Andrew Schabinger

KING DECORATES WASHINGTONIAN

And that is just a part of this soldier’s story. Literally, he became “Last Man Standing” in a unique club of WWI veterans – established with a sense of somewhat macabre humor.

The Schabinger family was a well-known name in Washington in the late 1800s, and Andrew’s birth in 1893 added respect with a capital R.  Schabinger was just an “old Washington boy” who selflessly served his country.  

Schabinger enlisted on June 21, 1916, in Company H, 5th Illinois Infantry, and was called up on March 26, 1917.  Training commenced at Camp Logan, Texas.  He was made a sergeant in the military police – but Andrew was more interested in action, so as a private, he was transferred to Co. E, 131st Infantry under Colonel Sanborne. May 22, 1918, found his company under sail on the Leviathan landing at Brest, France, on Decoration Day – which we now call Memorial Day.  First, he was placed in training with British soldiers.  Later, he was sent with the Australian forces. Hamel -July 4 – (these dates for battles make me wonder if the generals chose them purposely), Andrew was ordered over the top at 3:00 a.m. with his company. Undaunted by a direct hit of shrapnel in the shoulder, he led his men into the fray. Again, he was knocked down by shrapnel, this time to the head, where his helmet saved his life. 

The objective was achieved in three hours. Hospitalized until October, he rejoined his company in the Argonne and then was gassed with chloride, spending weeks in the hospital until Christmas 1918.  Schabinger returned to Chicago and was honorably discharged at Camp Grant on June 4, 1919.

Schabinger was personally decorated by King George V with the British Military Medal, awarded the American Distinguished Service Cross by General John J. Pershing, the Purple Heart, Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Victory Medal with three stars.    

Schabinger enlisted in the Navy in WWII, serving with the Seabees in the Aleutian Islands, but he said his heart was always with the action in the European theater.  

Humor seems to find its way into the oddest of circumstances.  Schabinger’s lungs gave him trouble for years, and he retired to Tucson, AZ.  He and 38 other cronies from WWI established the “Last Man’s Club.”  The group gathered annually to boast about “besting the Grim Reaper.” Three of the club’s founders were sitting around, sharing stories, and smoking when the idea became a reality. These three cigarettes were lit from the same match despite the superstition that “three on a match” was bad luck. The men snuffed their cigarettes, and the smokes became keepsakes. The pact made was that the last survivor of the group was to “down” a bottle of tequila, preferably at the American Legion, Post #1 in Phoenix.  The 1939 bottle was purchased and saved for “The Last Man.”  One member's daughter observed that as the men aged, the meetings became more emotional than boisterous – crying often was heard.  Despite the tears, the members were characters.  One member, Herman Lewkowitz, was the defense attorney for the infamous Winnie Ruth Judd during her 1932 trunk murder trial. 

 If a member missed a reunion due to illness or hospitalization, the others made $10 bets about the date of his demise. Then, with everyone chipping in, they went to the taxidermist and took a stuffed vulture to the hospital for a “cheering up” visit.  

In 1974, the group was down to 12.  In 1981, Schabinger and George Wayne Vensel were the only ones left.  In 1984, Schabinger received the call that Vensel had passed.  As Schabinger mulled over lost friends while holding his purple heart, he quietly said, “I think I will pass on the tequila. But, it probably would rot the guts out of anyone we left it to.”

Schabinger passed on in 1988, leaving a heroic legacy.