Russell Lowell Schober was born on April 25, 1948, in Hubbard County, Minnesota. He was the son of Chester Allen Schober and Grace Tretbar Schober. He enlisted in the Army in September 1967, served a year in Vietnam during 1968–1969, and after reenlisting was assigned to Germany in January 1971. He served in the Heavy Mortar Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, as a Specialist 5th Class and Chief Computer during the Vietnam War era.

On August 18, 1971, a U.S. Army CH-47A Chinook (tail number 66-19023) transporting troops from Ludwigsburg to the Grafenwöhr training area crashed near Pegnitz, Germany, when a decommissioned rotor blade was mistakenly reinstalled and failed mid-flight. The aircraft broke apart in the air, killing all 37 aboard, including 33 soldiers and 4 crew members, marking the deadliest peacetime U.S. military accident in
West Germany since World War II.

SP5 Schober, who was among the passengers on board and is now buried in the Saint Paul's Lutheran Church Cemetery, Carsonville Township, Becker County, Minnesota, USA.

Source of information: www.chinook-helicopter.com, www.findagrave.com