[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 108 (Thursday, June 11, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E530-E531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE SERVICE OF SERGEANT MAJOR JAMES O. SCHMIDT, U.S. ARMY, 
                                RETIRED

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 11, 2020

  Mr. YOUNG. Madam Speaker, I am deeply honored to express my sincere 
gratitude and appreciation to Sergeant Major James O.

[[Page E531]]

Schmidt, U.S. Army, Retired, of Anchorage, for his years of dedicated 
service to the United States of America.
  SGM Schmidt's military career spanned 22 years, over three decades, 
and three wars. What is even more remarkable than his years of 
dedicated military service, is how it began. In 1942, at the age of 14, 
SGM Schmidt lied about his age, joined the Army, and was sent off to 
training. He would go on to jump into Sicily with the 82nd Airborne 
Division during the war at just 15 years old. Subsequently, he was 
wounded and discharged once his true age was discovered after his 
mother wrote a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt regarding her 
underage son fighting in the war. Undeterred, SGM Schmidt would once 
again lie about his age and join the Navy. However, after several 
months in the Navy, they would also find his age and remove him from 
service.
  Thankfully, his determination to serve did not stop at the end of 
World War II. In 1946, at the age of 18, he would rejoin the Army and 
eventually fight in the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in the Korean 
War. He would later go on to be accepted into, and serve in, Special 
Forces. As a member of the 7th Special Forces Group, SGM Schmidt would 
fight in Vietnam and Laos during the Vietnam War. Eventually, he became 
the Sergeant Major for all 7th Group's A Teams in Vietnam before moving 
to the 5th Special Forces Group. In 1965 SGM Schmidt would return to 
Fort Bragg and retire after 22 years of honorable service.
  However, retirement clearly did not sit well with the Sergeant Major. 
He returned to Vietnam, for a few years as a member of Air America, a 
passenger and cargo airline that was secretly owned and operated by the 
Central Intelligence Agency. SGM Schmidt is one of very few soldiers 
who has two stars on his Combat Infantryman Badge; he was also the 
recipient of the Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star 
Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart Medal with one 
Oak Left Cluster.
  It is my honor to recognize the selfless service and sacrifice of SGM 
Schmidt on behalf of a grateful Nation.

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