Walter Schindler

Walter Gabriel Schindler (December 10, 1897 – April 3, 1991) was a highly decorated career officer in the United States Navy, who ultimately achieved the rank of vice admiral. While a commander during World War II, Schindler received a Navy Cross and a Silver Star for his service aboard the , including during the Battle of the Coral Sea. He was transferred stateside later and commanded Naval Ordnance Laboratory for the duration of the war. His father became a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and served as Deputy State Treasurer at the time of his death. Young Walter graduated from the St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, in summer of 1916 and attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison for one year, before received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in June 1917. Schindler was considered the first American serviceman to have shot down a Zero from the rear seat of a Navy dive bomber.

Post-Navy activities

Schindler held that command until October 1, 1959, when he retired from active duty completing 42 years of service. He was subsequently advanced to the rank of vice admiral on the retired list for having been specially commended in combat.

Following his retirement from the Navy, Schindler founded Project Alert, an organization designated to make the civilian population of the United States aware of the struggle with the Soviet Union and the consequences that would result if the United States should lose the Cold War. He served as Vice Chairman and Deputy of the Advisory Council on Naval Affairs under Admiral John W. Reeves Jr. and as a National Director of the Navy League in 1960-1961, before becoming a National Commissioner of the Freedoms Foundation.

Vice Admiral Walter G. Schindler died on April 3, 1991, aged 93, in Sarasota, Florida. He was survived by his second wife Mary Arline Steen (1908–1984). His first wife Flora B. Streiff died in 1944 at the age of 44.

Decorations

Here is the ribbon bar of Vice Admiral Schindler: