TIME (blog): John P. Wheeler III, 1944-2010

John P. Wheeler III, 1944-2010
Posted by Mark Thompson Tuesday, January 4, 2011 at 9:33 am

John Wheeler was one of those outer planets in the capital's solar system, never drawing too close to the Sun but riding the country's business in an elliptical orbit that would bring him closer to the heat every once in awhile. I can remember discussing the plight of Vietnam veterans with him -- and their push for a memorial to commemorate their sacrifice -- as well pondering the threat that cyber war posed to America. Sure, the topics were 180 degrees, and three decades, apart, but that's the kind of Renaissance man Jack Wheeler was.

It came as a shock to all of us who knew him that Wheeler -- West Point (1966), Harvard (1969) and Yale (1975) -- ended up dead in a Delaware dump on Friday. There's little publicly known about Wheeler's final days, although he was believed to have been aboard an Amtrak train from the capital to Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday. His body surfaced as a trash truck -- after picking up debris from 10 bins on the east side of Newark, Del., dumped its load at a landfill. Police have not specified how he died. He lived in nearby New Castle, Del., with his wife, Katherine Klyce, owner of a New York-based Cambodian silk company.

While he never saw combat in Vietnam, he felt that the war's veterans had been ignored by their country, and joined forces with Jan Scruggs to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Initially derided as a "black gash of shame," it has become one of the nation's most-visited and beloved monuments since its opening nearly 30 years ago. "I know how passionate he was about honoring all who serve their nation," Scruggs said, "and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice."

Following his military service, Wheeler cycled between government jobs and the private sector, working for the Securities and Exchange Commission in the early 1980s, helping create the Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program in the Reagan Administration, and the Earth Conservation Corps during the first Bush Administration. He led Mothers Against Drunk Driving from 1985 to 1987, and ended his government career as a special assistant to the Air Force secretary from 2005 to 2008. "He was a complicated man of very intense (and sometimes changeable) friendships, passions, and causes," long-time friend James Fallows said on the Atlantic website. "His most recent crusade was to bring ROTC back to elite campuses."


Read more:
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2011/01/04/john-p-wheeler-iii-1944-2010/#ixzz1AG7oh3cY

R.I.P. :patriot:

The photo above was taken on the day of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in November 1982. It portrays then-VVMF chairman Jack Wheeler (right) embracing Brig. Gen. George Price, USA (Ret.) (center). Price and Wheeler were both active in the creation of the Memorial.

VVMF FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT JAN C. SCRUGGS REFLECTS ON THE PASSING OF
JOHN P. "JACK" WHEELER III


John P. “Jack” Wheeler III was the first chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) and worked diligently to create a memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. that would honor all who served in the Vietnam War.

Wheeler was a graduate of the Military Academy at West Point. His military career included serving as a staff officer in Vietnam, with the Office of the Secretary of Defense and with the Joint Staff. He was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal and retired in 1971. He was working as a defense consultant when he died.

Jan C. Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, reflects on the man who helped create The Wall:

“The Board of Directors and staff of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund were saddened to learn about the untimely passing of our friend and colleague, Jack Wheeler, recently. I worked closely with Jack to create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and I know how passionate he was about honoring all who serve their nation and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. He was a graduate of West Point and brought his commitment to duty, honor and country to everything he undertook.

“The Vietnam Veterans Memorial allows us to pause and remember what others did on our behalf. It is only fitting that we pause now and remember Jack Wheeler, who served his country honorably, then dedicated himself to ensuring that our nation’s service members are always given the respect they deserve. All of us at VVMF send our condolences to his family during these sad times.”

http://www.vvmf.org/620.cfm

Polonium 210 weird

Also weird are all the kneejerk assassination conspiracy theories that are floating around.

Wheeler was a really good guy. It's weird to see some conspiracy theorists saying he was 'offed' because he was a hero whistleblower, while others demonize him as some kind of neocon Bushista.

In the absence of good information, there's a hell of a lot of total BS out there...

It's not usually on their own.

But murder is not the same thing as assassination.

;) I still think this is more than a random act.

All the speculation that it was a 'hit' to silence him because he possessed terrible secrets is just that--speculation. Nothing but fantasizing, with nothing solid to back it up.

Here, in the fact-based community, it takes more than that to reach a conclusion. The fact is that we still don't know enough to reach a conclusion. I'm waiting for more details...

:hi: