thedrifter
05-27-09, 08:07 AM
Burholme Boy Becomes The Pride Of The Marines
By MICHAEL P. TREMOGLIE, The Bulletin
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Editor’s Note: Fourth in a series about America’s military.
Albert “Al” Schmid was born in 1920, in the Burholme section of Philadelphia, not far from present day Northeast High School. In 1940, he worked at the Dodge Steel plant near the Tacony-Palmyra bridge. He rented a room from a co-worker, Jim Merchant, around Tulip and Hellerman streets. He soon met a girl that was a friend of the Merchants.
On Sunday, Dec.7, 1941, Schmid was in the living room of the Merchant house reading the paper and listening to the radio. Suddenly, the radio stopped playing music and the station announced that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.
Two days later, he told his girlfriend, Ruth Hartley, that he enlisted in the Marines.
“I’m in. I went down to the Custom House and signed up,” he said.
One month later, Schmid was at boot camp in Parris Island, S.C. After training, he returned to Philadelphia on leave, collected a bonus from Dodge Steel for his work during 1941 and used the money to buy an engagement ring for Ruth.
Schmid was assigned to the 11th Machine Gun Squad, Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division. On Aug. 7, 1942, the 1st Marine Division, under Maj. Gen. Alexander Archer Vandegrift, landed on Guadalcanal, beginning the first offensive action by the United States against Japan.
The Marines took the island. The Japanese counterattacked with a crack army regiment sent from Rabaul. The Japanese troops landed on Guadalcanal on Aug. 18. They marched towards the Marines along the Ilu River. Schmid’s 2nd Marine Battalion was waiting for them. (The following battle would be later erroneously called the Battle of the Tenaru River.)
Schmid and two colleagues, Cpl. Leroy Diamond and Pfc. John Rivers, manned a .30-caliber water-cooled machine gun inside a camouflaged emplacement. Rivers was the gunner, Schmid fed the ammunition and Diamond was the crew boss.
On Aug. 21, 1942, at 3 a.m., the Japanese attacked, yelling and firing.
The Marines held their fire. Across the river, Schmid saw the Japanese approaching.
“It looked like a herd of cattle coming down to drink,” Schmid recalled. Fifty Japanese crossed the river yelling, “Marine, tonight you die,” and “Banzai,” firing their rifles as they came.
Rivers began firing. The Japanese returned fire.
Rivers was killed by Japanese small arms fire. Schmid took over the gun. Diamond replaced him as loader.
Soon, Diamond was wounded and could not load anymore. Schmid now had to both load and fire the machine gun. He did this for more than four hours.
A Japanese soldier crawled close to the machine gun nest and threw a hand grenade into it.
“There was a blinding flash and explosion,” Schmid would later tell Roger Butterfield who wrote a book about Mr. Schmid. “My helmet was knocked off. Something struck me in the face.”
He told Butterfield, that when he put his hand up, all he felt was blood and raw flesh. He could see nothing. “They got me in the eyes,” he told Diamond.
(Butterfield’s book, titled Al Schmid Marine, was made into Warners Bros.’ 1945 hit movie “Pride of the Marines.” )
Despite his condition, Schmid continued to fire with Diamond directing him. At one point, Schmid took out his .45 automatic. Diamond yelled at him, “Don’t do it, Smitty, don’t shoot yourself.”
“Hell, don’t worry about that,” Schmid said. “I’m going to get the first Jap that tries to come in here!”
Other Marines eventually reached Schmid and Diamond. They were evacuated to a hospital ship. Schmid was credited with killing at least 200 Japanese.
He was sent to the naval hospital at San Diego. There he was operated several times to remove shell fragments from his face and eyes. Schmid was embittered. He told the Red Cross volunteer in the hospital to help him write a letter to Miss Hartley breaking their engagement.
According to a Feb. 1, 1943 article in Time magazine, " The Red Cross girl, Virginia Pfeiffer, wrote it down. She did not hesitate when he came to the part about breaking his engagement to Ruth “because I don’t want to be a drag on anybody.” She signed his name, “Al.”
But Miss Pfeiffer had other ideas. She wrote a message to Hartley telling her to continue writing.
When Schmid returned to Philadelphia by train, one of the people waiting for him at 30th Street Station was his fiancée, Ruth Hartley. Schmid broke the engagement, but she did not.
The magazine wrote Hartley was: “bursting with wedding plans.” It quoted her as saying, “He’ll never be a drag on anyone. Not that one!”
He received hero’s welcome in Philadelphia. A parade was given in Schmid’s honor, and The Philadelphia Inquirer presented him with its Hero Award and $1,000.
On Feb. 18, 1943, Schmid received the Navy Cross “for extraordinary heroism and outstanding courage.”
(Material for this story was taken from Roger Butterfield’s 1944 book Al Schmid — Marine, the Arlington National Cemetery Web site,William B. Allmon’s biography at History Net, Time magazine and the Warner Brothers’ 1945 movie “Pride of the Marines.”)
Michael P. Tremoglie can be contacted at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
Ellie
By MICHAEL P. TREMOGLIE, The Bulletin
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Editor’s Note: Fourth in a series about America’s military.
Albert “Al” Schmid was born in 1920, in the Burholme section of Philadelphia, not far from present day Northeast High School. In 1940, he worked at the Dodge Steel plant near the Tacony-Palmyra bridge. He rented a room from a co-worker, Jim Merchant, around Tulip and Hellerman streets. He soon met a girl that was a friend of the Merchants.
On Sunday, Dec.7, 1941, Schmid was in the living room of the Merchant house reading the paper and listening to the radio. Suddenly, the radio stopped playing music and the station announced that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.
Two days later, he told his girlfriend, Ruth Hartley, that he enlisted in the Marines.
“I’m in. I went down to the Custom House and signed up,” he said.
One month later, Schmid was at boot camp in Parris Island, S.C. After training, he returned to Philadelphia on leave, collected a bonus from Dodge Steel for his work during 1941 and used the money to buy an engagement ring for Ruth.
Schmid was assigned to the 11th Machine Gun Squad, Company H, 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division. On Aug. 7, 1942, the 1st Marine Division, under Maj. Gen. Alexander Archer Vandegrift, landed on Guadalcanal, beginning the first offensive action by the United States against Japan.
The Marines took the island. The Japanese counterattacked with a crack army regiment sent from Rabaul. The Japanese troops landed on Guadalcanal on Aug. 18. They marched towards the Marines along the Ilu River. Schmid’s 2nd Marine Battalion was waiting for them. (The following battle would be later erroneously called the Battle of the Tenaru River.)
Schmid and two colleagues, Cpl. Leroy Diamond and Pfc. John Rivers, manned a .30-caliber water-cooled machine gun inside a camouflaged emplacement. Rivers was the gunner, Schmid fed the ammunition and Diamond was the crew boss.
On Aug. 21, 1942, at 3 a.m., the Japanese attacked, yelling and firing.
The Marines held their fire. Across the river, Schmid saw the Japanese approaching.
“It looked like a herd of cattle coming down to drink,” Schmid recalled. Fifty Japanese crossed the river yelling, “Marine, tonight you die,” and “Banzai,” firing their rifles as they came.
Rivers began firing. The Japanese returned fire.
Rivers was killed by Japanese small arms fire. Schmid took over the gun. Diamond replaced him as loader.
Soon, Diamond was wounded and could not load anymore. Schmid now had to both load and fire the machine gun. He did this for more than four hours.
A Japanese soldier crawled close to the machine gun nest and threw a hand grenade into it.
“There was a blinding flash and explosion,” Schmid would later tell Roger Butterfield who wrote a book about Mr. Schmid. “My helmet was knocked off. Something struck me in the face.”
He told Butterfield, that when he put his hand up, all he felt was blood and raw flesh. He could see nothing. “They got me in the eyes,” he told Diamond.
(Butterfield’s book, titled Al Schmid Marine, was made into Warners Bros.’ 1945 hit movie “Pride of the Marines.” )
Despite his condition, Schmid continued to fire with Diamond directing him. At one point, Schmid took out his .45 automatic. Diamond yelled at him, “Don’t do it, Smitty, don’t shoot yourself.”
“Hell, don’t worry about that,” Schmid said. “I’m going to get the first Jap that tries to come in here!”
Other Marines eventually reached Schmid and Diamond. They were evacuated to a hospital ship. Schmid was credited with killing at least 200 Japanese.
He was sent to the naval hospital at San Diego. There he was operated several times to remove shell fragments from his face and eyes. Schmid was embittered. He told the Red Cross volunteer in the hospital to help him write a letter to Miss Hartley breaking their engagement.
According to a Feb. 1, 1943 article in Time magazine, " The Red Cross girl, Virginia Pfeiffer, wrote it down. She did not hesitate when he came to the part about breaking his engagement to Ruth “because I don’t want to be a drag on anybody.” She signed his name, “Al.”
But Miss Pfeiffer had other ideas. She wrote a message to Hartley telling her to continue writing.
When Schmid returned to Philadelphia by train, one of the people waiting for him at 30th Street Station was his fiancée, Ruth Hartley. Schmid broke the engagement, but she did not.
The magazine wrote Hartley was: “bursting with wedding plans.” It quoted her as saying, “He’ll never be a drag on anyone. Not that one!”
He received hero’s welcome in Philadelphia. A parade was given in Schmid’s honor, and The Philadelphia Inquirer presented him with its Hero Award and $1,000.
On Feb. 18, 1943, Schmid received the Navy Cross “for extraordinary heroism and outstanding courage.”
(Material for this story was taken from Roger Butterfield’s 1944 book Al Schmid — Marine, the Arlington National Cemetery Web site,William B. Allmon’s biography at History Net, Time magazine and the Warner Brothers’ 1945 movie “Pride of the Marines.”)
Michael P. Tremoglie can be contacted at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
Ellie