Eternal honor: Strangers pay respects to sailor who sacrificed

The Navy on Thursday laid to rest the remains of a 28-year-old sailor who was killed aboard the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor, the culmination of decades of work to identify his remains among the hundreds of unidentified sailors and Marines killed in the Japanese sneak attack in 1941 that drew the U.S. into World War II.

Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Herman Schmidt received full military honors during a brief ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, which was attended by his great nephew and dozens of strangers who turned out to pay their respects.

“We are here today to honor one of our own, to honor his service and his sacrifice for our country,” said Lt. Cmdr. Robert Price, the Navy chaplain who presided over the service. “We are here today because GM3 Herman Schmidt heard the call and he stood the watch like everyone aboard the USS Oklahoma.”

The Navy Ceremonial Guard escorted a small box containing Schmidt’s remains to its final resting place amid the rolling hills and rows of white headstones at Arlington. Schmidt’s sacrifice was honored during the ceremony with a three-volley salute and the sounding of taps before he was laid to rest.

Schmidt’s great nephew, Gary Bishop, 62, of Buffalo, Wyoming, received the crisp American flag that accompanied his great uncle’s remains.

“It’s just overwhelming,” Mr. Bishop said of the service.

The gathering marked the end of a long quest to give Schmidt a fitting burial. More than 80 years had passed before advances in DNA technology enabled the military to identify the fallen sailor and bring his remains to Arlington National Cemetery.

Of the 429 crew members killed on board the USS Oklahoma after the torpedo-damaged ship capsized, only 35 were initially identified.

Schmidt was among the nearly 400 who were buried as Unknowns at the National Cemetery of the Pacific until 2015 when the deputy secretary of defense authorized the disinterment of all unknown remains from the ship to be further analyzed.

His remains were identified in January 2021 using a DNA sample provided by his only son, Michael Schmidt, who had spent a lifetime with little to remember his father by.

“I have mixed emotions,” Mr. Schmidt told The Washington Times in a phone call before the ceremony. “I thought it was fantastic that they did it.”

Mr. Schmidt, now 82, was unable to make the trip from his home in California to attend the service. Instead, he honored his father with a moment of silence at his home.

None of those gathered in Arlington on Thursday, decades after the attack on Pearl Harbor, knew Schmidt personally.

Mr. Bishop, who attended the service with his wife, Carla, was surrounded by dozens of veterans who lined the gravesite for the afternoon ceremony.

“The pride I feel — that I see people come out to support somebody they don’t even know — it’s just incredible,” Mr. Bishop said. “It’s humbling.”

Fred McCarroll, a retired Navy master chief whose father served during Pearl Harbor, said he read about Schmidt days before the service. He said wanted to pay respects to his fallen shipmate.

“I said, ‘Somebody ought to go,’” he said. “I didn’t expect he would have this kind of a crowd. It’s just exciting to see that these people are out here to give this honor to this person.”

Howard Smith, who served in Hawaii before he retired from the Army, came bearing traditional puka shell necklaces to give to Mr. Bishop and his wife.

Those in attendance said they shared a common bond forged through military service.

Cmdr. Price, the chaplain, said bringing those once unknown sailors to their final resting place is a special point of pride for the Navy.

“We never forget the sacrifice that people gave for us. This is personal for us because this is a sailor. This is one of ours,” he said.