A massive group of multiple hundreds of Americans attended the funeral of Herman Schmidt, a member of the Navy who was killed as part of the attack on Pearl Harbor but who only recently had their remains identified, after some extreme worries that not a single person would be able to attend the funeral honoring the deceased sailor.
Hailing from Sheridan, Wyoming, Schmidt was killed at the young age of 28 as part of the surprise attack from the Japanese against the American navy forces stationed in Hawaii. He served on the USS Oklahoma as a gunner, a ship that sustained a large number of torpedo strikes and a number of barrages from enemy aircraft that resulted in the deaths of over 428 other members of the crew. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would later declare that the attack on Pearl Harbor would be a “date which will live in infamy” and asked congress to officially declare war on Japan, officially pulling the United States into the madness of World War II.
Officials with the U.S. Navy were able to recover the remains of the dead crew members between the period of December 1941 and June 1944; they were, at first, able to fully identify just 35 men from the USS Oklahoma, but advances in DNA technology recently let officials have the power to fully identify Schmidt’s remains, as stated in a press release from the Defense POW/MIA Agency.
Schmidt had left behind both an infant son and wife, Michael Schmidt. as he departed to serve his country in Hawaii. Now at the age of 82 and in poor health, Michael Schmidt stated that he was not going to be able to attend the February 23 funeral at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., as the father he never knew would be receiving a burial with full military honors.
“I have mixed emotions,” stated Michael Schmidt as part of an interview held with The Washington Times. “I thought it was fantastic that they did it.”
As a former journalist for WUSA-TV and the chief communications officer of PenFed Credit Union, Andrea McCarren spoke out via social media about the worries that no one would attend the funeral of the war hero. She announced this past Thursday afternoon that well over 500 strangers arrived at Arlington to pay their respects for the World War II hero. Schmidt was also given honors within his home state as Gov. Mark Gordon (R-WY) issued an order for all flags to be flown at half-staff.
ANYTHING is possible when people work together. More than 500 strangers attended funeral of WWII hero Herman Schmidt, whose only survivor is in poor health. There was fear that no one would show up. Schmidt left behind a wife & newborn baby. His remains were recently identified. pic.twitter.com/wMFeNgDplx
— Andrea McCarren (@AndreaMcCarren) February 23, 2023
