Medal of Honor: Oscar Schmidt Jr., World War I, October 9, 1918

Name: Oscar Schmidt Jr.
Rank: Chief Gunner’s Mate
War: World War I
Date of Action: October 9, 1918
Unit: U.S.S. Chestnut Hill
Entered Service At: Pennsylvania
Born: March 25, 1896, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Summary of Action
The sea burned on October 9, 1918. The U.S. submarine chaser SC-219, operating alongside the U.S.S. Chestnut Hill, suffered a devastating explosion that tore through her deck and set her ablaze from stem to stern. Amid the smoke and chaos, cries for help rose from the flames. Chief Gunner’s Mate Oscar Schmidt Jr., serving aboard the Chestnut Hill, didn’t hesitate. Seeing a man whose legs had been nearly torn away clinging to a line off the 219’s bow, Schmidt leapt into the water without a thought for himself. Fighting through oil, fire, and debris, he reached the wounded sailor, dragged him the length of the burning hull, and—with the help of another crewman—hauled him to safety on the afterdeck.
Then, spotting another sailor writhing amid the flames, Schmidt tried to force his way through the inferno to reach him. Beaten back by the heat, he dove again into the sea to save the man as he fell overboard, hauling him to the stern and helping him aboard before collapsing from exhaustion.
Schmidt’s actions that day reflected the timeless truth of the Navy’s creed—that no sailor is ever left behind while another still has strength to save him.

Medal of Honor Citation
SCHMIDT, OSCAR, JR.
Rank and organization: Chief Gunner’s Mate, U.S. Navy. Place and date: At sea, 9 October 1918. Entered service at: Pennsylvania. Born: 25 March 1896, Philadelphia, Pa. G.O. No.: 450, 1919. Citation: For gallant conduct and extraordinary heroism while attached to the U.S.S. Chestnut Hill, on the occasion of the explosion and subsequent fire on board the U.S. submarine chaser 219. Schmidt, seeing a man, whose legs were partly blown off, hanging on a line from the bow of the 219, jumped overboard, swam to the sub chaser and carried him from the bow to the stern where a member of the 219’s crew helped him land the man on the afterdeck of the submarine. Schmidt then endeavored to pass through the flames amidships to get another man who was seriously burned. This he was unable to do, but when the injured man fell overboard and drifted to the stern of the chaser Schmidt helped him aboard.