Paul Richard Schneider (1917-1947)

Biography 

Paul Richard Schneider was born on April 23, 1917, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Schneider grew up playing with his two siblings along the Mississippi River, which shaped his love for nature. With his older brother, Schneider joined the military reserves. Schneider later continued his military service and joined the U.S. Marine Corps. While he was stationed in Massachusetts, he met his wife, Nora Marie, and they had three children: Jeremiah Regan, Noralee Martha, and Richard Paul. Soon after they married, Schneider left the U.S. Marine Corps to work for the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. After learning about a clerk position at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge in California, Schneider applied and began his U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) career. However, World War II interrupted his time at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge because he was drafted back into the U.S. Marine Corps in 1944. Schneider trained recruits at Parris Island in South Carolina and sailed to Japan with the U.S. occupation forces. In 1946 after his military service ended, Schneider returned to Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge. He served as a maintenance worker until his death. 

Cause of Death 

On May 22, 1947, Schneider was operating a tractor with a bulldozer blade and pulling a double-rigged disc. He was breaking ground in a 500-acre field in order to plant grain for geese 8 miles south of Tule Lake. In the afternoon, Schneider's left foot became caught in the bulldozer blade shaft, yanking him off the tractor and onto the ground. The tractor and double-rigged disc passed over Schneider's head and body. Schneider died instantly. Another Service employee was operating a second tractor in the field. He found Schneider’s body when he noticed that Schneider’s tractor had stalled and went to investigate. 

Sources

• “Cpl Paul R Schneider.” Find A Grave 
• “Schneider.” The Boston Globe, 16 June 1947. 
• “Those Who Died In The Line of Duty.” Received by the National Conservation Training Center. 
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Museum and Archives files with content contributed by Richard Cole Schneider, son of Paul Richard Schneider. 

Key Fields

Born 1917, Died 1947, Age 30, Male, Maintenance Worker, Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge, California, Tractor (Vehicle), Crushed, Marines, World War II