A memorial fund has been set up in honor of Lt. Col. William Schroeder, the squadron commander killed April 8 in an apparent murder-suicide at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
Schroeder was commander of the 342nd Training Squadron at Lackland's 37th Training Wing, and is believed to have been shot by pararescue student Technical Sgt. Steven Bellino, who apparently committed suicide at the scene.
The next day, the TACP Association — an organization set up to honor the memory of fallen Tactical Air Control Party airmen — set up a "Lt Col Bill Schroeder Memorial Fund" page on the website Fundly.com, to benefit his wife and two sons. By Monday afternoon, the site was already nearly two-thirds of the way towards reaching its $75,000 fundraising goal.
"Bill was loved by all who knew him," the fundraiser page said. "He was an amazing leader, friend, husband and father."
Although Schroeder himself was not a TACP, as commander of the 342nd, he oversaw the training of all battlefield airmen.
"While we primarily support TACPs and their families, we also support those that are affiliated with our community, regardless of what military field they come from," the TACP Association said in a Facebook message.
While the investigation is still ongoing and many details of the crime remain unknown, some details are starting to emerge. Bellino was a pararescue student who joined the Air Force last June at age 41. The Associated Press reported Monday that Bellino was an FBI agent for less than two years before joining the Air Force.
According to the Air Force Judge Advocate General's website, Bellino was facing a court martial for allegedly going absent without leave. His court martial was scheduled to begin April 27 at Lackland.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
