Army Private First Class Sean Michael Schneider, 22, Janesville, Wisconsin died on Monday, March 29, 2004, near Baghdad, Iraq. He was killed when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb. Schneider had been in the region for less than a month when he was killed. He served as a mechanic with Company A, 115th Forward Support Battalion, Division Support Command, 1st Cavalry Division, based out of Fort Hood, Texas.
The Web site findagrave.com notes Schneider was born on September 7, 1981. After working awhile after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Army in August of 2002.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Schneider had worked for a concrete company in Janesville, the town where he also grew up. Sean was a 2000 graduate of Janesville J.A. Craig High School. His wife Yolande was also a Craig Graduate; the couple had no children. The Journal Sentinel also mentioned Sean Schneider stood over 6-feet tall; he held a 2.6 grade point average; and, was a member of the auto mechanics club.
The Janesville Gazette quoted family as remembering Sean Schneider as, "always tinkering with vehicles and motorcycles. He liked to run, hunt and canoe, do the guy thing."
An obituary posted in The Janesville Gazette notes that at the time of his death, Army Private First Class Sean M. Schneider was survived by his wife Yolande; his parents Edward and Kim Schneider; his brothers Phillip and Myles; maternal grandparents Roger (Kay) Jaquish, and Sharon (Robert) Yeadon; paternal grandfather Arthur Schneider; maternal great-grandfather Ellsworth Cross; mother-in-law Liane (Kenneth Timm) Johnson; father-in-law James Johnson; five brothers-in-law Jimmy Davenport, Randy Travis, Oliver Johnson, Robert Pernell, and David Pernell; two sisters-in-law Shasta Anderson, and Marissa Pernell; and, numerous other relatives and friends. Private First Class Sean Schneider was laid to rest at Oak Hill Cemetery in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Information for this short biography about Army Private First Class Sean Michael Schneider was pieced together from the following sources: findagrave.com "PFC Sean Michael Schneider," Posted April 25, 2004; The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "13th Wisconsin soldier killed in Iraq," March 31, 2004; The Janesville Gazette, "'He died doing what he wanted'," March 31, 2004; Wisconsin 2003 Assembly Joint Resolution 81, "Relating to: the life and service of Private First Class Sean Schneider," May 18, 2004; Wisconsin Department of Veteran Affairs "Fallen Heroes Page"; and, CNN.com "War Casualties Page."
Note: This "Wisconsin Military Casualties Afghanistan Iraq Compilation" Daily Dadio blog Category is under construction. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Wisconsin War Casualties Page for a list of names noted by date of death. ( If readers know of other military service persons with Wisconsin connections that are not on the Web site comprehensive list of fatal casualties, or notice errors, please email Bob Keith at keithrg13@cooldadiomedia.com ).
