Charles Schott; W W II Flier, Aviation Executive

Charles Wesley Schott, 87, retired Air Force major general and aerospace executive who was a decorated bomber command pilot during World War II, has died. He was 87.

His family said Monday that Schott died Dec. 27 at Air Force Village West Health Center in Riverside where he had lived for four years.

Born in Providence, R.I., Schott was educated at Brown University and the University of Michigan. He entered the Air Corps as a flying cadet in 1930 and served for two years.

After eight years in civilian life with American Airways and in air traffic control, Schott was called to active duty.

He spent most of World War II flying combat planes in England and Europe, and once accomplished the surrender of a German garrison near the abandoned German airfield where he landed--before Allied troops had crossed the Rhine.

Schott earned the Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Croix de Guerre with Palm from France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

During the 1950s, Schott served as a commander with the Strategic Air Command, stationed at Walker Air Force Base in New Mexico, and later in Guam. He retired in 1963 as deputy inspector general of the Air Force, stationed at Norton Air Force Base near Redlands, after 32 years of service.

Schott later served as a director of North American Aviation and continued as a management systems executive and consultant with its successor, Rockwell International, for 25 years.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara Crittenden Schott of Riverside; a son, Kenneth C. Schott of Annandale, Va., and three grandchildren.

The family has asked that any memorial donations be made to the AFVW Health Center, 17050 Arnold Drive, Riverside, Calif. 92518.