Monument dedication to be on Veterans Day
SOMERS POINT — A city that goes above and beyond its call of duty in honoring military veterans has done so again — this time paying homage to the most highly decorated resident in city history.
On July 21, with three generations of Oscar Schmidt Jr.’s descendants in the audience, backed by a finely appointed crew from the Egg Harbor Township branch of United States Submarine Veterans Inc., City Council honored Schmidt’s service and valor and declared Gibbs Avenue from Shore Road to Bay Avenue, where he lived, “Oscar Schmidt Jr. Way.” A sign will be added to the posts on the street.
Born March 25, 1896, in Philadelphia, Schmidt entered the Navy during World War I, serving as a chief gunner’s mate.
According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society (cmohs.org), Schmidt distinguished himself Oct. 9, 1918, while a crewmember aboard USS Chestnut Hill, “for gallant conduct and extraordinary heroism … on the occasion of the explosion and subsequent fire on board the U.S. submarine chaser 219.
“Schmidt, seeing a man whose legs were partly blown off, hanging on a line from the bow of the 219, jumped overboard, swam to the sub chaser and carried him from the bow to the stern where a member of the 219’s crew helped him land the man on the afterdeck of the submarine.
“Schmidt then endeavored to pass through the flames amidships to get another man who was seriously burned. This he was unable to do, but when the injured man fell overboard and drifted to the stern of the chaser, Schmidt helped him aboard.”
Schmidt received the Medal of Honor on March 15, 1919, at the Freedom Foundation in Valley Forge, Pa.
Schmidt was one of only 17 sailors to earn the honor during World War I.
Tom Innocente, commander of the Egg Harbor Township branch of United States Submarine Veterans Inc., knew Schmidt well when he was a young man and was among those driving the campaign to honor his former fishing buddy.
He said after serving 25 years, Schmidt retired from the Navy to Somers Point, likely in the 1940s. He was a member of American Legion Post 352 but also frequented VFW Post 2189. Schmidt died March 24, 1973, and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
During the ceremony in Somers Point, Schmidt’s granddaughter Sally Schmidt Ent and her husband, Walter Ent, stood proudly with great-granddaughter Stephanie Fatscher and great-great-grandchildren Sara Fatscher, 12, and Ben Fatscher, 8, as Mayor Jack Glasser presented them with a framed proclamation.
“I think all veterans need to be honored but that is the highest honor of the military and I think it’s important to praise and honor those brave veterans that went out of their way to do something other than for themselves,” Schmidt Ent said.
She said earning the medal created a lot of opportunity for her grandparents but that he “never looked at it like he was any different than any other veterans.”
“He was really humble,” she said.
Noting her grandfather had a wife and baby at the time, she said her older brother asked their grandfather why he would put himself in harm’s way.
“He said ‘Why wouldn’t I?’” she said.
Schmidt Ent said it must have been an incredibly frightening situation and that it takes a special person to make a decision to put their life at risk for others.
“He didn’t think about himself, he thought about helping other people,” she said.
The next step in the tribute involves erecting a monument in front of the American Legion post on First Street.
Innocente said he and some members of the submariners group, along with Bob Frolow, director of Atlantic County’s Veterans Service Office and commander of American Legion Post 352; Freddy Vineyard, first vice commander of AMVETS Post 911; and others were able to raise enough money to purchase the monument but that supply-chain issues have delayed arrival of the stone.
There is an 8-foot-square concrete pad awaiting the monument, which will have an etched image of Schmidt and the Medal of Honor, along with information about Schmidt’s heroics.
Somers Point prides itself on its support for military veterans, having chapters and auxiliaries of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, Korean and Vietnam veterans and Legion Riders all active in the city, as well as a state AMVETS office.
Its annual commemorations on Memorial Day and Veterans Day are both well-organized and well-attended, with worthy keynote speakers.
The city, perhaps not surprisingly given its location at the mouth of the Great Egg Harbor River leading to Mays Landing and just inside an inlet from the open Atlantic Ocean, also has a strong connection to the Navy.
The municipal beach once was the location of a marine base that protected the mouth of the river when the country was in its infancy.
There also are multiple monuments to its seafaring past, including Richard Somers Park and a War of 1812 marker at the beach, as well as the all-wars memorial at Patriot Park and the Submarine Veterans Memorial outside the VFW.
Schmidt Ent noted the importance of having her grandchildren present for the ceremony.
“I think it means a lot because history is so important to our younger generation,” she said.
The proud military tradition has continued in her family, she said, with her father, brothers and husband all service veterans.
The younger generation also have attended a flag ceremony for Schmidt at the Freedom Foundation in West Chester, Pa.
“It’s really good to expose them to all of that,” Schmidt Ent said.
She and her husband have a home in Ocean City and visit often, spending time in Somers Point as well.
Walter Ent belongs to the VFW, American Legion and other groups in Somers Point, while she serves on the auxiliaries.
“I’m glad to be a part of honoring my grandfather and am trying to get more family members to be part of it,” Schmidt Ent said.
Innocente said the monument has been ordered, designed and everything is ready to go minus the black marble. He said there is a six- to nine-month delay on shipping the stone from Europe.
He said the hope is that everything will be in place for a dedication Nov. 10, two days before Veterans Day.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff