John P. Wheeler III
Encyclopedia
John Parsons Wheeler, III, known as Jack Wheeler (December 14, 1944 c.
December 30, 2010), was a chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
, senior planner for Amtrak
(1971–1972), official of the Securities and Exchange Commission (1978–1986), chief executive and CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving
, consultant to the Mitre Corporation (2009–death), member of the Council on Foreign Relations
, and a presidential aide to the Ronald Reagan
, George H. W. Bush
, and George W. Bush
administrations. He also held numerous other positions in the United States military, government, and corporations.
, who had served as a general both in the Confederate Army, and later with the United States Army. Wheeler, III, was born in Laredo
, Texas
, where his mother was staying with her mother while his father was in Europe. Five days after the delivery, the family received a telegram that his father was missing in action
in the Battle of the Bulge
. His father was later found to be alive.
class of 1966 which lost thirty of its members in the Vietnam War
.
After graduating from West Point, he was a fire control platoon leader at a MIM-14 Nike-Hercules base at Franklin Lakes
, New Jersey
, from 1966 to 1967. From 1967 to 1969 he was a graduate student at Harvard Business School
spending the summer of 1968 as a systems analyst for the Office of Secretary of Defense in Washington, D.C.
From 1969 to 1970, he served in a non-combat position at Long Binh
in Vietnam. From 1970to 1971 he served on the General Staff at The Pentagon
Wheeler's West Point and later years are featured prominently in Rick Atkinson
's book, The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966.
in 1971 and 1972. From 1972 to 1975 he attended law school at Yale University
becoming a clerk for George E. MacKinnon in 1975–76 and an associate for Shea & Gardner
in 1976–78. From 1978 to 1986 he was Assistant General Counsel, Special Counsel to Chairman, and Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission.
that built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
which opened in 1982. Working with Jan Scruggs
, he had supported the controversial Maya Lin
design, which was opposed by Ross Perot
and Jim Webb
, who tried to oust him as chairman of the memorial. Wheeler worked to address their issues by adding The Three Soldiers
sculpture by Frederick Hart
to the memorial.
In 1983, Carlton Sherwood
ran a four-part series on WDMV-TV
(now WUSA) "Vietnam Memorial: A Broken Promise?" which focused on Wheeler's handling of the Memorial Fund, claiming that most of the $9 million raised for the memorial was improperly accounted. Sherwood cast aspersions on Wheeler's career questioning his decision not to go directly to Vietnam out of West Point and noting he had been disciplined shortly after arriving in Vietnam in 1969 for "misappropriation" of government property. A General Accounting Office audit spurred by the television report cleared Wheeler. WMDV made an on-air apology and donated $50,000 to the memorial. In 1984, Wheeler published a memoir, Touched with Fire: The Future of the Vietnam Generation.
In the 1988 television film To Heal a Nation about the construction of the Vietnam Memorial, Wheeler was played by Marshall Colt
, four years his junior and the former co-star with James Arness
in the crime drama McClain's Law
. Eric Roberts
portrayed Jan Scruggs
and Glynnis O'Connor
, Becky Scruggs', Jan's wife.
.
, Delaware
. On December 31, his body was seen by a landfill
worker falling onto a trash heap in the Cherry Island Landfill. Police ruled his death a homicide and claimed that "all the stops made Friday (December 31) by the garbage truck before it arrived at the landfill involved large commercial disposal bins in Newark
(Delaware), several miles from Wheeler's home."
Wheeler's neighbor of seven months, Ron Roark, said that he had met Wheeler only once and rarely saw him. Roark claimed that, in the days prior to Wheeler's death, he (Roark) and his family heard, from outside the Wheeler residence, a loud television within the home that was constantly on, though no one appeared to be home.
According to the Washington Post, Wheeler was sighted on December 29 at the New Castle County courthouse parking garage, disoriented and wearing only one shoe, as the other was ripped. Wheeler, attempting to gain access to the parking garage on foot, claimed that he wanted to warm up before paying a parking fee. (Police later determined that his car was actually in a different parking garage at the train station.) Wheeler explained to the parking garage attendant that his briefcase had been stolen and repeatedly denied being intoxicated. It is also claimed that, on December 29, Wheeler asked a pharmacist for a ride to Wilmington and "looked upset." The pharmacist offered to call a cab for Wheeler, at which point Wheeler left the store.
On December 30, Wheeler was sighted wandering about various office buildings, including Mitre and DuPont locations, where he refused offers of assistance from several individuals. On January 28, 2011, the Delaware state medical examiner
's office reported Wheeler's cause of death as assault and "blunt force trauma" without elaboration.
Wheeler's remains were inurned at Arlington National Cemetery
with full military honors on April 29, 2011.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
December 30, 2010), was a chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. , was a non-profit organization established on April 27, 1979, by Jan Scruggs, Jack Wheeler, and several other Vietnam War veterans, finance the construction of a memorial to those Americans who died or were killed during the Vietnam War. The memorial was...
, senior planner for Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
(1971–1972), official of the Securities and Exchange Commission (1978–1986), chief executive and CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a non-profit organization in the United States that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy...
, consultant to the Mitre Corporation (2009–death), member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
, and a presidential aide to the Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administrations. He also held numerous other positions in the United States military, government, and corporations.
Early life
John Parsons Wheeler, III, descended from a family of military professionals which included Joseph WheelerJoseph Wheeler
Joseph Wheeler was an American military commander and politician. He has the rare distinction of serving as a general during war time for two opposing forces: first as a noted cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and later as a general in the...
, who had served as a general both in the Confederate Army, and later with the United States Army. Wheeler, III, was born in Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, where his mother was staying with her mother while his father was in Europe. Five days after the delivery, the family received a telegram that his father was missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
in the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
. His father was later found to be alive.
Military career
Wheeler was a member of the United States Military AcademyUnited States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
class of 1966 which lost thirty of its members in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
After graduating from West Point, he was a fire control platoon leader at a MIM-14 Nike-Hercules base at Franklin Lakes
Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
Franklin Lakes is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 10,590. As of the 2000 Census, Franklin Lakes had the 18th-highest per-capita income of all 566 municipalities in the state. Nationwide, Franklin Lakes ranked 17th among the...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, from 1966 to 1967. From 1967 to 1969 he was a graduate student at Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
spending the summer of 1968 as a systems analyst for the Office of Secretary of Defense in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
From 1969 to 1970, he served in a non-combat position at Long Binh
Long Binh
Long Binh is a ward, in District 9 of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.-Long Binh Post:During the Vietnam War, Long Binh Post was located near Bien Hoa, Dong Nai province. Vietnam, 33km from Saigon . The base functioned as a U.S. Army base, logistics center, and major command headquarters for United...
in Vietnam. From 1970to 1971 he served on the General Staff at The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
Wheeler's West Point and later years are featured prominently in Rick Atkinson
Rick Atkinson
Rick Atkinson is an American journalist and author whose contributions led to four Pulitzer Prizes.-Life:Atkinson was born in Munich. His father was an United States Army officer and he grew up at military posts. He earned his bachelor degree from East Carolina University in 1974 and a master of...
's book, The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point's Class of 1966.
Law career
After leaving the military he was a senior planner for AmtrakAmtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
in 1971 and 1972. From 1972 to 1975 he attended law school at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
becoming a clerk for George E. MacKinnon in 1975–76 and an associate for Shea & Gardner
Shea & Gardner
Shea & Gardner was a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that practiced from 1947 to 2004 when it merged with Boston-based Goodwin Procter. The firm was founded by two Roosevelt administration officials, Francis M. Shea and Warner W. Gardner...
in 1976–78. From 1978 to 1986 he was Assistant General Counsel, Special Counsel to Chairman, and Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
From 1979 to 1989, Wheeler was chairman of Vietnam Veterans Memorial FundVietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. , was a non-profit organization established on April 27, 1979, by Jan Scruggs, Jack Wheeler, and several other Vietnam War veterans, finance the construction of a memorial to those Americans who died or were killed during the Vietnam War. The memorial was...
that built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national memorial in Washington, D.C. It honors U.S. service members of the U.S. armed forces who fought in the Vietnam War, service members who died in service in Vietnam/South East Asia, and those service members who were unaccounted for during the War.Its...
which opened in 1982. Working with Jan Scruggs
Jan Scruggs
Jan Scruggs is best known for being the founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Scruggs served as a corporal in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, and upon completion of his service attended American University in Washington, D.C where he obtained a master's degree in counseling...
, he had supported the controversial Maya Lin
Maya Lin
Maya Ying Lin is an American artist who is known for her work in sculpture and landscape art. She is the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Personal life:...
design, which was opposed by Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
and Jim Webb
Jim Webb
James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Virginia. He is also an author and a former Secretary of the Navy. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
, who tried to oust him as chairman of the memorial. Wheeler worked to address their issues by adding The Three Soldiers
The Three Soldiers
The Three Soldiers is a bronze statue, on the Washington, DC National Mall commemorating the Vietnam War. It was created and designed to complement the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, by adding a more traditional component to the Memorial.- Sculpture design and symbolism :This well-known sculpture by U.S...
sculpture by Frederick Hart
Frederick Hart (sculptor)
Frederick Elliott Hart was an American sculptor, best known for his public monuments and works of art in bronze, marble, and clear acrylic .-Biography:American master sculptor Frederick Hart is recognized for creating work that is at once traditional in its...
to the memorial.
In 1983, Carlton Sherwood
Carlton Sherwood
Carlton Sherwood is an American journalist who produced the anti-John Kerry film Stolen Honor. Sherwood served on two news teams which were responsible for the award of the Pulitzer Prize and the Peabody Award to their organizations....
ran a four-part series on WDMV-TV
WUSA (TV)
WUSA is a television station broadcasting on channel 9 in Washington, D.C.. Owned by the Gannett Company, WUSA is an affiliate of the CBS television network, and the longest-tenured affiliate of that network...
(now WUSA) "Vietnam Memorial: A Broken Promise?" which focused on Wheeler's handling of the Memorial Fund, claiming that most of the $9 million raised for the memorial was improperly accounted. Sherwood cast aspersions on Wheeler's career questioning his decision not to go directly to Vietnam out of West Point and noting he had been disciplined shortly after arriving in Vietnam in 1969 for "misappropriation" of government property. A General Accounting Office audit spurred by the television report cleared Wheeler. WMDV made an on-air apology and donated $50,000 to the memorial. In 1984, Wheeler published a memoir, Touched with Fire: The Future of the Vietnam Generation.
In the 1988 television film To Heal a Nation about the construction of the Vietnam Memorial, Wheeler was played by Marshall Colt
Marshall Colt
Marshall N. Colt is a marriage, family, and life enhancement therapist in San Diego, California, who was an actor of film and television from 1976 to 1995...
, four years his junior and the former co-star with James Arness
James Arness
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
in the crime drama McClain's Law
McClain's Law
McClain's Law is an American crime drama television series that aired on NBC during the 1981-1982 season. New episodes ended on March 20, and rebroadcasts continued until August 24, 1982.-Summary:...
. Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
portrayed Jan Scruggs
Jan Scruggs
Jan Scruggs is best known for being the founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Scruggs served as a corporal in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, and upon completion of his service attended American University in Washington, D.C where he obtained a master's degree in counseling...
and Glynnis O'Connor
Glynnis O'Connor
Glynnis O'Connor is an American actress, perhaps best known for her work in the mid-1970s, including her lead actress roles in the TV version of Our Town and the films Ode to Billy Joe and Jeremy, all of which co-starred Robby Benson.O'Connor was born in New York City, the daughter of stage, film...
, Becky Scruggs', Jan's wife.
Other service
In 1988–89, Wheeler worked with George H.W. Bush to establish the Earth Conservation Corps. From 1997 to 2001, he was President and CEO, Deafness Research Foundation. He was consultant to acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics from 2001 to 2005, Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Air Force from 2005 to 2008. From 2008 to 2009, he was Special Assistant to the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Logistics and Energy. From 1983 to 1987, he was Chairman and CEO of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and from 1993 until his death, he was the founding CEO of Vietnam Children's FundVietnam Children's Fund
Vietnam Children’s Fund is a non-profit organization based in Unionville, Virginia, United States, helping the children of Vietnam.It builds “turnkey” schools to modern standards, ready for occupation....
.
Death
Wheeler was allegedly seen on December 28, 2010, exiting an Amtrak train, and later, on the afternoon of December 30, 2010, at 10th and Orange streets in WilmingtonWilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
. On December 31, his body was seen by a landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
worker falling onto a trash heap in the Cherry Island Landfill. Police ruled his death a homicide and claimed that "all the stops made Friday (December 31) by the garbage truck before it arrived at the landfill involved large commercial disposal bins in Newark
Newark, Delaware
Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...
(Delaware), several miles from Wheeler's home."
Wheeler's neighbor of seven months, Ron Roark, said that he had met Wheeler only once and rarely saw him. Roark claimed that, in the days prior to Wheeler's death, he (Roark) and his family heard, from outside the Wheeler residence, a loud television within the home that was constantly on, though no one appeared to be home.
According to the Washington Post, Wheeler was sighted on December 29 at the New Castle County courthouse parking garage, disoriented and wearing only one shoe, as the other was ripped. Wheeler, attempting to gain access to the parking garage on foot, claimed that he wanted to warm up before paying a parking fee. (Police later determined that his car was actually in a different parking garage at the train station.) Wheeler explained to the parking garage attendant that his briefcase had been stolen and repeatedly denied being intoxicated. It is also claimed that, on December 29, Wheeler asked a pharmacist for a ride to Wilmington and "looked upset." The pharmacist offered to call a cab for Wheeler, at which point Wheeler left the store.
On December 30, Wheeler was sighted wandering about various office buildings, including Mitre and DuPont locations, where he refused offers of assistance from several individuals. On January 28, 2011, the Delaware state medical examiner
Medical examiner
A medical examiner is a medically qualified government officer whose duty is to investigate deaths and injuries that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictions to initiate inquests....
's office reported Wheeler's cause of death as assault and "blunt force trauma" without elaboration.
Wheeler's remains were inurned at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
with full military honors on April 29, 2011.