[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5362]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING SERGEANT DONALD E. SCHNOOR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 23, 2012

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Veterans of Foreign 
Wars Chowchilla Post 9896 Life Member Sergeant Donald E. Schnoor. Mr. 
Schnoor served the United States of America honorably with the U.S. 
Army First Cavalry in the Korean War.
  Sergeant Schnoor was born in Chowchilla, California, on December 19, 
1934. After graduating from Chowchilla High School in 1952, he enlisted 
in the U.S. Army. He completed basic training at Fort Ord, and was 
selected to train as a musician with the Army Band Training Unit. Upon 
completion of band training, he was assigned to play the trombone with 
the 6th Army Band at Fort Mason in San Francisco. The band played for 
troops leaving and arriving by ship to and from the Far East, primarily 
Korea. Numerous Hollywood and local professional celebrities performed 
with the band.
  Wanting to see a bit of the world, Sergeant Schnoor subsequently 
volunteered for duty with Army occupation troops in Japan. Upon arrival 
in Japan, Sergeant Schnoor was informed that although he had been 
trained as a musician, the Army considered him an infantryman first and 
a trombone player second. His next stop would be Inchon, Korea, 
carrying an M1 rifle and a pack.
  While deployed in Inchon, Sergeant Schnoor joined the 5th Regiment of 
the legendary First Cavalry Division stationed near the front lines 
southeast of Seoul near Yong Dong Po. He was assigned to a fire team 
for a 75 MM recoilless rifle mounted on a 3/4 ton 4 x 4 utility truck. 
He and his fellow soldiers were sent on missions to deliver fire with 
high explosive rounds and armor piercing rounds on North Korean troops 
along the front lines.
  At a later point in his tour, Sergeant Schnoor and 20 other soldiers 
were assigned to escort 120 North Korean prisoners by train to the 
Pusan area. After reaching Pusan, the unit was assigned to guard more 
than 4,000 North Korean prisoners held on the island of Koje-do.
  Sergeant Schnoor served in North Korea until the truce was signed in 
1954. After the conclusion of the war, he joined the rest of the First 
Cavalry Division in Hokkaido, Japan. The mission of the division was to 
serve as a deterrent to Russia from attempting to invade the Japanese 
islands of Northern Hokkaido. At the end of 1954, the 5th Regiment 
relocated to Sendai, Japan, where he joined the First Cavalry Band and 
Orchestra. He was recommended to audition for the U.S.O. Orchestra. 
After a competitive audition process, he was accepted. Sergeant Schnoor 
spent the remainder of his overseas service as one of three trombonists 
traveling in Japan playing U.S.O. shows for American servicemen.
  Sergeant Schnoor returned to the U.S. in the spring of 1955. He was 
discharged as a Sergeant. For his service, he was awarded the 
Presidential Unit Citation, the Korean Service Medal, the United 
Nations Medal, the National Service Defense Medal, and the Good Conduct 
Medal. After his military service, Sergeant Schnoor returned to 
Chowchilla and began a career in farming that has continued for 56 
years. He and his wife, Peggy, have three daughters, six grandchildren, 
and two great-grandchildren. Sergeant Schnoor is a Life Member of the 
Chowchilla VFW Post 9896, the American Legion Post of Madera, the 
Madera Elks, and the First United Methodist Church of Madera.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring Sergeant Donald E. Schnoor 
for his honorable service to our great country, and wishing him the 
best of luck and health in his future endeavors.

                          ____________________