‘American hero.’ WWII vet who saved Holocaust victims honored in Clovis
World War II veteran Vernon Schmidt was called an American hero many times during a ceremony Thursday morning at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District, but the humble 96-year-old was quick to point out that the real heroes were his fallen comrades who died fighting alongside him in Europe.
Schmidt has done a lot over the years to honor and remember them. But on Thursday, he was the one in the spotlight as he was awarded an Honorary Commemorative Medal by the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic for helping liberate Czechoslovakia in May of 1945. A couple weeks prior, he helped liberate thousands of victims of the Holocaust from the Flossenburg concentration camp near the German border with Czechoslovakia.
“I want to give honor to these wonderful people who came to honor one little ol’ 96-year-old guy who had a small part in the liberation of Czechoslovakia,” Schmidt said in accepting the award.
Czech Col. Jindrich Hacker of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Washington, D.C., who presented the medal to Schmidt, said his country is “really, really, really happy and lucky” that people like Schmidt helped them. Hacker said his government wanted to confer the medal in 2020, which marked the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII, but weren’t able to then because of COVID-19.
During his speech, Hacker referenced Russia’s war on Ukraine and said it’s similar to what happened during WWII.
“People in Ukraine, they’re fighting for their freedom now,” Hacker said. “These people need heroes like Vernon.”
Schmidt, a Reedley High School graduate, was drafted in 1944 at age 18, and was shipped overseas to fight in January of 1945.
He served with the U.S. Army’s 90th Infantry Division and fought in France, Germany and Czechoslovakia. The Fresno Bee previously reported Schmidt also received the Combat Infantry Badge, the Bronze Star, Victory Medal and the Central Europe Medal with two Battle Stars for his service during WWII.
Paul Loeffler, host of Hometown Heroes radio show, highlighted Schmidt’s compassionate character in addition to his heroism.
“Anyone that he served with who died in the war, he has made a concerted effort to go to that soldier’s grave to pay their respects, and also made contact with the families of those fallen,” Loeffler said. “And the connections and the powerful stories that have come out of that – we don’t even have time to tell you all that today – but that’s who this guy is. That’s what he’s made of.”
Clovis Mayor Jose Flores thanked Schmidt for defending and protecting people in need as an American soldier.
“It’s ironic that today we find ourselves in very similar situations, and our world is in turmoil once again,” Flores said. “It seems like some people can’t remember history, and people like Vern are here to remind us of that history. They say that those that forget history are bound to repeat it.”
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said while he knows the term is thrown around a lot these days, Schmidt is “truly an American hero.”
“He said, ‘Democracy is a very precious commodity,’” Dyer continued, quoting Schmidt. “And that’s why we see people today in Ukraine who are fighting for their lives and fighting for their country, but they’re fighting for democracy, because it is a precious commodity. And we must always remember how precious it is, and how fortunate we are to live in the greatest country in the world, the United States of America. And the reason it’s the greatest country in the world is because of people like Vern Schmidt.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 3:00 PM.
