NAVY
1964-1967

Jeff Schumacher joined the Navy at the age of 17 to be a corpsman after reading Dr. Tom Dooley’s book, Deliver Us from Evil. He admired Dr. Dooley and wanted to make an impact on the world as he had. In the fall of 1965 while stationed at the Field Medical School at Camp Pendleton, Jeff volunteered to serve with the Marines in Vietnam. He boarded a troop transport ship in January of 1966 to head to Okinawa to prepare for Vietnam. After arriving in Da Nang, Jeff was assigned to a field hospital in Phu Bai. There he cared for wounded soldiers who were transported on helicopters to the field hospital directly from the battlefield. On one occasion, Jeff volunteered to fly into active battle with the medic helicopter to pick up wounded soldiers. Once they were able to land, they grabbed the soldiers and took off from the jungle floor. Motivated by Dr. Dooley, Jeff volunteered to give medical aid in the villages of Vietnam. He and another corpsman would travel to the villages where women swarmed around them wanting help for their children. They would do whatever they could to help them such as help with hygiene and provide penicillin shots as needed.             In February of 1967, Jeff left Vietnam and was discharged from the Navy on September 29, 1967. He married his wife, Kathy, and they built a beautiful family of four children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

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