Rhett Schiller laid to rest

BURLINGTON – William Schiller tried to maintain his composure Tuesday morning as he stood before a crowded room of mourners who came to honor his son, Rhett.

Before he could share a few memories, William Schiller paced slowly back and laid his hand upon his son’s flag-draped casket.

“I guess I believe in destiny. We have a certain amount of time here,” William Schiller said. “(Rhett) had 26 years and nine days and he ran through life.”

Schiller’s father spoke to the more than 200 people gathered in the chapel at Burlington’s Schuette-Daniels Funeral Home. It was the final memorial service for Capt. Schiller, who died Nov. 16, while serving with the Army in Iraq.

Schiller’s father spoke of his youngest son, the boy he’d watched become a man, who throughout his life continued to push himself to succeed.

After moving to Holland in 1994, the Schiller family moved to China, where Rhett Schiller took it upon himself not just to learn Chinese, but to become fluent in the language. He spent four hours every Saturday until he learned to read, write and speak Chinese, his father said.

“He continued to push himself until he succeeded,” William Schiller said.

Rhett Schiller attended the International School of Amsterdam and later graduated in 1999 from the Shanghai American School. He wanted to attend West Point and became obsessed with the meaning of leadership.

Schiller did just that. He was accepted to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and studied Chinese. Upon graduating from West Point in 2003, Schiller became a commissioned second lieutenant of infantry.

He completed the Army’s Infantry Officer Basic Course, Basic Airborne Course and Ranger School at Fort Benning, Ga., in 2003 and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne.

The father remembered a son who, after moving overseas, was always to be found in bookstores searching for self-improvement books. “He touched everyone he met. He made people better,” William Schiller said. “He made me better.

“He spent his 26 years and nine days doing exactly what he wanted to do,” William Schiller said of his son. “If you didn’t know him, jeez, I wish you would have.”

The crowd of mourners sobbed and wiped away tears as friends and family shared just a few personal glimpses into the life of their loved one.

People laughed as Schiller’s older brother, Marine Capt. Ryan Schiller, read from a letter he wrote to his dead brother in the plane as he accompanied his casket from Philadelphia to Wisconsin.

He remembered the relationship – a mix of mutual respect and admiration, along with a little good-natured torment.

For half of Rhett Schiller’s 26 years, he and his brother, Ryan, were roommates. The two shared bunk beds. They traded baseball cards.

They shared the ability, not uncommon between two brothers, to get after each other. They also shared a tremendous amount of respect for each other.

“Rhett, do you remember the last time we talked on the phone? I was in Iraq and you told me you loved me a bunch of times and I was ignoring you, trying to be a tough guy,” Ryan Schiller read to his dead brother, holding back tears. “Rhett, I love you and I’ll see you soon.”

From the Journal Times

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