Several years ago, my son, Bryan, became intrigued with learning his ancestry. He was especially interested in his late grandfather, a career naval officer who served for 27 years. I told him his grandfather, like many veterans, was a humble man who rarely spoke of his service. Much of what I learned was from family members or others who had served with him.
In the spring of 1941, Henry Schmidt was commissioned an Ensign in the US Navy and sent on his first tour of duty at Pearl Harbor. He was heading out for a round of golf on that sunny December morning when the Japanese planes pulled off a surprise attack that changed the course of history. The 90-minute battle crippled the Pacific fleet and claimed 2,403 American lives. My father, a gunnery officer on the Destroyer USS-Dewey, helped direct the downing of two kamikaze planes short of their intended target. Fortunately, my father’s ship sustained no damage and within hours was underway patrolling the pacific.
It is hard to imagine today the anguish families went through in the aftermath of the attack. For nearly four months, my father’s family in Boston anxiously waited and prayed that he had survived. Finally the ship returned to port in late March. My father quickly sent a telegram that simply read, “I’m OK,” followed a few days later with a letter chronicling his experience.
More than 12 million US servicemen were sent to battle in Europe and Pacific, and 400,000 gave their lives. My father saw combat in fierce battles, including Midway, where he earned the Bronze Star. Later, he served in the Korean conflict, commanded ships in the Pacific, and retired as a Captain in 1967.
In civilian life, he worked as freshman admissions director at Penn State until retiring with my mother to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1992. Every single morning he raised a full-size American flag on a large flagpole in the front yard. He demonstrated his patriotism every day, not just on holidays.
On the following pages of Town&Gown’s Salute to Veterans, you will read about just a few of the many local veterans who have proudly served our country. Thanks to the support of advertisers and individual sponsors for this special publication, we at Town&Gown will be donating $5,000 to help kick off the fundraising drive to bring the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall to Centre County next October. We salute the men and women who have served our country and preserved our freedom.
Twenty-five years ago, my father passed away from pancreatic cancer. During my last visit with him, I found a man who was very much at peace. “I have lived a good life,” he said to me. “I married your mom, raised a family. Many of the boys I knew did not get that chance.”
He told me his only regret was he wouldn’t get to see his 3-year-old granddaughter, Kelley, grow up; nor meet a grandson who was on the way.
The grandson he never met is now an officer in the United States Navy. Bryan graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2014, and this month he will graduate from Naval flight school in Pensacola, Florida.
I know there’s a Navy captain who would be very proud.
Rob Schmidt
Publisher
rschmidt@barashmedia.com
