Chosen Families Project #15: Col. Fred Carl Schmidt Jr. - RELATIVE FOUND
Col Fred Carl Schmidt (right) at his retirement ceremony, July 1968
Hello all! Welcome to another episode of the Chosen Families Project! I am so so excited about this episode in particular, because this has been a case I’ve been working on since this past fall. Let me give you some background. This past fall I was in the infantile stages of the project, my aunt and I had been discussing the project back and forth. She recalled having a pile of documents and photographs from a property some of my relatives had purchased in the 1990s. Because of her interest and love for history, she had decided to save what she could. Little did she know I would get the gene from her on my love for history and family history, whereby I would be able to locate possible relatives. These documents and photographs related heavily to the military work and life of Fred Carl Schmidt Jr.
Set of documents and photographs returned to grandson
For the past couple months they have been sitting on my desk, occasionally going back and forth to look for possible relatives. With some spare time do the summer break, and more focus on the podcast itself, I decided to see if I could find some close relatives. With some luck, I was able to locate Fred’s grandson, and then I had waited. And soon, I had heard some amazing news, and was able to send everything over to Fred’s grandson. I dedicate this episode to the legacy of Fred Carl Schmidt and his family as well as my aunt for her tenacity and love for history for saving a piece of family history that would have been lost to time. Here is the story of Col. Fred Carl Schmidt:
Fred Carl Schmidt was born on the December 28th, 1915 in Newark, New Jersey to parents Fred Carl Schmidt Sr (1885-1950?) and Margaret E. Ihling (1889-1975). He had also had a younger sister Edna Mina Van Horn (1909-1994). The family lived together in 1920 at 110 Garrison St. in Newark, New Jersey. This address is crucial, and would be associated with the family for almost a 100 years. In 1930 and 1940 according to census he lived with his parents at that address as well. Around that time he was also valedictorian of his high school class. In 1938, he graduated Rutgers University in Newark with a full scholarship, majoring in Chemistry and Biology, taking 144 credits.
From Rutgers University School Yearbook 1937
The documents found included Fred’s resume, providing detailed information on the work he did with his powerful education and military career. This resume was from 30 June 1968, around the time of his retirement from the formal military service.
In 1950 according the census he was living with his wife Mary Ellen Flanagan on Wheeler Field Air Force Base, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The would have 3 children together during their lifetime.
Some are my favorite parts of this set of documents and photographs I returned are the little anecdotes from Fred’s military service work and lifestyle from the early 1940s to late 1950s. I formed somewhat of a timeline of these, with most of these documents dated.
July 16th, 1942: Patient’s Property Card
September 15th, 1942: Cash Purchase Receipts. Rank : 1st Lt . Includes his signature
April 8, 1943: Shipping ticket of supplies. Incudes his signature
May 8th, 1943: Insurance for 1939 Plymouth Sedan (I also included photograph of what the car would look like)
August 31, 1943: Payment for Martin B. Lang for Insurance
Undated, likely during 1940s: Note for returning carbon copies of acknowledgement of delivery forms and notebook discussing camouflaging methods
Undated, 1940s: Notes on how to organize a combat squadron. Likely written by Fred himself.
Undated (Likely 1940s): Request for my coffee
Late 1950s (December 1958): Folder with receipts of his travels and requests. Rank: Lt. Colonel
Jan 8, 1959: Letter from William Levison
22 July 1968: Retirement ceremony, includes photograph of his retirement as well as him with other military classmates in two group photographs. His resume was date from June 1968.
To summarize from before, during his military career, he worked in research and development during WWII and the Korean War. Col. Schmidt headed a group of engineers in the Air Force who developed the AWAC technology and Atlas Missile. During the Korean War he worked as a chemist at Calco Co. and developed sodium sulfmilimide, a sulfur compound that stopped excess wound bleeding of soldiers. He retired from the military with qualifications as a chemist, aeronautical engineer and chemical engineer. After 30 years of distinguished service, he was awarded the Legion of Merit medal, the highest medal awarded during peacetime. His most recent work prior to retirement was with the Pentagon.
After retirement he was employed as a chemist with General Dynamics in Rochester, N.Y for about 3 years. He went on to become a professor at Northern Virginia Community College where he taught hotel and restaurant management from 1978-1982. In 1988, his wife would pass away in Fairfax Virginia at the age of 70 from Cardiogenic Shock. After that, he moved to Delaware, where he helped manage Air Traffic, a kite company, with his daughter. He was an active member of the Lions Club in Fairfax, Virginia.
Unfortunately, he would pass away on October 5, 2004 in Seaford Deleware. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Throughout his lifetime he was a very educated individual, traveling across the country, leaving a legacy of a military career and being a caring family man. A line from his obituary summarizes him as well: “He was a loving father and grandfather who doted on his grandson, and he enjoyed reading and watching football.”
This is probably one of the most fulfilling episodes I’ve done to date. I was able to speak on a call with Fred’s grandson, who knew him in lifetime. His grandson told me what he did remember and how his relationship with his grandfather had affected his life. During his daily life, he acted as a second father figure for his grandson, recalls memorable drives to 7-11, as well as his grandfather Fred being a comic and jokester.
To conclude, this was such a wild ride for me. It shows what could’ve been lost to history if not for the fortitude years ago from my aunt, and I hope through this narrative I was able to do Fred and his family’s legacy justice.
If you have any comments please comment below or contact me at thechosenfamiliesproject@gmail.com
