Al Schmid

After training at the Corps' Parris Island (SC) and New River (NC) training facilities, he was assigned to the 11th Machine Gun Squad, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Division.

That night a force of 800 Japanese troops attacked the perimeter manned by the 2nd Battalion, aiming to break through the lines and wipe out the Marine airstrip at Henderson Field, which was being used by Marine and Navy planes to bomb Japan. During the attack Schmid's gunner was shot in the head and killed, and the NCO in charge of his position was seriously wounded. Schmid took over, firing the machine gun at the attacking Japanese, killing and wounding many of them. An exploding grenade punched several holes in the water-cooling jacket of the machine gun, rendering it subject to overheating. In addition, a Japanese soldier crawled up to the position and, unseen, threw a grenade into the pit, killing himself and also blinding Schmid. Nevertheless, he kept firing at the attacking Japanese, with his sole remaining gun crew member--although seriously wounded--guiding him as to where and when to fire. The weapon, as Schmid later recalled, got "red-hot", but it didn't overheat or break down and Schmid continued firing it until dawn. By than time the Japanese, having lost many of their attacking troops, withdrew. There were more than 200 dead Japanese in front of Schmid's position. He was subsequently awarded the Navy Cross, as were the other two members of his gun crew (one posthumously).

He eventually regained partial sight in one eye, but injuries he received to his leg during the attack continually caused him problems, and in 1957 he retired and moved to Florida.

After a stay in a military hospital during which he received therapy for his injuries and blindness, he was discharged in April of 1943, and married his longtime girlfriend Ruth Hartley. They had a son, Al Jr. , the next year.

On August 7, 1942, his unit landed on the beaches at Guadalcanal. On August 21 he was assigned a position on the forward lines, manning a Browning. 50-cal machine gun with two other Marines.

Al Schmid was born in Burholme, Pennsylvania. He was working for a steel company in Philadelphia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and he enlisted in the Marine Corps two days later.