Col., U.S. Army Air Corps, WW II.

Lewis "Mel" Schulstad, Jr., 93, World War II veteran and B-17 pilot, passed away on January 6, 2012 in Everett, Washington. He was born March 9, 1918 in Duluth, MN, and was raised by his paternal grandparents in Reynolds, ND. He enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1939, received his pilot's wings in March 1942, and flew B-17 missions over Europe (France, Low countries, and Germany) from Nov 1942 to May 1945. He is credited with 44 missions, including all three missions to Schweinfurt.
He began his ETO-tour as a squadron pilot and rose to become the Group Operations Officer, frequently flying as Group lead. In the post-war period, he had a distinguished career in the US Air Force, retiring as a Colonel at the end of 1965.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 40 years, Geraldine Broz Schulstad, a 303rd Station Hospital nurse he met and married while in England.
He dedicated his retirement years to promoting professionalism in the field of alcoholism counseling. He was a recovering alcoholic himself, with 46 years of sobriety at the time of his death. He was the founding president of the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Counselors (NAADAC). He gave love, compassion, laughter, forgiveness, tolerance, and gratitude to every person he met.
He is survived by his wife, Lee; his four children: Jon Schulstad, Martha Hyde, Eric Schulstad, and Christina Schulstad; two stepchildren: Philese Selden and Sharon Kozik; five grandchildren, Jeff Schulstad, Jenny Brailey, Karen Barney, Ryan Hyde and Maureen Hyde, two step grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Monday, January 23, at American Legion Park, Everett, Washington. Interment will follow on January 24 at Tahoma National Cemetery.

Source: Finda Grave