
 

Funeral services are scheduled as follows:
 

Services for Cpl. Schiller will begin with a visitation from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 7, at Reece Funeral Home, 607 E. Second Street, Ottumwa, with the family present from 2 to 6 p.m. Funeral services will be held at 9 a.m., Monday, Jan. 8, at the Ottumwa High School auditorium, 501 E. Second Street, Ottumwa. Burial will be conducted at the Silent City Cemetery in Monroe, with full military honors conducted by the Iowa Army National Guard.
 

Schiller will be posthumously awarded the following awards and decorations: Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Iraq Campaign Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, and the Combat Action Badge. Additionally, the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division posthumously awarded combat spurs and Stetson hat for his service to the Division in Iraq.
 

The Schiller family previously issued the following statement:
 

“It is with great sadness that we learned of the New Year’s Eve death of our beloved son, Jonathan E. Schiller, during combat in Iraq. Jon died doing what he loved, serving his country and protecting the freedom of our people and others.
 

“We are proud of our son’s accomplishments and those of his fellow Soldiers in the Army and all branches of the military. We are forever grateful to the Army for changing our boy into a man who fought and died defending something that we take for granted every day…freedom! Jon felt that progress was being made in Iraq. As shocked as we are by his death, we are deeply appreciative of the outpouring of support shown by his friends, fellow Soldiers, and the community.
 

“We are sure that you can understand and will honor our request for family privacy at this time, as we are focused on working with military officials to return Jon’s body home for military services and burial. We thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and kindness at this extremely difficult time. As parents, we are deeply saddened by our son’s loss, but extremely proud of the honorable way he served Americans as a leader in the U.S. Army. We will remember him, his smile, and his love for his country with great pride.”
 

Bill and Liz Schiller
 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Heartland Humane Society, P.O. Box 1149, Ottumwa, Iowa 52501 or Wesley United Methodist Church, 430 E. 2nd Street, Ottumwa, Iowa 52501.
 

-Media Information for Visitation, Funeral, and Graveside services-
 

The Schiller family asks that their privacy and the dignity of Jon’s funeral be respected. No media coverage will be allowed at the visitation and no interviews will be granted by the family at the funeral or graveside services. Per the family’s wishes, media pool coverage is available for the funeral service as follows:
 

Video and audio uplink will be provided by WHO TV. Their satellite window will be open on Monday morning from 8:50-11 a.m. on AMC1 12B. For questions contact Paul Yeager at (515) 242-3585 or paul.yeager@whotv.com.
 

Still images will be provided by the Ottumwa Courier. Contact Melissa Carlo at (641) 683-5341 or photos@ottumwacourier.com to coordinate distribution.
 

No other cameras or recording devices will be allowed inside Ottumwa High School. Reporters may attend the funeral service and discretely take notes, but no interviews will be conducted inside the school. News photographers may set up across the street from the school and may also cover the graveside ceremony from a respectful distance at the cemetery. The point of contact for media at the funeral and graveside services will be Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood (see below for contact information).
 

For questions concerning this news release as well as additional information about the operations, training, and activities of the Iowa Army and Air National Guard, please contact Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, Iowa National Guard Public Affairs Officer by e-mail at gregory.hapgood@ia.ngb.army.mil or (515) 252-4582 (office), (515) 971-6385 (cell), (515) 986-5725 (home). You may also contact Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden, at (515) 252-4666 (office) or (515) 480-7647 (cell), or by e-mail at duff.mcfadden@ia.ngb.army.mil.

-END-

IOWA NATIONAL GUARD
Americans at Their Best