Two improvised explosive devices detonated near his vehicle in
Baghdad
Richard Schild was the baby of the family, the youngest of 10
children.
His mother, Colleen Schild of Yankton, said his older brothers
always teased him, telling him (falsely) that he was adopted and
stuffing peanut butter and eggs down his mouth. Twins Brooks and
Bruce got into a BB gun fight with little Rich when he was about 7
and quickly learned what kind of soldier Rich would be.
Brooks had a BB gun, Bruce a Daisy air rifle, and they took some
shots at Rich, never thinking he would retaliate with his new
machinegun BB gun. He opened up and sprayed his big brothers,
plastering the shed they took shelter in, not even relenting when
they hid behind Dad's storm windows.
"He's ornery, yet he was fun loving, and he really did have a
good time," said Brooks, who served with Rich in Iraq.
That attitude served Rich well at Bonne Homme-Yankton Electric
Cooperative, where he worked as office manager, boss Merlin
Goehring said. It also helped when Rich was platoon sergeant for a
"go-get-'em platoon" of the South Dakota Army National Guard in
Iraq, Brooks said. Even though Rich was the boss, he was a
practical joker and had fun with his men while worrying about their
well-being. Just to liven things up one day, Rich had Brooks shave
a big number seven into his famously hairy back. RAMROD 7 was
Rich's call sign in Iraq, borrowed from the wacky film, "Super
Troopers."
Rich missed his kids, Koby and Keely, who were back in Tabor.
But they kept in regular contact via Web cam. Rich faithfully sent
Keely photos of Flat Stanley, a Keely-painted monkey cutout, from
various sites in Iraq.
When he hit an obstacle, his motto was: Build a bridge and get
over it. "He was a guy's guy. The guys in his platoon just loved
him to death," said Sgt. 1st Class Matt LaCroix of Yankton.
And he was persuasive. Rich always wanted Brooks and him to get
tattoos when they got home, commemorating their tour of duty in
Iraq. Brooks always said no. But then, while taking Rich home in
his coffin, both of them touring Washington D.C., sort of as they'd
originally planned, Brooks relented and had RAMROD 7 tattooed on
his right shoulder.
"He's kind of my right-hand man there," Brooks said. "And so in
the end, the little sucker actually won because I did get a
tattoo."
