Hill College honors veterans with an evening of gratitude

  Jessyca Brown
  Thursday, November 14, 2024 7:46 AM
  Holiday, Performing Arts

Hillsboro, TX

On November 12, 2024, Hill College celebrated United States veterans, including an open house for the new exhibit at the Texas Heritage Museum, the third annual Medal of Honor Memorial Brick Ceremony, and a special performance from the Reed Quintet of the United States Air Force Band of the West.

The Texas Heritage Museum celebrated the opening of its new exhibit, Army Air Corps & USAF Featured Artifacts, followed by the third annual brick ceremony, which continues the tradition of honoring veterans with a personalized brick placed at the Official Texas State Medal of Honor Memorial to Native-Born Texans that sits in front of the museum.

This year’s brick ceremony recognized Colonel Charles (Chuck) Schneider, United States Air Force, honorably discharged; Senior Airman Isaias Flores III, United States Air Force, honorably discharged; Staff Sargent Allen Dillman, United States Air Force, honorably discharged; William Walcutt, Private, 5th Maryland Regiment, deceased, served in the United States Revolutionary War.

Col. Schneider grew up in Arlington, Texas. After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1981, he attended pilot training in Lubbock, Texas. Throughout his 30-year career, he was stationed in Germany, Japan, Korea, and Turkey, serving as an instructor pilot, flight examiner, flight commander, and operations officer. He commanded the 74th Fighter Squadron at Pope Air Base in North Carolina and served as the Defense and Air Attaché to Turkey. He also served on the Air Staff and Joint Staff at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

He retired from the Air Force in 2011 and then worked as a defense contractor in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia. He and his wife of 37 years, Elizabeth, currently reside in Hillsboro.

Senior Airman Flores was born in Waco, Texas, and graduated high school in Hillsboro in 2012. He joined the United States Air Force in 2013 and was stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia in 2014 in the Aircraft Armament Systems division.

After joining the Basic Honor Guard in 2017, he was awarded the Ceremonial Guardsman of the month in July of 2017. He was deployed to Qatar in 2019 in the 27th Fighter Squadron Support Section and was later awarded Support Professional that year.

Flores was honorably discharged in 2023 as an E4/Senior Airman and currently lives in Hillsboro.

Staff Sergeant Dillman was born in Atlanta, Texas, and enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1968 after attending Texarkana College. He attended basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, where he was promoted to Dorm Chief and received the Honor Graduate Award. He also completed the Morse Code Intercept Operator course at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi in 1968.

Later that year, he was assigned to the 6993rd USAF Security Service at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio. Following his stint there, he was stationed at Chicksands Air Force Base in the United Kingdom until 1971.

Dillman was honorably discharged in 1976 and currently lives in Granbury, Texas.

Private William Walcutt was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War. He was born in Talbot County, Maryland, in 1761. In 1778, he enlisted in the Fifth Maryland Regiment in Captain Levin Handy’s Company, which was commanded by Brigadier General William Smallwood.

Private Walcutt fought in various battles, including the Battle of Camden in 1780 and the Battle of Cowpens in 1781. He also helped care for wounded soldiers at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781. He later marched with General Smallwood to Annapolis, Maryland.

At the end of the war, he was discharged as a private. He then met and married Anna Gooden; they had five children together.

Walcutt died in June of 1833 at the age 72 and is buried in Franklin County, Ohio.

“Each of these honorees represents the strength, courage, and commitment of those who serve. This brick placement is a small but powerful tribute to their lasting impact on both their service and our nation,” said John Versluis, executive director and chief curator of the Texas Heritage Museum.

Following the brick ceremony, the Phillip H. Lowe Performing Arts Series presented the Reed Quintet of the United States Air Force Band of the West as well as a reception for all honorees and attendees.

If you are interested in sponsoring a brick in honor of a loved one, please contact the museum at 254.659.7750 or visit www.hillcollege.edu/museum/join-give.