They were in different stages of life, but they were connected by their Air Force service.
Senior Master Sgt. James Swartz, Master Sgt. Daniel Paschal and Staff Sgt. Joshua Schoenhoff were on temporary duty assignment to support Pacific Air Forces command at Kadena Air Base, Japan.
The airmen — at the base no more than a week — were on Okinawa’s northern coast around 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 5 when they were overcome by waves from Typhoon Phanfone.
The airmen were stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia: Swartz was an aerospace propulsion superintendent with the Georgia Air National Guard’s 116th Air Control Wing; Schoenhoff, an instrument and flight control systems specialist with the 461st Air Control Wing; and Paschal, an aerospace propulsion craftsman with the 116th ACW.
Both wings work together to operate JSTARS, the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, the base said in a release.
Swartz’s brother, retired Master Sgt. Jack Swartz Jr., told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the airmen were spending their day off taking photos along the coastline. Swartz grew up in Tarentum, Pennsylvania.
Air Force and Japan Coast Guard search teams found Swartz, 51, later that night. Twenty-seven year-old Schoenhoff was recovered the next day, and Paschal, 34, on Oct. 8.
“My heart goes out to every one of the family members,” Mary Ann Yurchick, Swartz’s sister, told Air Force Times. “We’re all at a loss.” Yurchick said James followed their eldest brother, Jack, into the Air Force. One of Swartz’s daughters, Chelsey, is also a part of “Team JSTARS.”
A senior noncommissioned officer, Swartz had 33 years of service, 28 with the Georgia Air National Guard.
“Our hearts go out to the 116th and 461st members and their families during this time of loss and unknown outcomes,” said Col. Kevin Clotfelter, 116th ACW commander, in a release Oct. 5. “We share in the sorrow felt by these airmen’s loved ones,” said Col. Henry Cyr, 461st ACW commander. “We will do all that we can to work through this tragedy together.”
The commanders said in a press briefing that it’s still unclear what happened that day, just hours after Typhoon Phanfone’s large eye made landfall north of Okinawa, near the city of Hamamatsu. The Air Force is looking into whether one or more of the men may have jumped into the water trying to save others.
“While the waves were still high, there were no significant onshore warnings. There were some offshore warnings,” Cyr said in the Oct. 8 briefing.
Another Robins airman, whose name hasn’t been released, also accompanied the airmen to the shore. “That man has survived and is recuperating right now on Okinawa,” Cyr said.
Schoenhoff, a newly-made NCO, had four years of service, three with the 461st.
“He was mister core values,” said Lt. Col. Ralph Watson, commander of the 461st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.
“For the last three years, he scored 98.7 on his fitness test, but even better than that, in his off time, he worked with some of our airmen who had, one, two, sometimes three failures,” said Watson, referring to Schoenhoff’s physical training leader skills for the squadron.
Schoenhoff also was the 2013 461st Maintenance Group’s maintainer of the year.
“We’d be standing in line in a deployed location, where stress levels are high and I’d be stressed out, but [Schoenhoff] would be talking to somebody, just smiling, talking to people we didn’t know,” said Staff Sgt. Shawn Phillips, a close friend and fellow 461st instrument and flight control systems specialist. “He was always trying to help other people … no matter what was going on.”
Paschal, also a senior NCO, had 11 years of service, eight with the Georgia Air National Guard.
Family members could not be reached.
Swartz is survived by his wife, Renee Wyatt, two daughters Chelsey and Jessica Swartz, and two grandchildren; Schoenhoff by his wife, Jessica, and two young children; Paschal by his wife, Michaella, and their 3-year-old daughter.
“With three fatalities, it has been a shock, but our Air Force family and all the agencies that provide support to the families and to the airmen affected by this tragedy have really stepped up and are providing the best support,” Watson said.
Watson said a joint memorial service will be held at the Robins Museum of Aviation in the next few weeks.
