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Richard Schmidt, Enlisted into the Army July, 1936. Living in Brooklyn, New York at the time. The economy being in a slump jobs were not at a high point. Joining wasn’t the only option, But it was defiantly better than some of the others. Apart from joining because he needed a job, there was a lot of family joining. His mother Flow, was a W,A,C, ( Women’s Army Corps ). His uncle Otto Schmidt, served in WWI, and his brother George joined the merchant marines.
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Apart from all of that my Grandfather wanted to be in the action. So now in the army and going to boot camp, boot Camp wasn’t a walk in the park. Constant running and working out. My Grandfather stood out among the crowd. Stepping up and joining the O,C,T. And becoming the rank of Lieutenant. He was chosen to train a Black Tiger Brigade. Which was a elite squad of rangers who were sent out to destroy enemy supply depots in the south pacific. Training thousands of these elite rangers there was a lot of emotional and mental stress involved with the job. As far as casualties go, I did not go over seas but all of the men I trained went over and most did not return. A lot of things happened in this time of my career that stood out. A couple of my good friends were discharged from the force, the pressure and knowing that most of there men were not going to be coming back was a lot to take.
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I was awarded a couple medals including the following; Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and several training commendations, and teaching and developing new explosive techniques. As they say time fly’s when you have fun, but in the army there is select few times when you can have fun. We would pass the time by playing cards or writing letter to loved ones back home. Apart from the entertainment food was another big thing that we had to worry about. The K rations that we had in training exercises were awful, they tasted like cardboard. The standard meals were nothing to complain about. With a full belly and a entertained mind we started our training for the day. Not having a lot of supplies we would have to use sticks and old WWI armaments. Training the men under these conditions and not being able to build serious relationships because some of them would not be coming back. A couple weeks would go by and we would be able to go on leave. Visiting and traveling around the country at this time, I met my wife Genevieve. We traveled to Vermont, Florida, Jamaica, Kansas, and New York. After the service I started a family raising 2 boys in the years after my discharge. After they were able to go to school I picked up a job at a men’s clothing store. I did have a couple friends that I kept in close contact with but I cannot recall there names. After having a third son and quitting the clothing store I picked up a great job at a life insurance business. My attitude did change a lot in my life after the service, being more easily frustrated and more irritable at times. I also acquired a hard work ethic. After working there from many years I retired in 1970. Moving to New York where I spent the rest of my life.
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