Vernon Schmidt was born in Reedley [Annotator's Note: Reedley, California] in January 1926. His father worked on a farm outside of town throughout Schmidt's boyhood. At the age of three, Schmidt became fascinated with airplanes and watched them as they flew overhead at the family home. He was active in sports and gifted academically in grade school. He was the middle sibling with one younger sister and an older brother. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States], the Schmidt kids rode a bicycle into town to get ingredients for their mother's cooking. Schmidt says his father owned a Model T Ford [Annotator's Note: type of automobile] which he drove to and from work and the family car was a Dodge [Annotator's Note: American automobile maker] sedan they took to church and to visit nearby family members. He and his siblings had fun fishing and swimming in a river near their home. In the late 1930s the Schmidt family had very limited access to news of the outside world as they did not own a radio and could not afford the newspaper. As a result, Schmidt was unaware of any rising military tensions with Japan until he was 14 or 15 years old. At this time, he heard that Japanese emissaries were in the United States seeking a possible peace. This was nonsense and the Japanese were just gauging American preparedness in advance of the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. Schmidt was walking home from church with a friend on the late morning of 7 December 1941. The pair overheard the news on a store's radio and stopped to listen in disbelief. At first, Schmidt was totally unaware of where Pearl Harbor was located. He was dumbfounded and the mood turned somber as he quickly began to wonder if such an event would affect him. Shortly after, his brother graduated high school and enlisted in the Air Corps to avoid being drafted. As a sophomore in high school at the time, Schmidt began receiving military training from national guard officers at his school. He was trained to march, performed battle movements, understand the rank decorum, send and receive signals in Morse Code [Annotator's Note: a method of telecommunication encoding characters in a system of dots and dashes], and was given a brief weapons orientation. At the junior college on his high school's campus, the military build-up and training program could not be avoided. Many training flights flew over his school during the day. As a result of this training and experience, joining the military was not a big adjustment for him physically or in terms of accepting order and discipline. Upon graduating high school in 1943, Schmidt went to Hammer Field [Annotator's Note: now Fresno Yosemite International Airport in Fresno, California] to enlist in the Air Corps like his brother. He passed an oral, written, and physical exam before he was questioned by an officer. He wanted to become a bomber pilot. He was asked if being a fighter pilot scared him. He thought this was a pointed question intended to trip him up and replied that if he were to serve in the war he would rather serve alongside other men. Schmidt was sent home and told to await his turn for pilot training. When he turned 18, Schmidt received a packet from President Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] instructing him to report to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] for duty. Upon his arrival, he discovered he was not being sent for pilot training, but rather for infantry training at Camp Roberts in California [Annotator's Note: in Monterey County and San Luis Obispo County, California] due to soaring casualties in the infantry ranks at the time.

In 1944,Vernon Schmidt began his military training with a cannon company on the 105mm howitzer [Annotator's Note: M2A1 105mm howitzer; standard light field howitzer]. Additionally, he learned to drive troop trucks and to tow the howitzer. His training was intense, but he enjoyed it. He also liked that he was close to home and would often hitchhike back home over the weekends. His basic training program was abruptly cut short by five weeks in the winter of 1945, and he boarded a cross country train to Fort Meade [Annotator's Note: Fort George G. Meade in Anne Arundel County, Maryland] where he was inoculated and issued wool clothing. From Maryland, he was sent to Camp Shanks [Annotator's Note: in Orangetown, New York] to await the arrival of the Queen Mary [Annotator's Note: RMS Queen Mary] which was to take him overseas. In late January 1945, he and 15,000 other men sailed to Scotland without a convoy, arriving in six days. Throughout his time as a replacement he was never aware of his destination and was herded around "like [a] sheep." He boarded a train to Southampton [Annotator's Note: Southampton, England] and took a troopship for the cross-channel voyage [Annotator's Note: The English Channel] to Le Havre, France. The harbor was still heavily damaged, forcing him to repel from the side of Queen Mary, with all his equipment on him, to board a Higgins boat [Annotator's Note: LCVP; landing craft, vehicle, personnel] that took him ashore. When he arrived on shore, it was very calm. There was no fighting or enemy firing. After a meal in a huge railroad station, Schmidt and the other replacements were put on a 40 and eight boxcar [Annotator's Note: 40 and eight refers to the size of the boxcar – 40 standing men or eight standing horses could fit inside one of them] for a three-day journey to the front. During the voyage over the Atlantic on the Queen Mary, there was an instance where a soldier slipped on some oatmeal and landed on his breakfast bowl. He tried to get up, but the boat kept rocking and it took a few tries to gather himself to get up. Schmidt and his friends were laughing at him the whole time, but the soldier did not think it was very funny. After having lunch at the railroad station, Schmidt was told to board a train. He arrived at a replacement depot in Metz, France and was issued an M1 [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand]. He argued that he should be in a cannon company like he had trained to be and so should be issued a carbine [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine]. He was issued a carbine but was not placed in an artillery unit. After the weapon was sighted in and additional warm weather gear issued, Schmidt and 15 other men boarded a truck toward the German and Belgian border. He was the only one in the group carrying a carbine.

Vernon Schmidt [Annotator's Note: a replacement on his way to be assigned to a regiment] passed through the ruins of many villages destroyed during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Bulge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945], which had ended just days before he arrived. During this voyage, he had no idea where he was or where he was going. It was pitch black and could not see anything. At some point the truck stopped and sat in a puddle for a while until another vehicle came by and was helped across. The truck continued and passed through Dragon's Teeth obstacles [Annotator's Note: Drachenzäahne; square-pyramidal fortifications of reinforced concrete] of the Siegfried line [Annotator's Note: a series of defensive fortifications roughly paralleling the Franco-German border built by Germany in the 1930s] – before coming to a stop in a small village. He and two men were ordered off the truck into a small, bombed-out church where they were told someone would come to get them. Schmidt and his new companions waited until dusk when someone arrived to march them to the front lines. Schmidt and the others were led to a large, concrete pillbox [Annotator's Note: type of blockhouse, or concrete, reinforced, dug-in guard post, normally equipped with slits for firing guns] and met Sergeant Miller [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling]. He told Schmidt and the two others that they are now with the E Company, 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. He then announced to the new men in his squad, "Make yourselves at home. We jump off at six o'clock in the morning." Not knowing what "jump off" meant, Schmidt tried to sleep. He carried many personal items with him including a carton of Dentyne gum [Annotator's Note: brand of chewing gum], a picture of his fiancé, a pen, and a pencil. As the men woke up and prepared to move out, he left those belongings behind. Schmidt says he finally realized he was in combat. The prospect was frightening, but at least he was not alone. Tank destroyers travelled alongside the infantrymen as they advanced from pillbox to pillbox and from trench to trench, slowly evicting the Germans within and advancing forward. They came under machine gun and small arms fire each day and were often pinned down. After calling in artillery to silence the German positions, they would continue forward. In the early days of his combat experience, they were only gaining a few hundred yards per day as the fighting was very intense. As the fighting continued to intensify, Sergeant Miller asked Schmidt why he was carrying the "pop gun" [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic carbine]. Schmidt told him he had been trained as an artilleryman and had asked for a carbine. Miller found the more powerful M1 rifle [Annotator's Note: .30 caliber M1 semi-automatic rifle, also known as the M1 Garand] for Schmidt and they kept moving. Though the gun was rusty when Schmidt acquired it but it never once misfired. The days were spent in pillboxes surrounding destroyed villages as they advanced through the wooded, hill-terrain of the Schnee Eifel [Annotator's Note: heavily wooded landscape in Centeral Germany] further into Germany under persistent enemy artillery and brutally cold conditions. The climate he was used to in California left him woefully unprepared for this degree of cold and he shivered constantly. Many of his fellow men were exposed to injuries due to the frigid weather.

On Vernon Schmidt's tenth day in combat [Annotator's Note: with Company E, 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division], 19 February 1945, Schmidt was made his sergeant's walkie-talkie operator and was told to follow him wherever he went. By this time, Schmidt had befriended two men that were also replacements in the squad. As the squad advanced up a bald, treeless hill a heavy German artillery barrage began to fall all around them. Miller ordered everyone to dig in. Out of instinct, Schmidt began to dig in with buddies before remembering he had to stay with Sergeant Miller and returned to him in former German foxhole. His two friends he had been with since the beginning were killed instantly by tree bursts. A medic dragged a wounded man into the foxhole with Schmidt and Miller. Schmidt helped the medic undress the wounded man and tend to the grizzly wounds on his hip and ankle. This was his toughest day in combat and one he will never forget. By this time, he and the others were living off K-rations [Annotator's Note: individual daily combat food ration consisting of three boxed meals] and supplementing them with any food they could scavenge in the German villages they passed through. They often found canned goods, onions, and sometimes chicken and eggs. He has great admiration for General Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.]. They received excellent armored support while in combat. Schmidt says the tank crews often let them ride on the tanks instead of having to walk and they quickly grew into a family. One time a tank Lieutenant told Schmidt to sit down, and the lieutenant began cutting his hair for him. Rank did not matter in combat, and everyone had each other's back. The tank crews often shared their ten-in-one rations [Annotator's Note: 10-in-1 food parcel, intended to provide one meal for ten men] with the infantrymen as well. Schmidt is happy to recall the good days despite the bad. 12 March 1945 brought the first period of respite for Schmidt after a month of continuous combat. He was allowed to remove his boots and clothing after having them on for one month. He took a shower in the woods and given a hot meal. 14 March [Annotator's Note: 14 March 1945] Schmidt boarded a small wooden barge to cross the Moselle River [Annotator's Note: in the Kattenes-Moselkern region of Germany]. The swift current deposited them further downstream, and they were ordered immediately into cover on the hills above the river because of the threat of the German 6th SS Mountain Division [Annotator's Note: German 6th SS Mountain Division "Nord", Waffen Schutzstaffel German paramilitary organization] in the area. This was the same division that had captured his brother in January [Annotator's Note: January 1945]. They were greatly feared. The fighting was intense, particularly for G Company [Annotator's Note: Company G, 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division] who engaged them on what became known as "Machine Gun Hill." Years later, Schmidt returned to the hill and was given a tour by a German civilian that talked about the two-day battle on the hill. The German SS also made a cemetery for their fallen at the battle scene, including a five-star general. The little villages that surrounded the hill were destroyed due to the heavy combat.

Vernon Schmidt [Annotator's Note: with Company E, 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division,] advanced towards Mainz [Annotator's Note: Mainz, Germany] on the banks of the Rhine [Annotator's Note: Rhine River in Germany], arriving on 22 March [Annotator's Note: 22 March 1945]. Mainz was the largest city captured by the men of the 90th Division. Schmidt's squad entered the city through an apple orchard where they were quickly pinned down by artillery and small arms fire, taking cover in shallow irrigation ditches. Many men were killed in the orchard, including a squad leader Schmidt knew. When American artillery began falling, they became trapped between "a rock and a hard place" [Annotator's Note: slang for an impossible situation]. As they could not retreat or advance without being hit by artillery. Four P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] fighters arrived and repeatedly strafed the German artillery positions until the infantrymen were able to advance toward the urban center of Mainz. Schmidt and a BAR [Annotator's Note: M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle; also known as the BAR] man entered went into the second story of a house and looked out at a pair of German soldiers in the window across the street from them. Schmidt and the BAR man feared that the Germans would enter the bottom floor of the house they were in and prevent them from escaping. The BAR sought cover beneath the window and quickly fired on the two Germans as they crossed the street into the house. He is thankful for the BAR saving his life that day. Later that day, Schmidt entered a backyard of a house by himself and called out for any Germans to surrender. To his surprise, 18 armed Germans emerged from the cellar and surrendered to him. His outfit took 54 prisoners that day and marched them to the rear. Because the German had blown the bridges on their retreat from Mainz, his company spent the night there. By the time they got to Mainz, the Germans were disorganized, and many of the German troops were ready to surrender. He also was able to ride more on vehicles now that the terrain was even. After Mainz, the days began to go by fast as they advanced 25-30 miles and took numerous small towns. His regiment still took casualties, losing two superior officers. As they entered Mainz, a tank commander put a hole in every single house they passed to put out any remaining Germans who lay in wait for an infantryman to enter. On the way out of Mainz, Schmidt crawled off a tank and helped himself to all the baked goods in a nearby bakery. His regiment continued capturing the next town with air support in tow. Fighting became sporadic with the Germans.

[Annotator's Note: After capturing Mainz, Germany,] Vernon Schmidt and his unit [Annotator's Note: Company E, 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division] were outside of Keiselbach [Annotator's Note: Keiselbach, Germany], when two women alerted some men on patrol that there was something going on near two tall derricks in town. They said that trucks from Berlin [Annotator's Note: Berlin, Germany] arrived daily. Members of the 358th Regiment discovered the Merkers Salt Mine [Annotator's Note: Merkers Salt Mine in Merkers-Kieselbach, Germany] which was a cave 1,500 feet below the ground housing money, gold, and priceless artworks which were all stolen by the Nazi Party. They were put to work emptying the mine of the contents that were sent to Frankfurt [Annotator's Note: Frankfurt, Germany] under the direction of General Eisenhower [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force; 34th President of the United States]. They continued to advance towards the Czechoslovakian border where they helped liberate Flossenbürg concentration camp [Annotator's Note: in Flossenbürg, Germany]. The final three weeks of combat were more a humanitarian effort than anything else. The internees were in horrible condition. Many of them were so sick, they could not move. His unit brought in food and medical supplies to help these people. Years later, he met a few of the people he liberated by being part of the 90th Division. Although it was obvious that they were near the war's end, his unit dealt with sporadic enemy resistance until the very end of hostilities. On 1 May 1945, a jeep full of GIs [Annotator's Note: government issue; also, a slang term for an American soldier] struck a landmine [Annotator's Note: stationary explosive device triggered by physical contact] killing all of them in an instant. Another instance, 10 GIs were murdered by a group of Hitler Youth [Annotator's Note: a youth organization of the Nazi Party for young men]. Many Germans began surrendering to them and to the Russian troops advancing from the east. The Allies sacrificed plenty, but they brought freedom to so many people. Schmidt learned quickly that the Russians were not true allies. After the war had ended, the Czechoslovakian people welcomed the men of the 90th Division with open arms and called them liberators. He took time to bathe and get cleaned up as it was time to start living again. They were ready for the occupation duty of garrison duty.

When World War 2 ended, Vernon Schmidt and his unit [Annotator's Note: Company E, 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division] began their occupation duty. Two weeks later, he was trucked back to the German and Czechoslovakian border. Their mission was to take German POWs [Annotator's Note: prisoners of war] to a field near Flossenbürg [Annotator's Note: Flossenbürg, Germany] where victims of a forced death march had fallen, have them dig them up, and transport the dead to a proper burial place. 90th Division headquarters was set up in Weiden [Annotator's Note: Weiden in der Oberflaz, Germany] with the various units spread in town some 40-50 miles in each direction along the Czechoslovakian border. Duty consisted of resettling and feeding displaced persons and settling themselves back into the routine of garrison duty. His squad housed themselves in a German bank and patrolled nearby areas for SS [Annotator's Note: Schutzstaffel; German paramilitary organization; abbreviated SS] soldiers who had disguised themselves among the local population. He became the company jeep driver and saw many officers awarded medals and battlefield commissions. He began receiving regular mail from home and even had the chance to call home a few times. The German people in the area slowly warmed up their occupiers and began to view them as liberators instead of conquerors. In October 1945, the division was sent home and Schmidt was transferred to the 2nd Mechanized Cavalry Squadron as the supply section's jeep driver. The unit's commander, Colonel Charles Reid [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling], was a friend of General Patton [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] and they enjoyed many perks. In nine months', time, Schmidt had been promoted to Master Sergeant and oversaw feeding, clothing, and otherwise supplying the entire outfit. He traveled all over Germany to transport these supplies. In his time with the 2nd Cavalry, Schmidt only received three days off, but he enjoyed his work. He sent money home to his fiancé to begin preparing for married life. He enjoys going to his divisions' reunions. On 6 July 1946, Schmidt began his journey home after 19 months overseas. His journey home was not great. The ship was a little to be desired, but he was thankful to be going home. He landed in New York and then took a train to California. He was discharged from Camp Beale, California [Annotator's Note: now Beale Air Force Base, Marysville, California] on 12 August 1946. His parents, fiancé, and brother, who had returned from being a POW, was there to see him. Schmidt soon learned that his brother's POW camp was liberated by the 2nd Calvary. He was married the following month and used the G.I. bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] to purchase a house.

Vernon Schmidt's most memorable experience of World War 2 was the day in February 1945 when he lost his three friends. He walked off the hill feeling empty. Since then, he has visited many of the graves of his buddies from his World War 2 experience. Another memorable day was when his unit captured the city of Mainz [Annotator's Note: Mainz, Germany]. He fought in World War 2 because he had no choice. He was given a rifle and was told, "kill or be killed." He paid attention to what his commanding officer told him. He fought because he wanted to defend his country. He feels fortunate to return home. He has a friend that lost both his legs but holds no remorse. He is proud of his service. His war experience made him appreciate what America did in World War 2. He believes that he was able to help bring freedom to another part of the world and bring it back to the United States. Schmidt is proud to say that he was part of "the greatest generation." He feels honored and privileged to be part of that. He thinks the infantry played a large in winning the war because they covered the ground combat. Schmidt thinks that America today does not see the message of freedom and sacrifice being promoted today. He believes most Americans today are not patriotic and its due to the education they receive in schools. Schmidt believes we need to preserve American history, or the country will lose out. He believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and they should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because schools are not. He is amazed at the growth of the museum. It is great to see small museums turn into great institutions. Schmidt is thankful for having this interview.