Ronald Alan Schulz (March 29, 1965 – circa December 8, 2005) was an American civilian contract worker in Iraq who was kidnapped and killed by Iraqi insurgents.

Early life

Schulz graduated from Jamestown High School in Jamestown, North Dakota in 1983. He joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and served from 1984 to 1991. After leaving the Marines, Schulz moved to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Death in Iraq

In 2005, Schulz went to Iraq as a civilian contract worker initially doing electrical work for KBR (Kellog Brown & Root). He had left them to do electrical work for an unspecified

private security A private security company is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors. Overview Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic ...

organization. On or around November 25, 2005, Schulz was kidnapped by unknown insurgents, although the U.S. government didn't announce the kidnapping until December 6.MacPherson, James, "North Dakota Family To Bury Slain Hostage", ''

San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' (

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

), October 31, 2008. On December 6, 2005, the

Islamic Army in Iraq The Islamic Army in Iraq (, IAI) was an underground Islamist militant organization formed in Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led Coalition forces, and the subsequent collapse of the Ba'athist regime headed by Saddam Hussein. ...

uploaded a video to the internet showing Schulz sitting in a white plastic chair with his hands tied behind his back. The group threatened to kill him in 48 hours unless the U.S. government freed all Iraqi prisoners and paid compensation to Iraqis affected by military offensives led by U.S. troops against militants in the Sunni Muslim-dominated

Al Anbar province Al Anbar Governorate (; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The population ...

. On December 8, 2005, the group declared that they had killed Schulz after the U.S. refused to give in to their demands. On December 19, 2005, the militants uploaded a video showing Schulz's death, in which he is shot in the back of the head with an automatic rifle. The video included footage of Schulz's identification card. Schulz's remains were found in a grave in Iraq in September 2008 along with those of Susan Bushra, his Kurdish fiancée. The remains were confirmed to be Schulz's in October and they were returned to

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

for burial.

Notes

1965 births 2000s missing person cases 2005 deaths American people taken hostage Foreign hostages in Iraq American people imprisoned in Iraq Kidnapped American people Missing person cases in Iraq People from Jamestown, North Dakota United States Marines Civilian casualties in the Iraq War {{paramilitary-action-stub

Early life

Death in Iraq

See also

Notes