February 8, 2023 |
A sailor from Wyoming who was among “the lost 429” when the USS Oklahoma was gutted by enemy torpedoes and sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
The long journey of Herman Schmidt from Sheridan, Wyoming, is a testimony to the commitment of the U.S. Navy.
Schmidt was a Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class on the USS Oklahoma, one of the first American battleships powered by oil rather than coal. His duties included the assembly, maintenance and repair of guns, gun mounts and gun ports. He took charge of ammunition, guns and gun crews.
On the morning of the Japanese attack, the Oklahoma was moored in Battleship Row beside the USS Maryland. The Oklahoma was among the first vessels hit.
When the attack began that Sunday morning around 7:55 a.m., many of the crew were sleeping in their racks below decks and never made it up to the main deck. A wave of Japanese aircraft struck the Oklahoma with three aerial torpedoes.
The Oklahoma began capsizing as Japanese planes strafed the deck with machine gun fire. After being struck by six more torpedoes, the Oklahoma’s port side was torn open. By 8:15, she had rolled over, trapping crewmembers within her hull.
The men trapped inside started banging on the bulkhead to get the attention of passing small boats. On December 8 and 9, after cutting holes in the exposed bottom of the ship, 32 men were pulled out alive. Banging continued through December 10, but nothing could be done. Sailors ordered to stand watch over the Oklahoma could only wait and listen until the banging stopped. In total, 429 USS Oklahoma Sailors lost their lives.
Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Schmidt from Sheridan was among them.
When the ship was righted in 1944, 429 Sailors’ remains were recovered. Of these, only 35 were identified. The remains of 388 unidentified Sailors and Marines were first interred as “unknowns” in two cemeteries. All were disinterred in 1947, in an unsuccessful attempt to identify more personnel.
A rigorous, modern process to identify the unknowns using DNA began in 2015. The mission took six painstaking years. By December 7, 2021, the 80th anniversary of the attack, the final 33 sailors were identified.
The official identification of Schmidt’s remains was determined two years ago, although though the Department of Defense held off on announcing the news until early January when his family was fully briefed.
The Oklahoma’s plunge to the bottom of the Pacific was recorded at 1:40 a.m. on December 8, 1941. Her exact location remains unknown after being lost at sea while being towed back to California. The ship’s wheel and a section of her deck are on display at the Oklahoma Historical Society Museum. The anchor sits in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Inscribed on its base: “Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty.”
Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Herman Schmidt, who was born in Alexander, Kansas, in 1913 and raised in Sheridan, Wyoming, will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on February 23, 2023.
