AMDG
It
was a beautiful and quiet Sunday morning in Honolulu, Hawaii close to 80 years
ago…..December 7, 1941. Much of the
United States Pacific Fleet was anchored there like sitting ducks. However, a number of ships were out on
maneuvers. It was supposed to be a
restful day for the sailors. World War
II had begun on September 1, 1939. The German
Army had conquered France along with most of Western Europe and was advancing
in Russia.
Americans in general wanted no part of that war and the United States managed to stay out of it for over two years despite pressure by the British and others to fight on the allied side. However, America did send supplies and pressured the Japanese with sanctions and demands to stop their advance in China, Korea, East Asia, and the Pacific. Although negotiations between the United States and Japan made little or no progress, the country did not expect a war with the Japanese.
Radar detected planes approaching Hawaii, but the officer in charge assumed that they were American bombers. In reality it was the first wave of 183 Japanese planes launched from six aircraft carriers. A second wave followed with 171 planes. The Japanese planned to drop bombs, launch torpedoes, and strafe ships in the port and surrounding military installations. Assuming that war with the United States was inevitable, Japan made a preemptive strike on the Pacific fleet to acquire an initial advantage.
This surprise attack aroused a sleeping giant and unified the country as never before. An all-out mobilization followed and the entire economy was geared to supporting the war effort. I remember as a kid that even Superman and Bat Man were mobilized to fight in the comic books. The 1970 movie, “Tora, Tora, Tora” gives a good glimpse of the attack.
Lt.
j.g. Aloysius H. Schmitt, a Catholic priest, was getting ready to say Mass on the
battle ship, the USS Oklahoma for the 1,300 sailors on board. The Church aspires to meet the spiritual
needs of its people wherever they may be in the world. They include the tens of thousands of
American Catholic military on bases and in the rear of combat operations. The Church serves the needs of our soldiers,
sailors, and airmen through its Archdiocese for the Military Services currently
under Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D.
The Archdiocese is in great need for young priests to undergo military
training and serve the troops as well as their families.
A simple farm boy born in St. Lucas, Iowa in 1909, Fr. Aloysius graduated from the Catholic Loras College (www.loras.edu) in Dubuque, Iowa. He then continued his studies for the priesthood in Rome and was ordained on December 8, 1935. Father Schmitt was assigned to parishes in Dubuque and one in Cheyenne, Wyoming. After four years, he received permission to become a military chaplain, and joined the United States Navy.
Just after Mass at 7:55 am on the Oklahoma, all hell broke loose as 354 Japanese planes flew over in two waves, armed with bombs and torpedoes. The 583 foot (almost two football fields) battleship was hit by at least nine torpedoes and quickly listed and rolled over in 50 feet of water, trapping hundreds of men below the decks. The USS Oklahoma capsized at 8:08 A.M., approximately 12 minutes after the first torpedo hit.
A scene of the attack from the movie, “Tora, Tora, Tora”
Rescue crews heard
banging for help, cut into the hull by blow torch and made their way through a
maze of darkened, flooded compartments to reach them, saving 32 men. Others escaped by swimming underwater to find
their way out. Some trapped sailors
tried to stem the rushing water with rags and even the board from a game. A few managed to escape through portholes. 
Disregarding his own
life, Fr. Schmitt, chose to help his men through one of the small compartment 14
inch portholes. He died for his men as a
Persona Christi (another Christ) which indeed he was as are all priests when offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He gave up his life so that others may live,
as did his master, Jesus Christ for all of us.
It is believed that Fr. Schmitt helped save 12 sailors. The men he saved swam through the attack to
safety on the USS Maryland and saw their ship go down.
For his heroism
Chaplain Schmitt was posthumously (2017) awarded the Silver Star, the third
highest decoration for valor in combat.
Previously he received the Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corps
medal. He was the first chaplain to have
died in World War II. St. Francis Xavier
Chapel at Camp Lejeune, the marine training base, was dedicated in his memory
in 1942. A destroyer escort named USS
Schmitt was commissioned in 1943 by the Navy in his honor and served the U.S.
Navy until 1967, when it was transferred to Taiwan. City Island in the Mississippi River near
Dubuque was renamed Chaplain Schmitt Memorial Island.
Christ
the King Chapel at Loras College was dedicated in his memory in 1947 and contains
some of Fr. Schmitt's personal effects that had been recovered from the
Oklahoma — including his chalice and prayer book — and other items that were
donated to the school. Present at the
dedication were Cardinal Samuel Stritch of Chicago and Admiral Chester Nimitz,
commander of the Pacific Fleet during World War II.
For years Fr. Schmitt was buried in a military cemetery in Honolulu among many other unidentified bodies. However, in 2016 experts of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified his body, using DNA taken from the skull bone of a relative. His final resting place is in Christ the King Chapel of Loras College.
Appendix
Lieutenant Junior Grade Aloysius H. Schmitt, CHC, USN: Silver Star
Official Citation
An undated photo of
Lieutenant Junior Grade Aloysius H. Schmitt, who was killed during the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941 (Courtesy of Loras College/Released).
Lieutenant Junior Grade
Aloysius Schmitt, a Catholic priest and assistant chaplain onboard USS Oklahoma (BB-37),
willingly gave his life during the 7 December 1941 Pearl Harbor
attack while assisting shipmates exiting from the overturned and partially
submerged hull of the stricken battleship. Although Schmitt's communion
chalice and Latin prayer book were salvaged from the Oklahoma soon
after the attack, his remains were not definitively identified until September
2016. They were subsequently reinterred at Christ the King Chapel, on the
grounds of Loras College, Schmitt's alma mater in Dubuque, Iowa.
Originally, Chaplain
Schmitt was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, a
non-combat award. In 1945, when the Navy reexamined its award policies, it was
determined that he was eligible for the Silver Star. However, his award was not
confirmed until 6 October 2017. Schmitt's Silver Star citation reads:
THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the
SILVER STAR MEDAL
posthumously to
LIEUTENANT (JUNIOR GRADE)
ALOYSIUS H. SCHMITT
CHAPLAIN CORPS
UNITED STATES NAVY
for service as set forth in the following
CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity on 7 December 1941
while serving as Chaplain aboard USS OKLAHOMA during the attack by Japanese
forces on the U.S . Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. When OKLAHOMA
capsized, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Schmitt, along with other members of the
crew, became trapped in a compartment where only a small porthole provided
outlet for escape. With unselfish disregard for his own plight, he assisted his
shipmates through the aperture. When they in turn were in the process of
rescuing him, his body became tightly wedged in the narrow opening. Realizing
that other men had come into the compartment seeking a way out, Lieutenant
(Junior Grade) Schmitt insisted he be pushed back into the ship so the others
might escape. Calmly urging them on with a pronouncement of his blessing, he
remained behind while his shipmates crawled out to safety. In so doing, he gallantly gave up his life for
his country. Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Schmitt's magnanimous courage and
self-sacrifice reflected great credit on him and were in keeping with the
highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
For the President,
[R. V. Spencer]
Secretary of the Navy
Original correspondence, including the official citation and award certificate, may be viewed here (1.4 MB PDF).
Published: Wed Mar 14 15:02:47 EDT 2018
References
http://www.catholictradition.org/father-schmitt.htm - Fr. Aloysius H.
Schmitt: For God and Country
www.washingtonpost.com/local/seventy-six-years-after-he-died-at-pearl-harbor-a-chaplain-will-get-a-combat-medal/2017/12/06/2bb8b15a-daa6-11e7-a841-2066faf731ef_story.html - “Seventy-six years after he died at Pearl Harbor, a chaplain will get a combat medal”
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2016/12/02/aloysius-schmitt-god-and-country-navy-chaplain-lived-and-died-serving-others/92052910/ - ‘For God and Country’: Navy chaplain lived and died serving others
https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Aloysius_Schmitt - Aloysius Schmitt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloysius_Schmitt - Aloysius Schmitt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor - Attack on Pearl Harbor
https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/heritage/awards/decorations/silver-star/silver-star-ltjg-schmitt.html - Official Citation Lieutenant Junior Grade
Aloysius H. Schmitt, CHC, USN: Silver Star
https://www.crisismagazine.com/1992/catholic-chaplains-under-fire-pearl-harbor-a-half-century-later
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