Col. Herbert Yale Schandler
January 2, 1928 ~ July 16, 2015
SOLDIER AND EDUCATORDR. HERBERT Y. SCHANDLER
Dr. Herbert Yale Schandler, a retired Army Colonel, might have been the only Green Beret who also held a PhD degree from Harvard University. He was a commander in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and a professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and after his retirement from the Army, was a professor and department chairman at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, and a commentator on national security issues. Dr. Schandler, 87, died on July 16 at his home in McLean, Virginia.
Colonel Schandler was born in Asheville, N.C. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. in 1952 and was commissioned in the infantry. He served in combat in Korea in 1953 as a platoon leader and company commander in the 38th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Upon returning from Korea he became a company commander in the 61st Infantry, 8th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colorado. He later served in Germany with the 10th Special Forces Group in Bad TÅ‘lz. He studied the Farsi language and led his special forces team in climbing the 14, 920 foot Zard Kuh mountain in the Zagros mountains of southwestern Iran to recover bodies from an American aircraft which had crashed there. He later became Special Warfare Plans Officer at Headquarters, U.S. Army, Europe in Heidelberg, Germany.
He served two combat tours in Vietnam, with the 1st Infantry Division in 1965 and as a battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry with the 101st Airborne Division in 1969-1970. He also served in the Revolutionary Development Division, J-3, Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) where he worked to integrate the military and civilian efforts in South Vietnam.
He served as an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy from 1957 to 1960. Other assignments included service in the Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate of the Army Staff; as Assistant for Southeast Asian Affairs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army; in the Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Chiefs of Staff; and as a member of the faculty at the National War College. He also served as a military social aide at the White House from 1967 through 1969 during the Johnson and Nixon administrations. He retired from the Army in 1975 with the rank of Colonel.
He graduated from the Army's Infantry School, Parachute School, Special Warfare School, Counterinsurgency School, the Command and General Staff College, and from the Air War College.
He received a master's degree in Public Administration (MPA) and a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. His Ph.D. dissertation was published by the Princeton University Press in 1977 under the title, The Unmaking of a President: Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam. He lectured and wrote frequently on the Vietnam War, and was a contributing author to the books, Foreign Policy and U.S. National Security (1976); Regular Armies and Insurgency (1979); Vietnam as History: Ten Years After the Vietnam War (1985); and The Search for Peace in Vietnam, 1964-68 (2004). After trips to Hanoi in 1998 and 1999 to confer with victorious Vietnamese officials, he contributed a chapter to Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy (1999) by former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and others. He later wrote America in Vietnam: The War That Couldn't Be Won (2009), also based on these interviews with Vietnam's wartime leadership.
Col. Schandler's personal military decorations include two awards of the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Senior Parachutist Badge, four awards of the Legion of Merit, three awards of the Bronze Star Medal with V, fourteen awards of the Air Medal (2 with V), two awards of the Valorous Unit Citation, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal as well as awards from Vietnam, Korea, and the Netherlands. He also wore the Army General Staff Badge, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Badge, the Office of the Secretary of Defense Badge, the Presidential Service Badge, and the Special Forces Tab.
Upon his retirement from the Army in 1975, Dr. Schandler joined the Congressional Research Service as a specialist in national defense. From 1978 through 1982, he served as vice president of the American League for Exports and Security Assistance, Inc., a non-profit group that worked to promote American exports.
In 1983, he became professor of political science at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), National Defense University (NDU) in Washington, and from 1990 to 1996 served as Chairman of its Department of Strategy. He later taught Historic Case Studies in Grand Strategy and in 1999 was appointed the George C. Marshall Professor of Grand Strategy. In addition, he also taught elective courses in Southeast Asia Regional Studies, Peace Operations, America in Vietnam, Classic Readings in Political Thought, and Classic Readings in Military Strategy. During the first Person Gulf War, he served as a commentator for the NBC "Today" show. He retired from ICAF in 2004 and was awarded the Joint Civilian Service Achievement Award.
After his retirement from the army, Dr. Schandler settled in McLean. He served on the Board of Directors of the McLean Citizens Association and as a member of the Human Relations Advisory Committee of the Fairfax County School Board. He also served on the Social Studies Curriculum Advisory Committee and the High School Curriculum Advisory Committee of the Fairfax County Public Schools.
He was a member of the West Point Society of D.C., the Special Forces Association, the Society of the 1st Division, and the Disabled American Veterans. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Class of 1952, U.S. Military Academy.
Survivors include his wife of 38 years, the former Sharron Brittain of McLean; their two daughters, Karen Schandler of Arlington, VA, and Sarah Schandler Counts of Reston, VA; his daughter from his previous marriage to the former Dorothy Carnright, Mary Ann Politi of Newburgh, NY; and six grandchildren.
Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, offerings may be sent to the Jewish Chapel Fund, West Point, NY.
Funeral Home:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA
US 22180
Dr. Herbert Yale Schandler, a retired Army Colonel, might have been the only Green Beret who also held a PhD degree from Harvard University. He was a commander in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and a professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and after his retirement from the Army, was a professor and department chairman at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, and a commentator on national security issues. Dr. Schandler, 87, died on July 16 at his home in McLean, Virginia.
Colonel Schandler was born in Asheville, N.C. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. in 1952 and was commissioned in the infantry. He served in combat in Korea in 1953 as a platoon leader and company commander in the 38th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Upon returning from Korea he became a company commander in the 61st Infantry, 8th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colorado. He later served in Germany with the 10th Special Forces Group in Bad TÅ‘lz. He studied the Farsi language and led his special forces team in climbing the 14, 920 foot Zard Kuh mountain in the Zagros mountains of southwestern Iran to recover bodies from an American aircraft which had crashed there. He later became Special Warfare Plans Officer at Headquarters, U.S. Army, Europe in Heidelberg, Germany.
He served two combat tours in Vietnam, with the 1st Infantry Division in 1965 and as a battalion commander of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry with the 101st Airborne Division in 1969-1970. He also served in the Revolutionary Development Division, J-3, Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) where he worked to integrate the military and civilian efforts in South Vietnam.
He served as an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy from 1957 to 1960. Other assignments included service in the Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate of the Army Staff; as Assistant for Southeast Asian Affairs in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army; in the Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Chiefs of Staff; and as a member of the faculty at the National War College. He also served as a military social aide at the White House from 1967 through 1969 during the Johnson and Nixon administrations. He retired from the Army in 1975 with the rank of Colonel.
He graduated from the Army's Infantry School, Parachute School, Special Warfare School, Counterinsurgency School, the Command and General Staff College, and from the Air War College.
He received a master's degree in Public Administration (MPA) and a Ph.D. degree from Harvard University. His Ph.D. dissertation was published by the Princeton University Press in 1977 under the title, The Unmaking of a President: Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam. He lectured and wrote frequently on the Vietnam War, and was a contributing author to the books, Foreign Policy and U.S. National Security (1976); Regular Armies and Insurgency (1979); Vietnam as History: Ten Years After the Vietnam War (1985); and The Search for Peace in Vietnam, 1964-68 (2004). After trips to Hanoi in 1998 and 1999 to confer with victorious Vietnamese officials, he contributed a chapter to Argument Without End: In Search of Answers to the Vietnam Tragedy (1999) by former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and others. He later wrote America in Vietnam: The War That Couldn't Be Won (2009), also based on these interviews with Vietnam's wartime leadership.
Col. Schandler's personal military decorations include two awards of the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Senior Parachutist Badge, four awards of the Legion of Merit, three awards of the Bronze Star Medal with V, fourteen awards of the Air Medal (2 with V), two awards of the Valorous Unit Citation, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal as well as awards from Vietnam, Korea, and the Netherlands. He also wore the Army General Staff Badge, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Badge, the Office of the Secretary of Defense Badge, the Presidential Service Badge, and the Special Forces Tab.
Upon his retirement from the Army in 1975, Dr. Schandler joined the Congressional Research Service as a specialist in national defense. From 1978 through 1982, he served as vice president of the American League for Exports and Security Assistance, Inc., a non-profit group that worked to promote American exports.
In 1983, he became professor of political science at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), National Defense University (NDU) in Washington, and from 1990 to 1996 served as Chairman of its Department of Strategy. He later taught Historic Case Studies in Grand Strategy and in 1999 was appointed the George C. Marshall Professor of Grand Strategy. In addition, he also taught elective courses in Southeast Asia Regional Studies, Peace Operations, America in Vietnam, Classic Readings in Political Thought, and Classic Readings in Military Strategy. During the first Person Gulf War, he served as a commentator for the NBC "Today" show. He retired from ICAF in 2004 and was awarded the Joint Civilian Service Achievement Award.
After his retirement from the army, Dr. Schandler settled in McLean. He served on the Board of Directors of the McLean Citizens Association and as a member of the Human Relations Advisory Committee of the Fairfax County School Board. He also served on the Social Studies Curriculum Advisory Committee and the High School Curriculum Advisory Committee of the Fairfax County Public Schools.
He was a member of the West Point Society of D.C., the Special Forces Association, the Society of the 1st Division, and the Disabled American Veterans. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Class of 1952, U.S. Military Academy.
Survivors include his wife of 38 years, the former Sharron Brittain of McLean; their two daughters, Karen Schandler of Arlington, VA, and Sarah Schandler Counts of Reston, VA; his daughter from his previous marriage to the former Dorothy Carnright, Mary Ann Politi of Newburgh, NY; and six grandchildren.
Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, offerings may be sent to the Jewish Chapel Fund, West Point, NY.
Funeral Home:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA
US 22180
View current weather.
Memories Timeline
Guestbook
Sign the Guestbook, Light a Candle
I am so sorry for your loss. My prayers are with you. Love Susan Harrell
I offer my condolences to each member of Herb’s family. May God be with each of you in your time of grief. Bill Raiford, USMA ’52
Dear Sarah and family, I am sorry to hear about your loss. Praying that God’s love and your best memories bring you comfort at this time. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. In Him,
Dear Sarah, Karen and Sharron, My deepest condolences for your loss. Your dad was so accomplished and impressive, but also always so warm and cheerful. It was clear that he had so much love and pride for his family. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
We are thinking of you and keeping you in our prayers.
Herb and I attended graduate school together and taught in the same Department at the same time at West Point. I had great admiration for his mental acuity and articulate expression, both orally and in writing. Our friendship was sustained over the years. When I was sent to Germany, Herb met me and took me to the famous Octoberfest for my first exposure to the country. It was a shame that he had to endure health problems late in life. I extend deepest sympathy to Herb’s widow and daughters.
A great soldier and a great teacher.
In late 1965, then-Major Herbert Schandler wrote a letter to his nephew, Bob (then a freshman at Ithaca College), from the Ben Cat district in Viet Nam. Uncle Herby, as Bob called him, had written sensitively (and perhaps uncharacteristically for a soldier) about a visit to a school in that ravished war zone, describing how little they had in basic school supplies. I was Bob’s roommate. Together, we collected contributions of school basics (literally, a ton) and somehow found a multinational charity to deliver it all to Ben Cat. Uncle Herby wrote later that the supplies had been received and were much appreciated. Even more importantly to me, it was an early life lesson about doing good for someone other than yourself. I see that Col. Schandler had an outstanding life and career. Though I never met him in-person, he was an inspiration for me.
I have agonized as to how to say good bye to an Uncle, beloved friend and brother…Uncle Herb was all of these and so much more. He could always make me laugh and could find the humor sometimes when I couldn’t. I know how he cherished his girls and I know he treasured his friends….and I am honored to have been one of his admirers and nieces. When he received his doctorate I asked if I should call him, Uncle, Colonel or Doctor….he responded “God will do!!” I know he is lighting up heaven with his smile, his baby blue eyes and his wit! Sending love and aloha to his “Schandler Girls” Sharron, Karen and Sarah…..mizpah and aloha….We Wongs
I was saddened to read Dr. Schandler’s obituary notice in the Washington Post this morning. He was not only an intellect, but a considerate and good hearted person. My condolences to Mrs. Schandler and the daughters. Tilaka Rajapakse
For superb mentorship and sterling example, thank you. De Oppresso Liber
My dearest husband, you were the love of my life, my soul mate, my reason for being. Good night sweet prince. Wait for me. With all my love,
It is with profound sorrow and fondest memories of Herb that I read of his passing. He lived and loved a fantastic life – with achievements and experiences that most men can only dream of or read about.
His obituary reads like an adventure novel and truly sets him apart – a Green Beret with a PhD from Harvard – and – a Doctor of Philosophy who wore a Green Beret and Combat Infantry Badge with two stars – Korea and Vietnam! Beyond that he served in the Offices of; the President in the White House, the Secretary of Defense, the Chief of Staff of the Army and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
As a distinguished and enlightened, inspiring educator he taught at West Point, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and the National Defense University – which is the full range of leadership development from cadets through General Staff Colonels and Senior Executive Service officials to Admirals and Generals – thereby influencing the tip, the core, the depth, the breadth and the foundation of America’s Armed Forces – for critical decades.
During the 1990’s Herb served on my Board of Directors at the Spirit of America Foundation – as well as – on my Nation Security Advisory Board located only a few paces from the White House in Washington DC. He was a cheerful, happy, somber, serious, funny, kind, gentle, tough, astute and valued contributor to all things related to America’s defense, welfare and future.
When I was struggling with my manuscript “SUICIDE: The Destruction of America’s Army” he not only war-gamed my analysis – but gave me much needed and appreciated advice and encouragement, “America’s Army needs this book Colonel Kingston and only you can write it!” Some 20 years later his prophecy and our combined vision are coming true – this strategic book is due to be published by Amazon later this year.
In closing, words fail me – honor, respect, admiration, humility and gratitude for this friend, colleague and noble warrior philosopher.
Prof. Jack Kingston