Operation Just Cause

1st Lt. Walter R. Schmidt, Jr.

United States Marine

....THE HOME OF THE BRAVE AND
THE LAND OF THE FREE....

...You were asked...You went...You were left...

Walter Roy Schmidt, Jr.

02/US Marine Corps
VMA 121, Marine Air Group 12
Born November 18, 1945 in Nassau, New York
Lost to us on June 9, 1968
in the war torn country of South Vietnam
In 1973 his status was Prisoner of War

You're lost to us O' this mother's son
Who went to war because his country asked
And stepped onto the shores of unknown land
To live in constant fear of not returning

And to this day you still are gone from here
Forgotten? Never for your sacrifice undying
In bravery, Marine unto the very day
You fell...you lost your freedom's ring

In giving of your self for others O my son
We still can do and say what's in our hearts
For freedom's ring remains through out this land
Because you cared to go and fight for it

In doing so you gave the very best
Your life what more could any other ask
Our hope is that you will return some day
Back to the land that sent you far away

It is with much pride in my heart that I have become a member of Point Man International Ministries an outreach to Vietnam Vets and to other war veterans. This page is a tribute to the POW/MIA Marine - Walter R. Schmidt,Jr., and yet in my heart it is also a tribute to my Brother-in-law, Larry Hughes who also served with the Marines. And though he has come home after two tours there in that war-torn land he suffers much mental anguish because of it How much worse it must be for 1Lt Walter R. Schmidt, Jr., United States Marine Corps POW/MIA

You are NOT forgotten, Walter, just missing and it is our prayers and our dreams that you DO come back home to the country that asked you to go and do what you did for us. I THANK-YOU!!!

1LT Walter R. Schmidt, Jr. was an A4 pilot assigned
to VMA 121, 12th Marine Air Group. On June 9, 1968, he was assigned a bombing mission in northern Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam on the northern sector of the A Shau Valley.

After making a bombing run, Schmidt's aircraft came under fire.
He was seen to eject from the damaged aircraft and parachute
to the ground. Voice contact was established with 1LT Schmidt and he stated that he was hurt with a possible broken leg and that he was unable to move. North Vietnamese forces were seen to be approaching his position. It was not possible to conduct an extraction at the time, and rescue efforts were delayed until the following day.

The next morning, no sign of Schmidt or his parachute could be found. Attempts to raise him by radio were futile. It was believed that Schmidt had probably been captured. He was classified Prisoner of War.

Throughout the rest of the war years, Schmidt's family heard nothing. When 591 Americans were released from communist prison camps in the spring of 1973 in Operation Homecoming, Schmidt was not among them. The Vietnamese denied any knowledge of him.

Since the war ended, over 10,000 reports have been received by U.S. Government relating to American prisoners, missing, or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. Many authorities have reluctantly concluded that hundreds of them are still alive today.

Whether Walter R. Schmidt survived past the time NVA troops located him is unknown. If he spent months or years of torture in POW camps, we may never know. If he is one of those said to be alive still, we will only know it when we resolve to "bring our men home."

Everyone who ever went to war
Goes with much sense of deep feeling
For the country for which they fight
For the freedoms they uphold in service to that country
Many have died on the blood splattered fields
Of foreign lands

Many were taken as prisoners, tortured beyond belief
Many lost to us unknown to us ... what has happened to them?
In this country that asked "Go and fight"
Now in its silence lets our men remain
In a land that knows no love for them
Bring them home ... bring them home

...For we do not want you to be ignorant
brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia; that we
were burdened beyond measure, above strength so that we
despaired even of life, yes, we had the sentence of death in
ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God
who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death
and does deliver us in whom we trust that He will still deliver
us, you also helping in prayer for us that thanks
may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift
granted to us through many...2 Corinthians 1:8-11
Paul of Tarsus - Point Man AD65

On Saturday, November 3, 2001, some heartless person stole the POW/MIA flag that I had hanging beside my American Flag. It was there to be a remembrance of the young Marine who I adopted. Following is the piece I wrote to be published in the Salamanca Press - November 12th, 2001

To Whom It May Concern:
I don't know what the POW/MIA flag means to whoever ripped it from the flagpole at 87 Clinton Street on Saturday night November 3rd, but let me tell you what it means to me. That flag has flown beside my American Flag for over a year. It represented something very personal to me and when I found it gone, well first I was very sad, but then after thinking about that flag, I am thankful to whoever took it because it only made me feel stronger about the reason it flew there in the first place.

I adopted a young Marine through Operation Just Cause. This young man was shot down over South Vietnam in June of 1968 and has never been found or declared dead. His name? Well if you, who took this flag will look carefully, you'll find it on there. See you didn't just steal a flag, you stole honor. You ripped away a symbol that says this young man is NOT forgotten and as long as that flag waves, he'll be remembered.

I'll get another flag, that's for sure, I just hope that the person that so heartlessly, carelessly and under the cover of darkness stole it will think of that the next time they see that black POW/MIA flag flying somewhere. I don't know what you did with it, and it really doesn't matter to me now, you stole the flag but you'll never steal the reason it was there.

Walter R. Schmidt, Jr.
02/US Marine Corps
VMA 121 Marine Group 12
Lost to us June 9, 1968

On November 11, 2001, I placed a new POW/MIA flag back in the same place as the one that was stolen.

Note about "found" dogtags:

After a number of cable TV news stories about lost dogtags found around the
world were aired recently, dogtags are now suddenly being 'found' in
uncountable numbers... the majority of these 'found' dogtags are bogus,
having been recently 'manufactured' and aged by complex antiquing to appear
a generation or more old.

Virtually everyone who "finds" dogtags expresses a personal desire to
return them either to the veteran or his/her family. Some 'finders' hope
for a reward. Others desire publicity. Some are just lonely and want to
contact an American family. While others are hoping for something of
benefit other than money. In most cases the 'finders' will hold the dogtags
'hostage' until/unless they can personally contact the veteran or his/her
family.

Here is how you can help stop the current dogtag scam...

American veterans and veterans organizations can end the 'found dogtag'
scam by responding to all reports, whether genuine or not, with the
following message::

Officially, lost dogtags are the Property of the United States
Government. Lost dogtags are not the Property of the veteran
who wore them, nor are they the property of the veterans family.
Found dogtags should be mailed to the Department of Defense or
the local U.S. Embassy.