One day separated the WW II deaths of Herschel and his cousin Stony Spooner.

Herschel A. Schuttish was born about 1910 in Pacific Grove, California, to T. J. and Jennie Atkins Schuttish. Along with his two brothers, Clayton and Rolland, he spent his formative years in Monterey County. After graduating from Pacific Grove High School in the 1930s, he moved to Watsonville and lived with his aunt, Christine Spooner and her family. He married while living in Watsonville, and worked as a plasterer for Clark Bros., Espindola's and Granite Construction Company.

Hershel was inducted into the US Army in San Francisco on March 3, 1941. Following his basic and advanced training at Fort Ord, he was assigned to the Army Chemical Corps. Schuttish was placed in the 181st Chemical Service Platoon that serviced flame-throwing equipment. During the campaigns of the South Pacific, flame-throwers were used extensively, and servicing them took Herschel Schuttish to the New Hebrides, Guadalcanal and other islands.

Schuttish wrote to his aunt describing his impression of the South Sea Islands, noting that, "It's all O.K down here, hot and rains all the time, mud knee deep, but all those tropical islands are that way." Frequently he would include photographs of the natives, who he described as being "friendly and good people -- like us Yanks 100 per cent."

Hershel Schuttish was sent to the Philippine Islands during their recapture in late 1944. On August 15, 1945, he was killed in an undescribed accident. His body was buried in the Manila American Cemetery.

(NARA2; ABMC; WRP May 1, 1944 1:1, September 7, 1945 1:3)