Taking Time for Tuba.

"It's hard to call him Jason; he's Tuba to everybody here," said Martin, the principal. "If I ever talked to Tuba, it was about what was going on in life, in his life, or issues in general."

Martin said Schumann sent an e-mail to his high school band director three months ago "thanking him for all he'd done for Tuba. He talked about learning dedication and discipline. For a 23-year-old to take time to reflect and convey that message, that says a lot about the kind of guy Tuba was."

Besides playing in band where he got his nickname, Schumann was the school's mascot during his senior year, Martin said.

"We're the 'Nuggets' and nobody knew what the mascot should look like," Martin said. "But they put together an outfit with a Styrofoam pick ax, making him up like a gold miner or something, and he was out there at all the games when the cheerleaders were on the floor."

Olson read part of Schumann's obituary that will be published next week in the Hawley Herald:

"He was a selfless leader, always putting his fellow soldiers' needs before his own. ... He liked to sail and also built sailboats and enjoyed cross-country running. He was a talented artist and enjoyed writing historical fiction."

Said Olson: "He was an extremely talented young man."

Because if we don't calculate the true costs, how can we tell if it's worth it?