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Nathan J.
Schuldheiss—May 2008 Shipment Honoree
In
Remembrance of Nathan J. Schuldheiss
 Source:
by Linda Borg, The Providence Journal
(http://www.projo.com/ri/newport/content/iraq_death04_11-04-07_1I7NVSK_v23.33015d1.html)
PROVIDENCE — Special Agent Nathan
J. Schuldheiss was nothing if not well-prepared. In his
will, written before he left for Iraq, the
counterintelligence specialist left $1,000 for the bar tab
at his funeral.
He also asked that his ashes be
spread over the Gulf of Mexico, in international waters 3
miles out, because he was someone who didn’t belong to any
one place.
Everyone expected to celebrate
Nathan’s homecoming on Thanksgiving. But, on Thursday,
Nathan and two other special agents were killed near the
Balad Air Force Base in Iraq when an improvised explosive
device burst next to their military vehicle.
Nathan Schuldheiss was 27 years
old, a graduate of Roger Williams University School of Law
and a civilian assigned to the Air Force Office of Special
Investigations. His job was to ferret out insurgents who
might pose a threat to the military men and women assigned
to the region. During his five months in Iraq, the work
done by Nathan Schuldheiss and his team led to the arrest of
13 insurgents.
Nathan was on his way to interview
a group of informants when the bomb exploded, according to
his father, Jeff Schuldheiss, who lives in Newport, where he
runs a bed-and-breakfast.
“He volunteered to go to Iraq,”
Jeff Schuldheiss said yesterday. “His boss said, ‘You don’t
have to go.’ But he had this calling. He couldn’t shake
it. He told his mom, ‘If anything happens, remember, I had
a full life.’ ”
Nathan was a natural leader, his
father said, someone whose dreams were writ large. He
talked about pursuing a career with the CIA or the FBI and
joked about running one of those organizations one day. But
he also talked about sailing around the world and opening a
club with his friends.
“He was the consummate gentleman
and smart aleck when we needed some humor,” a special agent
wrote on a Web site called The Officer Down Memorial Page.
“I will always remember his mischievous smile and his
grace.”
Robert Waterman, a professor of
political science at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.,
remembered Nathan as a student with remarkable
self-confidence who was adept at making connections between
political theory and contemporary politics.
“He always seemed to know what he
was doing,” Waterman said. “You felt that something
important would happen to him.”
Nathan was an adventurer, a young
man with a real sense of wanderlust. As an Air Force brat,
his family was always on the move and, as an adult, he
visited all but 2 of the 50 states.
Jeff Schuldheiss said his son
decided to work in counterintelligence because he knew that
the experience would be invaluable and possibly
life-changing.
“He was absolutely patriotic,” his
father said. “He has a quote in his will that says
something like, ‘War is not the worst of things. Even worse
is the person who believes that there is nothing worth
fighting for…’ ”
Despite his 27 years in the Air
Force, Jeff Schuldheiss was completely unprepared for the
knock at the door Thursday, when two uniformed Air Force
officers informed him about their sorrow over the “untimely
death of your son.”
“It didn’t click,” he said.
“They’re not coming for him. No. It can’t be. It’s
absolutely a mistake. This isn’t right.”
Schuldheiss never once considered
that his son wouldn’t return from Iraq because Nathan was
always so dedicated and well-equipped and determined to
finish whatever he set out to do.
“I’m 53 years old and I know that
not everybody is the same as the next person,” his father
said. “There are some people who are the leaders, the
coaches, the people who continue to get better. Nate was a
shooting star who burned so brightly.”
Nathan, the wanderer, will be
remembered as he lived. A funeral service will be held in
Colorado, where his mother, Sarah Conlon, lives.
His gravestone will be placed in
Spokane, next to his maternal grandmother’s grave.
And, in a couple of weeks, his
ashes will be spread over the Gulf of Mexico, where he loved
to sail.
SPECIAL AGENT NATHAN SCHULDHEISS 
Special Agent
(SA) Nathan Schuldheiss graduated from Gonzaga University in
Spokane Washington in 2002 with a degree in Political
Science. He went on to attend Roger Williams University
School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island where he was awarded
his Juris Doctorate in 2005. While attending Law School,
Special Agent Schuldheiss was awarded a Legal Fellowship in
Clarendon Chambers, Lincoln's Inn, London, England. In
addition, Special Agent Schuldheiss also served as a legal
intern for the Spokane County Superior Court, Spokane
Washington.
In September 2005, Special Agent
Schuldheiss was hired by the United States Air Force and
selected to attend the Federal Law Enforcement Training
Center (FLETC). In March 2006, he successfully completed the
special investigators course and was credentialed and
certified as a Federal Agent for the Air Force Office of
Special Investigations. Special Agent Schuldheiss was
subsequently assigned to AFOSI Detachment 204, Offutt Air
Force Base, Nebraska.
In May 2007, Special Agent Schuldheiss
volunteered and was deployed to the AFOSI Expeditionary
Detachment 2411, Balad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom. During this time, Special Agent Schuldheiss was
chosen above his peers as Civilian Special Agent of the
Quarter for July - September 2007.
On 1 November 2007, Special Agent
Schuldheiss was killed when his vehicle was struck by an
improvised explosive device. Special Agent Schuldheiss was
posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Defense of
Freedom Medal.
Additional Links:
http://legacy.com/Soldier/Story.aspx?Page=FSStory&PersonID=97217503
http://wbztv.com/topstories/soldier.killed.in.2.590794.html |
