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91k | Aloysius H. Schmitt was born on 04 December 1909 in St. Lucas, Iowa. He was appointed Acting Chaplain with rank of Lieutenant (jg.) in the United States Navy on 28 June 1939.
He was hearing confessions prior to serving Sunday mass on board the battleship USS Oklahoma (BB 37) when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 07 December 1941. When his ship
capsized, he became entrapped, along with other members of the crew, in a compartment where only a small porthole provided outlet for escape. He assisted a number of men through the porthole,
and then gave up his own chance to escape so that more men might be rescued. He received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal posthumously for his courage and self-sacrifice. In late 2017, his award
was upgraded to the Silver Star which was presented to the Schmitt family in a ceremony on 07 December 2017 at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, "Father Al's" alma mater. USS Schmitt (DE 676) (1943-1949) was the first ship named in his honor. (U.S. Navy photo #171201-N-NO147-002 courtesy of Loras College, from the Naval History and Heritage Command). |
Bill Gonyo and Ron Reeves |
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24k | undated wartime image | Jerry Church | |
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71k | undated wartime images, from Peter's Father, Lt.(jg) Joseph A. Fernandez, Jr. | Peter Fernandez | |
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Schmitt History |
View the USS Schmitt (DE 676) DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command web site. |
View the official War History of USS Schmitt as submitted by the ship at war's end. |
Schmitt's Commanding Officers Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves |
Dates of Command | Commanding Officers |
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1.) 24 Jul. 1943 - 29 Nov. 1943 | Lcdr. Thomas Donald Cunningham (Comm. CO) (Danville, Va.) |
2.) 29 Nov. 1943 - 14 Dec. 1944 | Lt. Nicholas Biddle, USNR |
3.) 14 Dec. 1944 - 01 Feb. 1946 | Lcdr. Thomas Andrew Melusky, USNR (Des Moines, Ia.) |
4.) 01 Feb. 1946 - .. .... 1947 | Lcdr. James Joseph Seelig, USNR |
5.) .. .... 1947 - 28 Jun. 1949 | Lt. Robert James Loomis (Decomm. CO) |
Contact information is compiled from various sources over a period of time and may, or may not, be correct. Every effort has been
made to list the newest contact. However, our entry
is only as good as the latest information that's been sent to us. We list only
a contact for the ship if one has been sent to us. We do NOT have crew lists, rosters, or deck logs
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