HONOLULU — U.S. Navy Commander Frederick Schrader will be buried in Hawaii 78 years after being shot down in World War II.
When Frederick Schrader, known as Fritz, was killed, his second daughter, Barbara Canavan, was just two years old.
"I can remember my sister and I as little children dreaming of this day," said Canavan, who lives in Colorado Springs. "Of course when we were little we were hoping he was found alive. But we’ve been working on this my whole life really.”
Schrader will be laid to rest at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii on Thursday, April 13.
Born in Carbondale and raised in Lawrenceville, Illinois, Schrader was shot down during the Battle of Formosa in 1944 in what is now Taiwan.
Schrader was commander of Carrier Air Group 11 on the USS Hornet, one of 17 aircraft carriers to take part in the Battle of Formosa, in October 1944.
The U.S. Navy said Schrader’s F6F-5 Hellcat fighter was shot down during an attack on Toko Seaplane Base on Formosa on Oct. 13.
Because it was enemy territory, a rescue attempt couldn't be made, and his body wasn't recovered.
Before Canavan's dad left for war, he gave her mom two teddy bears to give to the girls on Christmas.
Canavan is 80. Teddy is 78.
"I used to have dreams as a child that he would be a bear that I would carry around with me, but then he would also become a real bear and we would go on adventures to try to find my dad," she said.
Teddy was with her because her dad couldn't be.
"He was the personification of my dad," she said about Teddy. "So when I was lonely or sad or excited, I’d go to Teddy to tell him what was going on. So he’s going to Hawaii too."
The adventure is no longer just a dream.
Schrader was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart Medal.
“By his inspiring leadership, indomitable fighting spirit and cool courage in the face of tremendous odds, Commander Schrader contributed materially to the extensive and costly damage inflicted on the enemy in this area and his valiant devotion to duty throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his live for his country,” reads the Distinguished Flying Cross citation.
The U.S. Navy said after being shot down, Schrader’s body was recovered by Imperial Japanese forces in the area, returned to a local headquarters, inspected by an intelligence officer and interred as WWII unknown “X-136 Schofield” in the National Cemetery of the Pacific.
Research that began in 2018 by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) found evidence linking the two.
On Aug. 11, 2022, X-136 was disinterred and taken to the DPAA laboratory at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii for analysis.
On Sept. 27, X-136 was positively identified as Cdr. Frederick Rutherford Schrader.
Schrader will be buried with full military honors, with members of his family in attendance.
Canavan said next week will be "closure."
"He's been found," she said. "He’s laid to rest with his name on his headstone."
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