John Wheeler III found dead

[Exotix]

Former Reagan and Bush administrations official found as garbage truck emptied contents at landfill

Just In

Former Reagan, Bush official killed, police say - U.S. news - Crime & courts - msnbc.com



DOVER, Delaware — Police in Delaware searched for clues Monday in the death of John Wheeler III, a veteran of Republican administrations who also helped led efforts to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall in Washington.

The body of Wheeler, 66, was discovered on New Year's Eve as a garbage truck emptied its contents at the Cherry Island landfill. His death has been ruled a homicide.



Wheeler retired from the military in 1971 and lived in New Castle.

The former Army officer reportedly was last seen Dec. 28, riding an Amtrak train from Washington to Wilmington.

Police have determined that all the stops made Friday by the garbage truck before it arrived at the landfill involved large commercial disposal bins in Newark, several miles from Wheeler's home.

"He was just not the sort of person who would wind up in a landfill," said Bayard Marin, an attorney who was representing Wheeler in a dispute over a couple's plans to build a new home in the historic district of Old New Castle where Wheeler lived.



Wheeler, the son of a decorated Army officer, was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and a veteran of the Vietnam war.

He was the first chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and led the multimillion-dollar fundraising effort to create the memorial on the National Mall.

Fund founder and president Jan Scruggs said Wheeler dedicated himself to ensuring that service members are given the respect they deserve.

"I know how passionate he was about honoring all who serve their nation, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice," Scruggs said in a statement released Monday.



Wheeler served in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

In addition to chairing the memorial fund, Wheeler also was the first chief executive of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

From 2005 to 2009, he worked within the Secretary of the Air Force and then became a consultant for the Mitre Corporation, according to a biography at the website Second Line of Defense, where he contributed

Wheeler's military career included writing a manual on the effectiveness of biological and chemical weapons, which recommended that the United States not use biological weapons.

"He was a very humble kind of guy, actually," Marin said.
"He was never the kind of person who would talk about all the wonderful things he did in his life."




John P. Wheeler III

[Exotix]

'Confused' Wheeler seen hours before killing.

Surveillance video places ex-Bush aide inside office building just before his death


Today

'Confused' Wheeler seen hours before killing - U.S. news - msnbc.com


Military expert John Wheeler was caught on video appearing confused inside an office building just hours before his dead body was apparently put into a trash dumpster, according to police in Delaware.

Wheeler, who served in three Republican administrations, was inside the Nemours office building in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, the surveillance video shows.

"On this video, Mr. Wheeler appears confused," a police spokesman told NBC News.

Earlier in the day, Wheeler had been offered help by several people who observed his apparently eratic behavior, but he declined their offers, police said.

In his last few days, Wheeler appeared increasingly disheveled and disoriented. In various incidents, he was unable to find his car, was seen not wearing a coat and missing a shoe, and asked a pharmacist for a ride.

Police are still trying to establish which of the 10 bins collected on New Year's Eve in Newark contained the body of 66-year-old Wheeler.


(Read continues in Link)


Where did he die?

Tracing the garbage truck's path






Video inside ~ Wheeler murder leaves veterans community reeling

[mrvette]

This is a VERY SWAG opinion......I suppose at his age, he maybe got attacked/mugged? and so it brought on a stroke, heart attack? and wiped his brain....

after that, maybe victimized yet again??


damn shame, my father was ~72 at his first stroke, and so gone at age 79....and mom said as they carried him off to the hospital to die 3 days later....
Please don't bring him back, I simply can not care for him any more'.....

Sad, but **** happens....