John P. Wheeler III

John Parsons Wheeler III (December 14, 1944 – ), known as Jack Wheeler, was an American veteran, businessman, and activist, who held multiple positions in the U.S. government for five decades and helped create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He was murdered by an unknown person in or around Wilmington, Delaware in 2010.

In the 1960s, Wheeler served in a non-combat position in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and worked for the Pentagon as a staffer and systems analyst. In the 1970s, he was a senior planner for Amtrak, an official of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. In the 1980s, he was the CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and an aide to the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations. In the 1990s, he was an activist for the deaf and for environmental concerns, and in the 2000s, he was an aide to the George W. Bush administration and consultant to the Mitre Corporation.

Wheeler had homes in New Castle, Delaware, and New York City. On December 28, 2010, a man matching his description threw smoke bombs into a house neighboring Wheeler's in New Castle. Wheeler was last seen alive in Wilmington on December 30; he was acting unusually, though this may have resulted from his bipolar disorder. On the 31st, his corpse was found while being dumped from a garbage truck into a nearby landfill. The truck had received its contents from a commercial trash bin in Newark, Delaware, earlier that day. Police labeled the death a homicide, but it is unknown whether it was politically motivated.

Early life Wheeler was descended from a family of military professionals including Joseph Wheeler, who had served as a general both in the Confederate Army, and later with the United States Army. Wheeler III was born in Laredo, Texas, where his mother, Janet Conly Wheeler, was staying with her mother while his father was in Europe. Five days after his birth, the family received a telegram that his father was missing in action in the Battle of the Bulge. His father was later found to be alive. Wheeler had one younger brother, Robert Conly Wheeler, and one younger sister, Janet Wheeler Gilani.

Military career Wheeler was a member of the United States Military Academy (West Point) class of 1966 which lost 30 of its members in the Vietnam War.

In the 1988 television film To Heal a Nation about the construction of the Vietnam Memorial, Wheeler was played by Marshall Colt, four years his junior and the former co-star with James Arness in the crime drama McClain's Law. Eric Roberts portrayed Jan Scruggs; Glynnis O'Connor, Becky Scruggs', Jan's wife.

Other service In 1988–1989, Wheeler worked with President George H. W. Bush to establish the Earth Conservation Corps. From 1997 to 2001, he was president and CEO of the Deafness Research Foundation. He was consultant to acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics from 2001 to 2005, special assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force from 2005 to 2008. From 2008 to 2009, he was special assistant to the acting assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Logistics and Energy. From 1983 to 1987, he was chairman and CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and from 1993 until his death, he was the founding CEO of the Vietnam Children's Fund. They had two stepdaughters together, Byrd Schas Chaskes and Meriwether Klyce Schas. His younger brother Robert predeceased him. In 1995, Klyce's sister was murdered, and the case was solved years later. Authorities have labeled his death a homicide,

Wheeler had homes in New Castle, Delaware; and Harlem in New York City. Around December 24, Wheeler left the New Castle home to spend time with family at the Harlem home on Christmas. Klyce said that Wheeler did not seem to have emotional problems during their stay in New York. They were scheduled to attend a wedding in Boston at some point after the 30th. The two talked for the last time on the 27th. On the morning of the 28th, Wheeler left as Klyce was sleeping. He had previously told her he was going to Washington, D.C. to give gifts to a few people, probably spending time with his political acquaintances. She did not contact him after he left, as she expected him to return within a few days for the wedding. He had lunch at the Metropolitan Cafe in downtown D.C. Police questioned if this was an attempt at arson on the house by Wheeler. While he attempted to gain access to the parking garage on foot, Wheeler claimed that he wanted to warm up before paying a parking fee (police later determined that his car was actually in a different parking garage at the train station, blocks away). Wheeler explained to the parking garage attendant that his briefcase had been stolen and assured her he was not intoxicated. Police later claimed that "all the stops made Friday (December 31) by the garbage truck before it arrived at the landfill involved large commercial disposal bins in Newark". The truck started its route before 4:30 a.m. and arrived at the landfill at 10 a.m., "after making 10 stops at a variety of businesses, including a public library, a seniors' complex, and a car dealership", locations which were mostly covered by cameras. Based on Wheeler's position in the truck, the dumpster he was in was likely picked up towards the start of the route.

Legacy In late 2011, Klyce's brother, Henry, and wife Carole filed a lawsuit that claimed Wheeler, Klyce, and Klyce's sister were harassing their family (Klyce and Carole's) – including hacking their computers – in an attempt to "persuade Henry Klyce to allow his sisters to invest in his business ventures in medical devices"; the sisters had already made millions from investments in the ventures in the past, but were cut off by Henry after a "family feud" over financial difficulties. Klyce and her sister referred to the accusations as "fanciful and unsupportable allegations". The lawsuit ended with a settlement in which no sides acknowledged they were liable.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has an award named after Wheeler, given annually to those who have significantly benefitted U.S. service members and veterans' lives.