Memorial

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S/Sgt Leo Schmidt attended college and was a chauffeur and truck dispatcher for the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in Columbus.

He volunteered for the U.S. Army at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana on 31 July 1942.

The element originally designated to attack Hamburg was a combined force of 125 B-17's, but weather caused a recall of this formation. However 84 B-17's from 94BG (18), 95BG (23), 96BG (21) and 100BG (22) sighted a German ship convoy on the return. Only one B-17 from BG96 managed to drop on the convoy. Another segment of this formation, 385BG (21) and 388BG (20) attempted to bomb the Fokker aircraft factory at Amsterdam. Ao total of 22 aircraft attempted the bombing, but the results were highly scattered and 150 civilians were killed. 1 B-17 from 94BG, aircraft 42-3219, was shot down by enemy aircraft (2 engines were hit) near Helgoland, Germany.

The entire crew was killed. Every crew member, with the exception of waist gunner Everett A. Quimby is remembered on the Walls of the Missing at Margraten. We have no information why he isn't mentioned.

His niece, Mrs. Bonnie Danner, contacted us with information and talked about Leo with her mother who is 94 and still recalled some family stories:
"She said when he would want to get away from his parents he would drive his car two hours down into Bucks County, Pa. He would stay 3-4 days with his Aunt on her farm with cows, pigs, geese, chickens and horses.
My mother lived a few houses away.
My mom and her two sisters were very young and just adored him. When he went MIA the whole family were so distraught. She remembers that when someone mentioned his name, everyone cried. When they declared him dead, no body ever joined the armed forces after that." This information was added in January 2024.