Biography of Major Sheldon Harley Wheeler
On November 11, 1922, the new airdrome at Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii, was named Wheeler Field in honor of Major Sheldon H. Wheeler, who was killed in an aircraft accident on July 13, 1921 at Luke Field. Located on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Luke Field was commanded by Major Wheeler at the time of his death.
Born on April 6, 1889 in New York City, Sheldon Harley Wheeler received his early education in Vermont. After attending the University of Vermont for two years, he was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduated on June 12, 1914, and was commissioned a second lieutenant.
Lieutenant Wheeler served one year with the 25th Infantry Division before starting his aviation career in the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps at Rockwell Field, California, where he was rated a junior military aviator on September 2, 1915. As a member of the 1st Aero Squadron, Lieutenant Wheeler served with distinction during the punitive expedition into Mexico under the command of General John J. Pershing. He received his promotion to first lieutenant on May 1, 1916, then transferred later that year to the cavalry. On June 8, 1917, he attained the rank of captain of cavalry and transferred back to the air service later that year. Assigned to Kelly Field, Texas, Captain Wheeler assumed command of the 8th Aero Squadron and served as the officer in charge of flying at Kelly Field. After a month there, he moved on to Scott Field, Illinois where he was again placed as officer in charge of flying. From September 1917 until the spring of 1918, he served in the same capacity at Love Field in Dallas, Texas, and at Carlstrom Field in Arcadia, Florida.
In March 1918, Captain Wheeler joined the American Expeditionary Force in France, where he was once again placed in charge of the flying field at Orly, just outside Paris. On August 1, 1918, he was promoted to major, Aviation Section, Signal Corps. Major Wheeler returned to the United States in April 1919, he was assigned to Hazlehurst Field, Long Island, New York and officially received his full rating as a military aviator. On October 25, 1919, Major Wheeler next assignment sent him to the distant territory of Hawaii, where he assumed command of Luke Field on November 4, 1919. His commission as a major in the Air Service was made permanent in the Regular Army on July 1, 1920.
On July 13, 1921, Major Wheeler and his observer, Sergeant Thomas Kelly, both died when the De Havilland DH-4 observation biplane he was flying suffered an engine failure shortly after take-off. As Wheeler attempted to bring the crippled plane in for an emergency landing the DH-4 stalled and fell into an uncontrollable flat spin that resulted in the aircraft crashing onto Luke Field where it exploded and burst into flames. Major Wheeler's assignment with the Hawaiian Department was scheduled to end on October 1, 1921, and he had received orders transferring him to the field officers' school at Langley Field, Virginia upon completion of his tour of duty in Hawaii.
Sheldon H. Wheeler, only 32 years old when he died, was survived by his wife and two sons. His widow, Mary Patrick Wester (Wheeler) Bell later died of a heart attack in Chicago, Illinois on January 21, 1939. One son, Patrick Wester Wheeler, graduated from West Point in January 1943, served with the 11th Airborne Division, and was killed in action during the battle for Manila, Luzon, Philippines on February 10, 1945. For his actions he was awarded two Silver Stars (one posthumously), Bronze Star, and Purple Heart. He is interred at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. His other son, Sheldon Harley Wheeler, Jr. received his commission in 1941 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps while attending Purdue University, eventually attaining the rank of colonel in the United States Army. In January 1968, while on R&R (Rest and Recuperation) leave from Vietnam, he and his wife Katherine visited his father’s namesake Wheeler AFB. Colonel Wheeler passed away at the age of 91 in the city of Northport, Michigan on May 10, 2011. His wife Katherine passed away at the age of 96 on March 14, 2016.
In 1976 and 1981 two of Major Wheeler’s grandchildren, Kathie Vestal and Gil Wheeler, followed in their parent’s footsteps, visiting and touring the base named in honor of their grandfather.
Historian’s Note: Source information for this biography is maintained at the 15th Wing History Office archives. Information compiled and edited by Mr. James Burrett, 15th Wing Historian, October 6, 2021.
