lest we forget

KNADLER, ROBERT STANLEY

Rank / Branch:

SPECIALIST FOUR, U. S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

1950-02-08

Country Of Loss:

SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

HOSTILE-OTHER

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:

GROND

Other:

NOT MARRIED

Unit:

I FIELD FORCE-VIETNAM

Date Of Loss:

1969-02-09

Loss Coordinates:

BINH TOUNG

Catagory:

BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

KNADLER, ROBERT STANLEY, SPECIALIST FOUR, U.S. ARMY, SAN ANGELO, TOM GREEN COUNTRY, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

PURPLE HEART, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM MILITARY MERIT MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

Robert Stanley was born in Clinton, Oklahoma, the second of five children born to Robert and Nadine Hooks Knadler. Bobara, the oldest was born 18 months earlier. Eventually, two younger sisters, Jerita and Marcia and a brother, Ron joined the family. He was known as Stan or Stanley. Stanley's dad was working with Atlantic Richfield in the seismographic division and the family moved wherever Mr. Knadler's duties took him. Stanley's mother indicated that Stanley probably attended more schools that he did grades. She stated he attended schools in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming and many small communities in West Texas. When Stanley was in junior high school, the family settled in San Angelo. Stanley last attended San Angelo Central High School.
According to his mother, the many moves when Stanley was growing up and the fact that he could never really get settled in school caught up with him. He dropped out in the spring of 1967 and with parental consent at age 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Army.
He completed basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas and AIT at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. His advanced training was in communications, and he became a radio operator. He was assigned to Germany after AIT and after five months in Germany, he volunteered for Vietnam.
He began his tour on April 29, 1968, and was assigned as a radioman for Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 6th Battalion, 41st Artillery Group, 84th Artillery Regiment, I Field Force-Vietnam. On February 9, 1969, a day after his 19th birthday, he and another soldier volunteered for trash truck detail. They were to haul the trash to a dump ground near the camp. After an hour, they had not returned, and a detail went looking for them. The detail did not find the two soldiers. Later that day, in a larger search, the truck was found, and it had been stripped and burned, there were no sign of the two soldiers. His mother states it was over a month before the bodies of both soldiers were found. They were found buried in a shallow grave, near the base camp. She states the military never gave her much information on the cause of death.
After Specialist Knadler had entered the military, the family had moved to Casper, Wyoming from San Angelo. Stanley loved the mountains of Wyoming, and he was buried there the first week of June 1969, almost four months to the date of his disappearance. He was buried with full military honors. Stanley's mother indicated that two squads of soldiers came from Fort Carson, Colorado to act as pallbearers and color guards for his funeral. She stated it was quite an elaborate funeral.
Stanley was survived by his parents of the home and his brothers and sisters. Eventually the family moved back to San Angelo, when Mr. Knadler retired. His father died in 2002 and his ashes were spread around his favorite fishing place near San Angelo. His mother remarried in the spring of 2005. Her married name is Nadine Hooker and she continues to reside in San Angelo, her second husband passed and 2017 and she still resides in San Angelo. His sisters: Bobara Nelson lives in Cushing, Oklahoma, Jerita Johnson lives in San Angelo, and Marcia Schilreff lives in Torrington, Wyoming. Ron, his brother lives in Gilbert, Arizona.