BELMONT, Mich. — Bill Schaefer is a well decorated veteran with a military career spanning nearly 40 years.
Schaefer, a retired Air Force Command Chief Master Sergeant, began his military career during the Vietnam War and managed to rise to one of the highest ranks in the Air Force.
Even in his retirement, the Kent County Veteran Honor Guard member said he still felt compelled to give back to other fellow servicemen. While Schaefer's uniform is adorned with dozens of ribbons and medals he earned throughout his career, he realized other veterans didn't have the medals he thought they should from their time in the service.
“The biggest problem we’ve had is a lot of these guys come back from overseas, and a clerk typist just types in what they think the ribbons or medals they’ve earned, and it never goes beyond that," he said.
Bill began chasing down elusive medals and honors back in 2011. His first project was tracking down a medal for World War II veteran Bob Bianchi of Grand Rapids.
"I got him an order from the Pentagon, and come to find out it went all the way back to 1942," Schaefer said. "I'll tell you, that guy, he is so proud of that badge."
Schaefer quickly realized that award would only be the first of many more.
“These guys all of a sudden started saying, ‘Bill, can you find us some things we might be missing?’” he said.
His high rank in the Air Force, along with connections and security clearances he still holds at the Pentagon, have proven useful in tracking down the missing medals.
Schaefer said he doesn't consider it work. He does it simply for fun and for the love of history.
"There has to be someone to go back to research," he said. "It’s a challenge to me, but it also gives me an idea of what these guys did.
"For me, it’s a historical thing, and every single one of them has a story."
One of Schaefer's most recent projects was featured on FOX 17 in October: awarding the Navy-Marine Corps personal achievement medal to John Johnson, a retired Marine Corps sergeant, 60 years after his service.
Johnson is one of about 30 local veterans who have received their missing medals thanks to Schaefer's work, and he's not done yet. He's currently in the midst of working on three other cases, he said.
As many of the veterans grow older, Schaefer said, they're finding that their younger relatives or friends are beginning to take a renewed interest in their military pasts.
“A lot of them came back home and said, 'I served my time, and that was it,' but now they’ve got grandchildren asking, 'What’d you do, and where’s your stuff?'" Schaefer said.
Luckily for these veterans, this mission is one Schaefer says he won't be giving up on any time soon.
"It’s been fun to meet with these guys and talk about some of their experiences and where they’ve been and what they’ve done.”
