John Schreck Interviewers Danielle Steinmuller Ryan Martinez and

John Schreck Interviewers: Danielle Steinmuller, Ryan Martinez and Samantha Chaney Corona US History – Period 5

John Schreck In and After the War…

John Schreck • John Schreck served in the Vietnam War for nine months and his military branch of service was the Marine Corps. • In total he served for four years and he was a part of the Recon Rangers.

Early Life… • Schreck was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and moved to Chicago with his family at two years old. • He graduated high school at twelve years old, but unfortunately got involved in gang violence in his later teen years. • John grew up with four sisters and one brother; none of which joined the military.

Jail or the Marine Corps… • In 1973, Schreck was involved in a gang fight in a bad area of Chicago, and when police came to arrest those involved, John was not able to run away fast enough and got caught along with another young man from the rival gang. • Schreck recalls himself being on the heavier side and the “slowest one”. • The other young man told Schreck, “I’m gonna’ get you in Juvenile Hall…”. Scared for his life, 17 year old Schreck lied at court, saying he was eighteen instead of seventeen in order to join the Marines. • It was three days later when John called his mother and told her he was in the Marines. Like any mother, she was angry and concerned. On the other hand, John’s dad was happy and even said, “Well maybe they’ll be able to kick his a**”.

Boot Camp/ Training… • John Schreck remembers the long bus ride out to camp and once there, being screamed at to get off and stand on the “yellow footprints” outside. All the rookies had to stand at attention on the yellow footprints until each of them passed out at least once from having their legs locked for so long. • These men stood at attention, outside for up to four or five hours. • The “Fatty Platoon”: Because of his weight, John Schreck was placed in the “fatty platoon”. - Men in this platoon were given three meals a day which consisted of lettuce, lettuce and more lettuce. - Schreck was a part of this platoon for 3 months and 3 weeks, and all day every day, men in this platoon did nothing but exercise to lose weight and become solid muscle. - He stated that, “that Platoon was one of the hardest things I have ever had to endure in my life, but it did teach me discipline…”

• John Schreck distinctly remembered his fourth night at boot camp and how it was the worst night there. Schreck felt alone, and was picked on and even beat up by other men for crying. • Pranks - For guard duty on night shift, two men had to stay awake from 12 am to 4 am to guard the armory. Schreck along with another buddy found two graduates from boot camp sleeping on guard duty and set off flash grenades next to them. Schreck laughed, remembering how one young man “peed his pants”. • Drills - Being a sniper, John Schreck had to be able to control his actions while handling increased amounts of adrenaline. To learn to control himself on an adrenaline high, John would have to crawl under barbed wire while live rounds were being shot above him. After he was out of the barbed wire he had to shoot and hit a twelve inch plate that was positioned yards away, twenty out of twenty shots.

Graduation… • In order to graduate, men in boot camp were given eight hours to cross 300 yards of land, but if they were caught/seen by the guards in the towers above them, they were out. • John Schreck came in second and only twelve men out of 114 passed.

Graduation Certificate

Promotion written in the Newspaper

Vietnam War Background… • The war began on September 26, 1959 and the Communist forces were ultimately victorious on April 30, 1975. • At the time, Vietnam was separated into communist North Vietnam (supported by communist Allies) and anti-communist South Vietnam (supported by the United States). • North Vietnam desired to unite with the Southern part of Vietnam and end U. S. support there which in turn led to the Vietnam War.

Vietnam War… • Schreck’s Position Marine Sniper • John had to maneuver multiple times through “Rice Paddy Jungle”, which was basically water with rice floating on the top. • He and his spotter, a man nicknamed “Yogi”, worked together in the jungle of Vietnam. • During the war John Schreck remembers it being “physically and emotionally exhausting”.

Yogi is the man standing in the middle wearing the hat….

Sniper & Spotter… • Their goal was to kill the highest ranking enemies who would be disguised as average soldiers. • Yogi would choose their targets by watching for certain mannerisms and which of the men on the enemy side would be giving orders and such. Schreck would be the one to actually pull the trigger.

Close Call!! • On one of Schreck’s and Yogi’s missions in the jungle they were able to spot the enemy. Yogi chose their targets of high rank but Schreck mistakenly took two shots which gave away their location. Both men had to get down in bushes, bugs crawling up and down them, and stay perfectly still. Schreck recalls how the enemy stepped inches away from his hand. • When they were safe, Yogi and Schreck emerged from the bushes laughing and calling themselves lucky. It wasn’t until three days later when they looked at one another, hugged and realized how close they had actually been to death. (Yogi was later Schreck’s best man. )

Near Death Experiences… “I should’ve died ten times over easy…” –John Schreck • Plane Crash - Schreck and many other men experienced a plane crash. Thankfully the pilot (the major) was able to somewhat land the plane and no one was killed. • Bouncing Betty - John and several others were walking when one of the men stepped down on a bouncing betty, which was a metal ball that came up off the ground and exploded, shooting pieces of metal (shrapnel) into its victims. Thankfully another man with them used the back of his gun as a bat and hit the mine away from them before it exploded and injured them all. John was hit both in the leg and in the “behind” and to this day still has shrapnel in his ankle (he received a Purple Heart medal).

Evacuation of Vietnam… • Schreck and his spotter, Yogi were two of the last soldiers to board and leave Vietnam on the helicopters. • Only nine men out of John’s group made it home… A newspaper with an article and picture (right) and famous photograph (left) of troops and the Vietnamese people getting on helicopters and leaving Vietnam.

Evacuation Story… • There was only room left for one more passenger on one of the last helicopters leaving, and waiting to get on was a father and his six or seven year old daughter. When the man heard there was only room left for one, he pushed his daughter back and climbed on into the helicopter, leaving her behind. Schreck described his astonishment as he witnessed this horrible incident take place. Schreck grabbed the little girl and made sure she was taken care of by Red Cross. • Years after being out of the war, John received a knock at his door and opened it to see a young woman. The young woman happened to be that same little Vietnamese girl who he saved so many years before. Unfortunately, she never did see her father again, but she now lives a happy life in Texas with her own family.

After the War… • Coming back from the war, all American soldiers were hated and jobs were not hiring them, resulting in no income to purchase basic necessities. In fact, John recalls getting objects thrown at him and being called nasty names because he was a soldier out of Vietnam. • Schreck and his wife, who he first met at a Buena Park party, were forced after the war to turn in bottles for money to feed their newborn baby. • John Schreck has been married for thirty-three years now and has three children and 5 grandkids.

• A New Man - During the Vietnam War, John Schreck fought, drank and did drugs. Although, since his return from the war, he has not participated in any of these past vices. • Sweet Vengeance - When arriving back home, Schreck found Jimmy Daniels, a previous bully of his, and “beat the crap outta him…”. John was finally stopped by two police men who hand cuffed him and put him in the back of their car. Although, when one of the police men heard John was a Marine, he quickly pulled the car over, removed the handcuffs and sent him off with a simple warning.

Career… • John Schreck now is a part of the following… - Embroidery & Banner Design/Making (these banners can be seen all around King HS campus) - Photography (trained by Ansel Adams) - Works for the Riverside Unified District (runs 12 departments)

Hobbies… • Photography (fog pictures) • Traveling (Australia is his favorite place because of how nice everyone is, but the Philippines is his least favorite place because of the poverty. ) • Flying: John Schreck now has his pilot’s license and once owned a plane with six other friends that they later sold. - Schreck fell in love with flying when he won a poker game and was able to fly a helicopter.

Lessons Learned… • To Value Life • Do not make the mistake of missing out on your children growing up. • Anyone can be taught discipline. - John describes himself as starting out as an “immature little punk” who grew into “a man”.

There is a Cost to Freedom… • John Schreck pointed out one man in particular who had been killed at war named Lance Corporal Ashton N. Loney who had saved Schreck’s life. Schreck pointed at the names of the men who died and said that the, “…ability to be Americans is right there. ”

Overview… • John Schreck was in the service for a total of 4 years and served in Vietnam for the last nine months of the war. • Schreck received a Navy Cross, a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. • John Schreck does not see himself worthy of his medals and the title of a hero, but we personally have to disagree. John Schreck, along with so many other men and women who risked and even lost their lives in war, are ALL heroes. They have all fought for America’s freedom and our nation would not be free like it is today without the service people like John Schreck have given to our country.