Two former Marines, Matt and Sundae Schulte, take Semper Fi to another level with their enduring tale that has withstood the test of time and the military.
Raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Sundae never expressed interest in the military; that is, until the day recruiters paid a visit to her high school.
“When I saw a woman Marine walk in, I had to earn that uniform. I joined the Marines to earn the uniform and the title of a United States Marine,” expressed Sundae.
Her journey through the Marines continued through the Motor Transport Division. Motor Vehicle Operators operate motor transport tactical wheeled vehicles and equipment transporting passengers and cargo in support of combat and garrison operations.
“I did everything from taking troops to qualify at the rifle range, to driving the Humvee ambulance or mail truck, and driving a dump truck when needed,” stated Sundae.
All that would change, however, after meeting and falling in love with a Communications Marine named Matt.
Matt grew up around the St. Louis, Missouri area and joined the Marines a few years after finishing high school in hopes of finding his forever career; what he found was much more.
As stated, Matt worked in Communications. Marines in the Communications field are integral to all elements of this branch of the U.S. military and in this field are responsible for the design, installation, connection, and operation of communication networks and information systems used to transmit information and data. Marines in this field also operate and perform preventive maintenance on both hardware and software systems including telephone, teletype, switching, radio, cryptography, and computer systems. During this time Matt completed a yearlong deployment in Japan.
As fate would have it, Matt and Sundae met at the barracks on March 4, 1994, at Camp Pendleton, California, where they were both assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 372.
The couple became engaged on March 5, 1994, (when you know, you know), and married on June 4, 1994 in a rose garden in Vista, California.
“Our photographer had a flat, so unfortunately, we have no wedding photos. We have been happily married for 28 years,” expressed Sundae.
Following the birth of their first child, Melissa, in April of 1995, Matt was transferred to a new unit, Electronics Maintenance Company. Electronics maintenance technicians are qualified to perform complex diagnoses, repairs, and modifications to ground data and communications equipment.
“It was a struggle for both of us to be in the Marines after we had a baby. When we decided to have our second child, we decided I would get out and become a stay-at-home mom,” Sundae explained.
The couple welcomed their second child, Timothy, in February of 1997. Succeeding the birth of Timothy, Matt received orders to relocate from 29 Palms, California to Jacksonville, North Carolina; a cross country trip on which the four of them would soon embark.
After several deployments while being stationed in North Carolina, a two-month exercise in Norway along with six-month-long operations in Kosovo, Turkey, Kuwait, sub-Saharan Africa, and other undisclosed locations, Matt came to the decision to get out of the Marines. In August of 2000, the couple welcomed their third child, Brendan. The civilian life they considered had commenced.
“We always joked that Melissa was a full-blood Marine because we were both in the same unit when she was born. Timothy was our half-Marine because I was out by then. Brendan was our first civilian baby because we were both out of the Marines when he was born,” gushed Sundae.
With only a few years passing by, Matt could hear the faint calling of the military. He joined the Missouri Air National Guard, claiming the military family title once again.
“While I was pregnant with our fourth child, we found out that Matt had a child before we were married. His son, David, now became part of our family. We laughed about the DNA test because when they sent us a picture of him he was a twin to our son, Timothy. That made us a family with four kids. We had our fifth child, Danny, in December 2007,” said Sundae.
As their lives proceeded and work was set in motion, the family made their way in 2013 from their home in Edmond, Oklahoma to their current home in Dill City, near the heart of Washita County.
In August of 2015, what was a family of seven then welcomed two foster children into their home.
“They were my great niece and nephew. From day one, they felt like our babies. Jocelyn was two months old; Jaxson was 15 months old when we took custody of them. In November of 2020, they officially became our son and daughter through adoption. So now we are proud parents to seven beautiful children, and we have 11 grandchildren,” explained Sundae.
To this day Matt is still serving in the United States Armed Forces where he is now in the Air Force Reserves assigned to the 35th Combat Communications Squadron at Tinker AFB.
“We love our life in Dill City and we don’t ever plan on moving again. This is the longest we’ve ever lived anywhere, and we are so thankful to be here. We are the happy owners of a little farm with two pits, four cats, two horses, one donkey, four ducks, and 30 chickens. God has blessed our family so much and we are so thankful to be where we are,” beamed Sundae.
On Veterans Day, we salute those who have served and sacrificed for America’s freedom.