Renames street ‘Oscar Schmidt Jr. Way’
SOMERS POINT — Perhaps the most patriotic city in the United States, Somers Point again showed its support for military veterans Dec. 9, renaming a street for a World War I hero and Medal of Honor recipient.
As one of his final acts as mayor, Jack Glasser climbed a ladder and unveiled a sign reading Oscar Schmidt Jr. Way, adding the special moniker to Gibbs Avenue where the U.S. Navy veteran lived for many years after his service.
“I think it’s a great thing that we have a Medal of Honor recipient here in Somers Point but also that we are able to honor him,” Glasser said. “The Medal of Honor is for above and beyond the call of duty. What Oscar Schmidt did obviously was above and beyond the call of duty.”
Jim Schmidt, the third in five generations of Navy servicemen, said the name is appropriate because his grandfather was a chief, noting in the Navy that means things were done his way.
“Every time you look at that sign, just remember if there’a a chief who lived on this street, things are going to be his way,” Schmidt said.
The event was another in a lengthy list of ways the city honors military veterans through its multiple memorials and ceremonies. In particular, naval history is a big deal in Somers Point, a city whose namesake son died fighting for the fledgling U.S. Navy off the coast of Tripoli during the Barbary Wars.
Paying tribute to the sea squadron is not limited to the heroics of Somers, who was born Sept. 15, 1778, and is honored each year on Richard Somers Day. The city also has a monument honoring the Silent Service and the War of 1812, when the young United States stood up proudly to the greatest naval power in the world.
Among the other tributes to veterans in Somers Point is a memorial to Schmidt outside American Legion Post 352, the Submarine Veterans Memorial outside VFW Post 2189 and the all-wars memorial at Patriot Park.
The city also has 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.
Getting the job done
The effort to honor Schmidt began years ago. City resident Tom Innocente, commander of the Egg Harbor Township branch of United States Submarine Veterans Inc., was friends with Schmidt when he was a young man and started the wheels turning when he realized the significance of the honor bestowed upon his fellow fisherman.
Innocente 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. It includes an etched image of Schmidt and the Medal of Honor, along with information about Schmidt’s heroics, and was dedicated Nov. 11, 2022.
On Saturday, he along with a color guard, chaplain and bugler led the Pearl Harbor Day wreath-laying ceremony, which was delayed due to weather. Glasser and Atlantic County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Maureen Kern tossed the wreaths from the end of the fishing pier into Great Egg Harbor Bay.
Innocente then introduced Schmidt’s grandson and granddaughter, Sally Schmidt Ent.
“We are honored that they are willing to put the marker up. For our family, being in the military is like a family business,” Schmidt said, noting not only were his grandfather and father Navy veterans but both his son and grandson are serving in the Navy.
“We want to thank you for coming out to honor and dedicate Gibbs Avenue as Oscar Schmidt Way,” Ent said. “The Medal of Honor, what it stands for is not about the person but what the person does to put another life before their own. Not only do we honor Oscar’s valor, but all of our veterans every day.
“Veterans have shaped our nation’s history and continue to inspire its future with their acts of valor, patriotism and sacrifices, going above and beyond the call of duty.”
The Oscar Schmidt way
Ent said her grandfather didn’t just live in Somers Point but was part of the veterans community, being an active member of both the VFW and American Legion. He also liked to swim just off the William Morrow Beach where the ceremony was held.
“I know my grandfather when he was alive thought very much of it,” she said of the city.
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.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
