L-R: Guthrie County Veterans Affairs Coordinator Beth Watson, US Representative Zach Nunn and David Schachtner
Friday morning US Representative Zach Nunn was at the Guthrie County Courthouse to present military medals to David Schachtner, a former navy serviceman.
Nunn began the presentation by giving some background information as to why the medals were being given now. He mentioned that in the early 2000’s, Congress, the Department of Defense and the US Navy reviewed service members, and awarded them medals based on their feats, but many were not notified that they had received this recognition.
In 2017, Schachtner happened to be doing some personal research on the ships involved, and found out that these medals were awarded. He reached out, and attempted to receive his medals and ribbons, but was denied one, as he was told that they couldn’t prove he’d been on the USS Hancock. In 2019 the Department of the Navy and Veterans Helping Veterans was able to track down the medals, and help prove that Schachtner was in fact on the USS Hancock, and were able to make sure that he received the awards.
During the awards ceremony, Schachtner thanked Nunn, but said he thought that he’d given him more credit than he was due, as he was “Just a lowly radar operator.” In response to the comment, the audience gave Schachtner a standing ovation, congratulating and thanking him for his service.
Schachtner served on board the USS Hancock during the Vietnam War, and was a part of two major operations towards the end of the war as an Operations Specialist 3rd Class. He took part in Operation Eagle Pull on April 12, 1975, in which he and his fellow servicemen rescued 82 US citizens, 159 Cambodian citizens and 35 other allies in Cambodia. A couple of weeks later, Schachtner and his crew mates also assisted in Operation Frequent Wind on April 29th and 30th of 1975.
The awards presented to Schachtner included the Humanitarian Award, Armed Forces Award, National Defense Award, Navy Merit Award, several ribbons, a button for honorable service and Vietnam Service Medal. Nunn also presented him with the Iowa 3rd Medal of Merit, a recognition of Iowans who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.
