Donald Braden “Brad” Schall of Lincoln, California was elected Commander-in-Chief at the 129th National Encampment of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in Overland Park, Kansas on August 14, 2010. He was the fifth Californian to be elected Commander-in-Chief, the first since 1966.

Brad’s eligibility for membership in the SUVCW came from his two great-grandfathers, Sgt. William Braden Schall of the 11th Illinois Cavalry and Willis Reed, a Private in the 107th Illinois Infantry and Sergeant in the 1st Illinois Light Artillery.

Three uncles also served in the Union Army, namely: Capt. Absalom Schall of the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry, Corp. Andrew Jackson Schall of the 79th Pennsylvania Infantry, who was killed at the battle of Fair Oaks, and Pvt. Albert G. Schall of the 67th Pennsylvania Infantry. William Braden Schall and Absalom Schall were both members of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). Brad also identified an additional twenty-two relatives who fought for the Union.

Brad was the oldest son of Donald Braden Schall, Sr. and Anna Mae (Griggs) Schall, and had one brother and five sisters. He was born in Hutchinson, Kansas where his “Nana Schall” introduced him to the Civil War history of his family and the Joseph Hooker Post of the GAR. Among his prize possessions were his great grandparents’ GAR and Woman’s Relief Corps (WRC) encampment ribbons and badges. Both his grandmother and great-grandmother were members of the WRC. His brother William, son Braden and grandson Christopher were also members of the SUVCW.

His interest in the Civil War went back to his childhood, when he lived one block from the Lincoln Civil War Memorial in Hutchinson, Kansas. As a child, his family participated in Memorial Day services with descendants of members of the Joseph Hooker Post No. 17, GAR, of which his great-grandfather had been a member. Brad’s family decorated the graves of their great-grandfather and other Civil War soldiers at East Side Cemetery in Hutchinson with flags and flowers.

Brad joined the Phil Sheridan Camp No. 4, SUVCW in San José, California in the mid-1990s, and over the years held nearly every position in the several Camps to which he belonged. He was the organizer of the Gen. Alfred Pleasonton Camp No. 24 in 1999.

He was elected Commander of the Department of California and Pacific in 2002 and 2003.

At the national level Brad served as a member of the following committees: Civil War Memorials, eBay Surveillance, Constitution & Regulations, and Civil War Sesquicentennial; and as Chairman of the Civil War Memorial Grant Fund, Fraternal Relations, and Life Membership Committees. He also served as National Patriotic Instructor, National Chief of Staff, Junior Vice Commander-in-Chief, and was twice elected to the National Council of Administration. Brad also served as the co-chair of the SUVCW Charitable Foundation.

Brad continued to remain active in the San Francisco Bay Area with the Gen. George Wright Camp No. 22 and the Gen. Alfred Pleasonton Camp No. 24.

In 2002, Brad sold his meat brokerage business and retired to Lincoln, California. His business career in the food industry started at Safeway while in school, and he spent seventeen years at the Quaker Oats Company in sales, sales management and sales promotion. He left Quaker Oats to spend ten years in the export/import business and then as general manager of a Con Agra Distribution Company in California. He went to the meat industry after that and finally ended his career by owning his own business for the last eight years.

Brad belonged to the California Historical Society, Kansas State Historical Society, Derry Pennsylvania Historical Society, Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Fort Larnard Old Guard, Friends of Gettysburg, Gettysburg Battlefield Association, Lincoln Forum, California State Military Museum, Sacramento and San Francisco Civil War Roundtables, Co-Chairman of the Friends of Civil War Alcatraz, Volunteer National Park Service Docent at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, National Eagle Scout Association, manager of the Sun Eagles senior softball team, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and was a veteran of the United States Army.

In addition to his family heritage, Brad was particularly proud of his wife, Patti, his five children, twelve grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Brad dedicated his year of service as Commander-in-Chief to his two great-grandfathers who served in the Civil War, to his parents who taught him the love of country, respect for family members who came before, the love of God and the exciting history of the American Civil War, and to his mentor, the late Bob Lowe, PDC.

Brad passed away July 23, 2025 at the age of 85 and was predeceased in 2023 by his wife, Patti.