OTTO SCHMIDT, 79, DIED SATURDAY

US NAVY, HOLDER OF CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR

Otto Schmidt, 79 years of age, holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor, died Saturday at the Crowell Home (9 February 1963)

Tentative arrangements are for services at Campbell Mortuary Wednesday morning with burial at Norfolk. Final arrangements are awaiting the arrival of his son from California.

Mr. Schmidt is survived by his son, Otto Dale Schmidt, of Santa Monica, California; a sister, Mrs. Margaret Pounds, of the Crowell Home; and several nieces and nephews.

Mr. Schmidt was born August 10, 1883 near Blair. At the age of 16 years he joined the Navy. While serving on a ship in the Pacific there was an explosion. For his heroic efforts in rescuing a number of men on the ship, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

He was discharged from the Navy August 28, 1905 and return to Blair where he worked until 1917, when he moved to Norfolk where he lived until 1954. He returned to Blair and made his home with Miss Ruth Lippincott until March 1, 1960 when he became a resident of the Crowell Home.

Mr. Schmidt was a retired Norfolk city mail carrier.

His wife, the former Maude Wilcox, died November 14, 1949

Staff reports May 3, 2017 (Enterprise May 5, 2017)

(Photo of Otto in his uniform)

Congressional Medal of Honor to be on display at county museum

A Blair resident's Congressional Medal of Honor will soon be on display at the Washington County Historical Museum in Fort Calhoun.

The Elkhorn Valley Museum in Norfolk has agreed to loan Otto Schmidt's medal to the museum for a one-week period. An exhibit opening will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 20.

There will be a light breakfast reception at 9 a.m. At 10 a.m., Blair High School students Ben Zimmerman and Spencer Goodwater will speak about their efforts to get the medal back to Washington County.

The medal will be on loan until May 27.

Schmidt, who was born in Blair, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1901. He was assigned to a gunboat named the U.S.S. Bennington.

On July 21, 1905, the Bennington, which was preparing to sail for Panama, received orders to leave the San Diego harbor to help the ship Wyoming, which had broken down.

While en route, the Bennington's four boilers exploded.

According to newspaper reports, Schmidt and two other crew members were below deck when the explosion occurred. Schmidt, at 5-foot-7 and 138 pounds, was small enough to crawl through a porthole, run to the deck and blow the danger whistle to alert other ships.

Sixty-six of the 198-member crew died in the explosion. Others were seriously injured.

Schmidt stayed with the ship, helping care for the injured. He later helped remove bodies. He was awarded the medal for his efforts.

Blair's lost hero: Teens determined to bring Congressional Medal of Honor award back to city

Leeanna Ellis Dec 13, 2016

In 1905, Blair resident Otto Schmidt was only days from the end of his four-year tour with the U.S. Navy when he was involved in one of the “worst peacetime disasters” for the Navy. It earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Now, two Blair High School students have started a petition to raise awareness of Schmidt's heroic efforts and bring his medal, which is stored in a Norfolk museum, back to Washington County.

Ben Zimmerman, 16, and Spencer Goodwater, 15, were researching Blair history when they stumbled upon Schmidt's story.

“We want his story to be told here,” Zimmerman said. “You don't really hear much about it in Blair. It's just a great historical event.”

Schmidt, who was born in Blair, enlisted in the Navy in 1901. He was assigned to a gunboat named the U.S.S. Bennington.