My brother was a soldier. He was an amazing soldier. He served in the United States Army for 13 years until his death in April of 2006. As children we were always playing army and war. Our father was a Viet Nam veteran and he was our hero. Growing up Michael's other hero was none other than G.I Joe. My brother absolutely worshipped G.I Joe. We would constantly tease him, and when the show would come on, we would sing along with the opening song, "G.I Jerk! The great American weirdo! G.I Jerk is there!" He would get so pissed off at us! Of course we had no idea at the time just how serious he was about his G.I Joe. At least not until he enlisted in the army in October of 1993 and shipped off for basic training at Fort Leonardwood in MO. My mother wasn't exactly thrilled with his decision, but at the same time, she surprised either. Although Michael was only 18 months old when his father died from exposure to Ancient Orange in Viet Nam, he was still his father's son and determined to follow in his father's footsteps and serve his country.
At the time the Iraq war started, Michael was a recruiter in Livonia. He immediately tried to have his assignment changed so he could be in Iraq with his fellow soldiers and recruits. But the army refused because he was one of the top recruiters in all of the United States. In fact, he won numerous awards from recruiting accomplishments. So, in order to go to Iraq, Michael would have to overcome 3 obstacles; 1) be released from his recruiting assignment . Eventually, he managed to have this done. The second obstacle was his non-combat profile; he was the only son of an only son. The last one to carry on the family name. So Michael signed a waiver to bypass this obstacle. The 3rd obstacle was a medical condition, in the course of 5 years Michael experienced 2 seizures. And to bypass this 3rd obstacle, once again, Michael signed a waiver.
Along with Michael's lifelong dream of serving in the military came one of his most amazing qualities developed; and that was leadership. He was a natural born leader and was always the man of the house even when we were children. And as a leader, his soldiers always came first. Always. No matter what they needed, they could and would always come to him with their problems. Michael's wife, Natalie, can attest to the numerous late night calls Michael received from his soldiers. And the countless times he'd leave to go help his soldiers. They loved and respected Michael as you'll see in this letter:
From: PFC Jada Reed
Date: June 22, 2006
Hi,
My name is PFC Reed. I'm in Distro Platoon and SFC Schmidt was my Platoon Leader. I just want to say thank you for the care packages you sent us, everyone found something they liked and I am making sure the office candy jar is full so everyone can have some.
I was the second last to join Distro. I moved from another platoon end of January, so you can say I was the baby to that Platoon. I had known SFC Schmidt as a leader but being in his platoon and working close under him was a blessing. I say this because where I was coming from, the leadership was very unapproachable. If you are a private they made sure you know your rank and it was very hard being in that environment. I mean waking up each day and going to work was not easy. I had to motivate myself just to get through the day.
Everything changed when I was asked if I wanted to work in the office. I said yes and that meant I would start falling in with Distro.
I entered into a family that is loving. SFC Schmidt was approachable. He didn't use his rank to intimidate anyone and he would listen and give all his lower ranking soldiers the same respect he would give his NCOs. It was so peaceful and fun, work became so much easier all because of his leadership. He was always cracking jokes, always finding humour in everything but at the same time always able to perform all duties and all missions above standard. He was the greatest leader and NCO and we miss him and feel the gap that he left.
I just want you to know I pray for you and your family, and thank you for being so kind!
Love, PFC Reed
I think his most proud leadership accomplishment came on Christmas of 2005. He led his platoon on a convoy from Kuwait to Baghdad. He was determined to make this the safest of all the convoys to Baghdad. And when snipers opened fire on his soldiers, Michael personally took out the snipers nest.
Again, I’d like to share how his fellow soldiers viewed him via a letter written to his parents:
Dear Mr. &Mrs. Randy O'Connor
I want to extend my regrets and deepest sympathy on the death of your son, Sergeant First Class Michael Roger Schmidt. As First Sergeant, I want to take the time to write you to let you know SFC Schmidt was a great Soldier and well liked by many. I know that words could never Remove your pain; I just want to express my condolences to you and Mr. O'Connor.
SFC Schmidt had a positive impact on the Soldiers in his Distribution Platoon and in 589th BSB Fires Brigade, he always had a positive attitude and (I got it First Sergeant) there was no mission to big for SFC Schmidt, he accomplished every one in a timely or faster than most manner. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor I would like to thank you for raising such a great son and allowing him to join our Nation's Army without that I would not have had the chance to meet SFC Schmidt. I truly miss him and his Leadership he was a dedicated Soldier, I am truly sorry for your loss. I will always carry the memory of him in my heart and never forget how he made us laugh, how he cared for all soldiers and most of all the loyalty and dedication he gave me as his First Sergeant therefore I say thank you.
As I metnioned earlier, I'm a local musician/singer/songwriter. In other words, I'm a gypsy. And being a gypsy/musician by trade I was very fortunate to be able to spend the most amount of time with Michael of anyone else in my family. While he was stationed in Germany for 5 years, every summer I would apply for scholarships to go study in Germany and could then spend time with my brother. And this is especially true before he left for Iraq. I was with him the week before he deployed and right up to when he marched his platoon off for their deployment. During that week it was amazing watching my brother trying to get himself ready to go to war, trying to make sure his wife and daughter were ok, and all the while attending to the parade of soldiers that were constantly coming through his house. His doors were always open to his soldiers. Whether it was personal problems, military issues, or just in need of encouragement. They knew they could always go to my brother.
While he was in Iraq we were always sending him care packages. He would give my mother the names of soldiers who didn't have a supportive family back home here, and my mother would send them packages as well. There isn't anything my brother wouldn't do for his soldiers. On and off the battlefield. As a SFC, he was not required to go on night missions with his soldiers. But Michael would never dream of sending his soldiers out without him. Because my brother was a soldier.
In April of 2006, Michael came home on leave for 2 weeks. I bought the first ticket I could and flew out to Fort Hood to see my brother and to hear all his stories from Iraq.
Tragically, about an hour before my plane landed, Michael was in a fatal motorcycle accident near his home. For 3 days while he was on life support systems, my sister Adele and I slept on the hospital floor near our brother. We never left his side; we would talk to him and pray for a miracle.
His last act of service while on this earth... was to donate two of his organs that were used to save two lives.
My brother was a soldier. He was an amazing soldier. And I know that my entire family: his parents; Randy and Catherine O'Connor, his older sister; Adele, myself; his younger sister Amy; and his baby sister, Katie, are all incredibly proud of our soldier. And it's an absolute honor to be a part of the very loving and supportive military family that Michael has introduced us to.
And lastly, I would like to say to my brother, and to our veterans, thank you. Thank you for making us proud to be Americans. Your service, your victories, your accomplishment, and your loses; no matter what anyone says, they were not in vain.
