SOMERS POINT — “It’s going to happen, it’s just a question of when,” veterans advocate Tom Innocente said in July about erecting a monument to Medal of Honor recipient Oscar Schmidt Jr.
That question was answered Friday, Nov. 11, as the nation honored its military heroes on Veterans Day in ceremonies across the country.
While the main ceremony was moved inside City Hall due to inclement weather, the local submarine veterans group was undeterred by a little rain.
Outside American Legion Post 352 across the street, Innocente and others welcomed the Schmidt family to unveil the monument paying homage to the U.S. Navy hero who spent the last chapter of his life fishing and carousing with other veterans in Somers Point.
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 learned to swim in the Delaware River while growing up in Philadelphia.
“The day he jumped into the Atlantic Ocean, off that tanker, through those flames to save those sailors, he must have known he was capable and had the courage and strength to face his fears by putting the needs of others above his own,” granddaughter Sally Ent said during the ceremony.
Schmidt received the Medal of Honor on March 15, 1919, at the Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge, Pa. He was one of only 17 sailors to earn the honor during World War I.
Innocente, commander of the Egg Harbor Township branch of United States Submarine Veterans Inc., was friends with Schmidt in the 1960s up until his death March 24, 1973, and has led the charge to honor the veteran.
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.
On Friday, they dedicated the monument, which includes an etched image of Schmidt and the Medal of Honor, along with information about Schmidt’s heroics.
Members of Schmidt’s family were in town for the event.
“Oscar never liked being in the spotlight, but now this spotlight will be shining on his memorial next to this American Legion that he so loved, reminding others of what patriotism means,” Ent said.
She thanked everybody involved for all of their hard work.
“They made a big deal of this, which is very special for the other veterans because it symbolizes all of their sacrifices, too,” Ent said after the ceremony. “As a family, we appreciate it so much.”
She said her grandfather loved Somers Point, where he was involved in the community and always gave back.
The city was the perfect place for Schmidt to retire, she said, noting he walked to the movies and the beach, where he loved to swim.
“He enjoyed the people in this community of Somers Point and it offered him the best retirement that you could ask for,” Ent said.
Mayor Jack Glasser said it was a special Veterans Day for a city that goes all out for its servicemembers.
“It was very nice that we could do that coupled with our Veterans Day service,” he said, noting it was a packed house overflowing into the hallways.
Glasser said the monument makes a great addition to the others in the city, 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.
He said the city 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.
“This city stands up for its veterans and we always will,” Glasser said.
“We’ve been all over the country and we go to a lot of American Legions and they have a lot of good groups, but I used to come in here when I was a little girl to visit grandpa and they were always big on veterans 50 years ago,” Ent said.
On July 21, City Council 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.
That honor also was bestowed on Pvt. Anthony Sausto, who was killed May 10, 2007, in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff