Major General Michael Schweiger

Major General Michael Schweiger, United States Army Reserve (Retired),
of Rogersville, Missouri, passed away at Cox South Hospital in Springfield,
Missouri, on 27 September 2026 after a lengthy battle
with an extremely rare form of prostate cancer. He was
surrounded by family and maintained his sense of
humor until the end. He was 71 years old.
General Schweiger was born in Monett, Missouri on
28 April 1955. He was the eldest son, and the second
of five children born to Miles and Lucille (Johanns)
Schweiger. When he was 5 years old the family moved
back to Iowa and ran the old family farm. When he was
in 8th grade the family returned to Mount Vernon where
they owned and operated the Ranch Motel.
While in Mount Vernon High School, General Sch-
weiger was the student body president and co-captain
of the track team. His specialty was the open half mile
and two mile relay. During his senior year he began
a deep and lasting relationship with Sheila Hill. They
graduated from Mount Vernon High School in May 1973. On 2 July 1973 he
entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.
Attending West Point was the canon event that shaped his life. Interest-
ingly, he never applied to West Point. The West Point recruiter told him that
when he took the tests for the other military academies, all he had to do
was ask that the test scores be sent to West Point. In the spring of 1973, he
received a letter from West Point stating he had been accepted. The next day
he received a call from Senator Tom Eagleton’s office stating they had been
talking with West Point and were giving him a special nomination. And that
was how he got into West Point. He never wrote a letter; Never interviewed
with a congressman. Accepted, then nominated. Completely the reverse of
the normal process. Many years later he learned there was one obstacle to
his admission to West Point. It was his high school guidance counselor who
refused to submit his records to West Point because “he didn’t have what it
would take.” West Point then contacted his parents who intervened to ensure
his records were sent to West Point admissions.
He graduated from West Point Class of 1977 on 8 June 1977. On the 18th
of June he and Sheila Hill were united in a military wedding in Mount Vernon.
From this union came two daughters and five grandchildren.
First tour of duty was in West Germany. He was a mechanized infantry rifle
platoon leader, an anti-tank platoon leader and the support platoon leader.
As the support platoon leader, he got his first hands-on experience in military
logistics. The next assignment was at Fort Devens, Massachusetts where he
was the team leader of a Special Forces A-Team (aka Green Beret). Although
the team specialty was combat diving, the team spent most of their time in
the ocean in Klepper Folding Kayaks. Not bad for someone who had the West
Point swimming classification of an intermediate rock! He always said that if he
could, he would have remained a Green Beret for the remainder of his career.
In 1983, upon completing a Master of Public Administration degree via night
school he decided a major career change was necessary. So, he resigned his
active army commission and moved his family to Southern California where
he began a civilian career in aerospace. Here he worked with a small group
utilizing high power microwaves to blow up land mines. This morphed into
a lengthy R&D career utilizing high power radio frequency waves for use in
lethal and non-lethal systems. As a program manager he led the team that
built the proof of principal concept demonstrator of the Active Denial System,
a long range non-lethal system designed to cause intense pain. It was during
this period he co-authored a US Patent on Coherent Near-Field Array.
Shortly after beginning his civilian career a neighbor’s dad convinced him
to join the Army Reserve, specializing in military logistics. Eventually, he was
promoted to brigadier general Army Reserve and assigned as the Wartime
J-4 (Joint Logistics Officer) for all of US Forces Korea. He then served a year
on active duty in Kuwait as a military logistician supporting the operations
in Iraq and the middle east. After his Kuwait tour, he was promoted to major
general and assigned again to Korea, this time as the Wartime Chief of Staff
of 8th US Army. His final assignment as a major general was at Moffett Field
where he was in charge of one quarter of the Army Reserve’s base operations,
human resources, and logistics support. In his 36 years of commissioned
service, he was fortunate to spend 10 years on duty as a one and two star
general officer. He felt much of his success was due to taking on hard tasks
outside his comfort zone.
His one disappointment was he could never be a military aviator. He started
taking flying lessons at 15 years old and soloed when he was 16 years old.
Then he found out he needed glasses, which effectively blocked his opportu-
nity to become a military aviator.
After 40 years in uniform, it was back to Missouri for retirement and to help
out with both sets of parents. They built their forever home around Sheila’s
quilting room - and a workshop!
His greatest joy was family time. Additionally, he enjoyed riding his Harley
Davidson Road King and the times spent traveling in their class A motor home.
Many great memories were generated when they were the RV support team
for his brothers, sisters and spouses and cousin for the bicycle ride across
Iowa, aka RAGBRAI. As baseball fans they visited 23 of the 30 major league
baseball parks before prostate cancer treatments curtailed travel.
He and Sheila also enjoyed ocean cruising. Their last cruise of the Baltics
was the most memorable. Upon returning to St Petersburg from a sanctioned
guided tour to Moscow he was detained by Russian customs, taken to a
small back room, and interrogated for entering Russia illegally. He credits
his special forces training for de-escalating a potential diplomatic incident
and his eventual release.
He enjoyed intellectual challenges, especially the time in his workshop being
a maker and hacker, whether it was metalworking, wood working, mechanical
or electronic. He taught all his grandchildren to weld by making horseshoe
art such as flamingos and pumpkins. He even taught his little sister Suzy to
weld, guiding her in making a horseshoe armadillo.
Although not a fan of organized religion he was a firm believer and prac-
titioner of Christian values. He loved the family pets, was an avid reader of
history, and had a great sense of humor. He said his only skill was his ability
to ride a unicycle. Almost every day he was in conversation with his Band
of Brothers.
General Schweiger was preceded in death by his father Miles. His is
survived by his mother, Lucille Schweiger, of Mount Vernon, Missouri; his
wife of 49 years Sheila; his daughter Tara and Dr. Scott Glenny of Eastvale,
California and their children James, Andrew and Kathryn; and his daughter
Jeri and her husband Steve Haag of Lebanon, Tennessee and their children
Dax and Amelia. Additionally, he is survived by his sister Nancy and her
husband Kevin Hyland of Branson, Missouri; his brother Jack and his wife
Janet Schweiger of Ackworth, Georgia; his sister Suzy and her husband Larry
Morgan of Springfield, Missouri; and his brother Dr Gary and his wife, Dr
Lyla Schweiger of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, October 14th, 5:00-7:00 p.m. fol-
lowed by a memorial service the next morning, October 15th, 10:00 a.m. at
Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mount Vernon, Missouri. Immediately fol-
lowing funeral services, burial with military honors will be conducted at the
Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri.
In lieu of flowers, General Schweiger would appreciate a contribution
through the funeral home to the USO (United Services Organization).