NEW KENT, Va. –
The U.S. Army Transportation Corps Aviation Association awarded its highest honor, the Hall of Fame Award, to retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Walter J. Schramm July 28, in New Kent, Va.
Schramm was born in Germany in 1930, and at the age of 14 he joined the Home Guard. At only 15, he was drafted into the German Army (Wehrmacht) to fight against the Soviet advance on Berlin.
He was captured by the Soviets after vigorous fighting, and spent time as a Soviet prisoner of war. Upon his release, he walked several hundred kilometers to enter the American sector of Germany at Bamberg.
In Germany, Schramm worked for the American forces and was befriended by a U.S. Army major, who sponsored his emigration to the United States in 1950. Shortly after his arrival, he was drafted in the U.S. Army to fight in the Korean War.
Schramm decided to continue his career in the military, and he volunteered for helicopter flight school at Fort Wolters, Texas, in 1954. He became an Army warrant officer, and learned to fly various Army helicopters. He trained at Fort Eustis to become an Aviation Maintenance Officer, and served in numerous aviation and aircraft maintenance units in both the United States and Europe.
When the Vietnam War called him to duty with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in 1967, he saw intense fighting in Vietnam. Schramm volunteered several times to fly into hot landing zones to deliver critical ammunition supplies, and to evacuate wounded soldiers.
For his bravery, he became one of the Army's most highly-decorated Soldiers of the war, earning the Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 23 Air Medals, one with a "V" device.
Schramm served another year in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division, but this time he was assigned to a Transportation Corps Aircraft Maintenance Battalion as the quality control officer, an instructor pilot and as a maintenance test pilot.
This is only the third time the TCAA Hall of Fame Award has been awarded. It was presented at the annual TCAA Reunion at the Colonial Downs race track. Schramm, now age 82, and his wife reside in Bamberg, Germany, while his two daughters live in the United States.