ROBERT HENRY SCHWARZ was born an "Army brat" to Henry and Ethel Schwarz at Ft. Sill, OK, and grew up at Ft. Sill, Ft. Sam Houston, the Presidio of San Francisco, Ft. Ethan Allen, and Ft. Devens. In 1937, Henry was assigned as senior advisor to the Idaho National Guard, and the family moved to Boise, where they made their permanent home. Bob's boyhood and schooling years in Boise were joyous and fulfilling. In his senior year of high school, he was student body president, ROTC battalion commander, an All-State football player on the Boise state championship team, and a member of the National Honor Society.

Bob visited West Point in 1940 and was deeply impressed by the institution and its traditions and heritage. His consuming aspiration was for a West Point education and a military career. He entered the Academy in 1945 and thrived during his four-year cadet experience. During Beast Barracks, he walked a one-hour penalty tour and never returned to the Area again. During First Class year, he was first sergeant of D-2 Company. Bob particularly valued the camaraderie and friendship of his classmates and selected the Transportation Corps as his branch.

In 1950 he married his beloved Margie, a Boise girl. She was always the greatest joy of his entire life, and he continuously said, "She was the best thing that ever happened to me." Four children were born to them: Katie, Robert, Matthew, and Jonathan. Bob's family was the center of his life, and his and Margie's goal was to rear their children to become compassionate, educated, and contributing citizens.

Bob's early Army career was typical: a two-year combat arms tour in Germany with an armored cavalry troop of the U.S. Constabulary in the Fulda Gap; a year in Oberammergau, studying Russian and teaching Soviet order of battle; company command and battalion-level staff assignments with transportation units at Ft. Story and Ft. Eustis; and a tour with the Transportation Engineering Agency, OCT In 1960 he was in Korea on the Imjin River with the 1st Cavalry Division as the division transportation officer. During the Cuban crisis of 1962, Bob was at Ft. Meade, responsible for assuring the deployment readiness of Army units slated for possible action. His schooling over the years included CGSC, Armed Forces Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He earned graduate degrees from Yale in 1954 and George Washington University in 1969.

As chief of the Transportation War Plans Branch of USAREUR in Heidelberg in 1964, he integrated deployment plans for U.S. ground forces into the NATO War Plan. Bob was next designated as transportation officer of the Berlin Brigade in 1965 and was routinely involved in Cold War "dust-ups" involving Soviet interdiction of the sealed trains he operated from Frankfurt and Bremerhaven into Berlin, as well as helicopter incursions on the East German border. He advanced to G-4 of the brigade and was in charge of all logistics support of the U.S. Army, Berlin.

In 1967 Bob assumed command of the 25th S&T Battalion of the 25th Infantry Division at Cu Chi, Viet Nam. His battalion provided combat services support for the division and all attached units and maintained all of the isolated rearm-refuel locations for helicopter operations in III Corps. In 1969, Bob was again in RVN as commander of the 48th Transportation Group at Long Binh responsible for clearance of the Saigon terminals and line-haul truck support for the III and IV Corps tactical zones. He commanded both his battalion and group for the entire duty tour and believed that no future assignment could ever offer the personal and professional fulfillment of that time. His commands in RVN were awarded four Meritorious Unit Citations and two Cross of Gallantry Unit Citations.

Bob was next assigned as chief of the Army Transportation Analysis Division in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, the Pentagon. He was unable, however, to reconcile his deep disappointment in the "graduated response" political policies impacting the Viet Nam War and believed he was compromising his oath as an officer because he was not in agreement with national military policy. Although he was assured his career zenith was still in the future, he chose voluntary retirement as a colonel in 1971. His military decorations included four Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, three Air Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, the Cross of Gallantry with Palm, and the Viet Nam Service Medal with six campaign stars.

Bob went home to Idaho and completed a second career of 17 years with Boise Cascade Corporation, an international forest products company. There he continued the application of his knowledge and experience in larger scale logistics to the management of the transportation, energy, and purchasing activities of the company. He was corporate vice president in charge of a headquarters staff and managed operations that included a large trucking division, the corporate jet and helicopter fleet, and international ocean shipping and terminals. His professional associations included the American Paper Institute, the National Industrial Transportation League, the National Freight Traffic Association, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Bob assumed leadership positions in most of these and represented them and his company in the development and presentation of national transportation policy recommendations to many legislative and regulatory bodies to include Congress and The Interstate Commerce Commission.

Bob enjoyed his permanent retirement in Boise immensely. He especially savored the freedom from a structured environment and being independent of schedules, meetings, and deadlines. At last he had time for recreational, cultural, and intellectual pursuits. He and Margie frequently journeyed to their idyllic lakeshore cabin in the Idaho mountains. He believed he was a decent and honorable man, a devoted husband and father, and a dedicated soldier, and that the life he guided by "Duty, Honor, Country" had made a difference.

TAPS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2005

Personal Eulogy