| RONALD B. SCHMIDT, COLONEL US ARMY RETIRED I have written my own obituary so that I can say goodbye to my relatives and I was born in Youngstown, Ohio, along with my twin, Don, on July 17, 1939 to Mildred K. and William M. Schmidt, both deceased. After high school, I entered the US Army as a Private. Some 33 years later, I retired as a Colonel of Armor. During my service, I was awarded the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, The Bronze Star for valor with two oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, and additional awards for meritorious service. I served throughout the US, Germany, Korea, and Viet Nam. My military schooling included The Army Command and General Staff College and The Air War College. I earned a BS degree from University of Arizona and masters from Auburn University at Montgomery, both paid for by a grateful nation. Following retirement, my wife and I moved to The Landings on Skidaway Island where we were fortunate to meet many good friends. I worked for almost 15 years as a civilian and then finally fully retired. My survivors include the love of my life and best friend as well as a great Army partner, my wife of 51 years Carol A. Schmidt; My sons Kurt W. Schmidt and his wife Zrinka Puliselic living in Savannah and Croatia, and Eric G. Schmidt and his wife, Kristen of Savannah, as well as my beautiful granddaughter, Sophia. I am additionally survived by my twin brother, Donald W. Schmidt of San Diego, CA. So my friends grab your canteens, fill them with your favorite beverage, and I will meet you at Fiddler’s Green someday. The following information came from Ron’s nephew, Karl Schmidt, who, like his uncle, was a Blackhorse veteran. Ron commanded M Company 3d Squadron in Vietnam when the Regiment was under the command of then-Colonel Patton. Schmidt was badly injured and medically evacuated back to the US. He proudly wore the Blackhorse combat patch until he retired.  Colonel Ron Schmidt, then the Operations Officer, Operations Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations at Headquarters US Army Europe was the guest speaker at the 3/11 ACR NCO Spur Dinner, 1987. To his rear was the Junior Spur Holder, Regimental CSM Mark Gzrebski, and behind Colonel Schmidt is then- Squadron Commander Bob Hurt (who like Ron had also commanded a tank company in the Blackhorse Regiment in Vietnam). ____________________________________________ Further Request for Assistance on the Point Alpha Project From an email to Don Snedeker from Florian Mittelbach: We are especially interested in the Border Santa story. Do you have the contact details of the mentioned Mr. Perez and Mr. Wagner, or do you know other persons that acted as Border Santa? We would be interested in pictures and also for example an authentic Santa-suit. Additionally, I would like to ask you to support us in some other matters. We aresearching for pictures of everyday life at OP Alpha (especially basketball, horseshoes game-playing soldiers, BBQ, cafeteria, etc.). Do you have some in your archives or do you know persons that maybe got pics like that? Your statements as witnesses will help us to preserve a part of German-American history. They will be used for the permanent exhibition about German-American everyday life in the Fulda Gap in the shadow of the Cold War. This exhibition by the Point Alpha Foundation will be located in one of the two barracks at the historic site of the former OP Alpha. It is largely funded by the German Federal Government and the State of Hesse. The exhibition deals with the contribution of American soldiers to the development of an open society in Germany since 1945 until today. Apart from outlining the broad lines of the German-American relationship throughout this period, it focuses primarily on the regional history of German-American relations in the Fulda/Bad Hersfeld region. Regarding the Americans, the regional history was shaped by the soldiers up to the officers of the Constabulary regiment, the 14th, and the 11th ACR as well as by their relatives. In the exhibition, we cover the whole range of German-American everyday life over more than four decades. Hence, topics are the aid and support American soldiers provided for the German population. The exhibition explains the process of growing together by means of German-American clubs, joint sport events, and carnival or Christmas celebrations. In order to show an honest inventory of the German- American relations in the Fulda Gap, the problems arising from this coexistence and interaction thereby shall not be omitted. Key words could be, for instance, the Off-Limits venues or the demonstrations of the German peace movement against the deployment of American soldiers in the 1980s. Florian Mittelbach beier+wellach projekte tel. +49 (0) 30 – 61 65 70 – 01 ____________________________________________ Warrior Outreach: Worthwhile Website on Important Issue Follow this link to their website: opens in a new windowhttp://www.warrioroutreach.org. Towards the bottom of the home page is a video clip of a news story from a local TV channel that features retired Command Sgt. Major Samuel Rhodes. In the video, he is wearing a Blackhorse hat and there are numerous clips of the Regiment’s memorial at Fort Benning and Pattons’ Park. It’s worth a look both for the message and the video. ______________________________________ Update 2017 Blackhorse Family Reunion Atlanta, Georgia Fort Benning Visit CSM (ret.) Pring and CSM (ret.) DeSario have planned an eventful visit to Fort Benning on Friday; we hope to see everyone there. Because we are departing during a Friday rush hour in Atlanta, the AFR bus will depart the hotel at 0700 and arrive by 1000 at Patton Hall, where we will receive an update on the Armor Call for Donations As a reminder, the Blackhorse Association is requesting donations for the Silent Auction. Proceeds from the Silent Auction assist in funding our annual scholarships. We have set our goal to exceed last year’s results in both participation and funds raised. Please set aside items you wish to donate to the cause and ensure they travel with you to the Reunion. For items too bulky for your baggage, we ask that you ship them to: Anne and Ken Smith Please coordinate shipping with Anne and Ken via phone, 404-578-7419, or email: opens in a new windowcntrymom40@nullaol.comcreate new email. Reunion Registration Information Registration can be completed by mailing the registration form to AFR; the printable form is located on the Association’s website at opens in a new windowhttps://blackhorse.org/2017reunionform.pdf. Alternatively, please register online at opens in a new windowwww.afr-reg.com/Blackhorse2017. The cut-off for registration is May 11, 2017, but we are hopeful that you will complete your registration earlier because we are expecting a large crowd. Hotel Reservations We have rooms blocked for us at: Hotel Atlanta/Marietta Hotel and Conference Center Reservations can be made by phoning 888-685-2500. To receive the special group rate, identify yourself as belonging with the Blackhorse Association at the time of reservation. Your reservation can also be completed online: opens in a new windowhttp://www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/A/ATLMAHF-ACRC-20170604/. To receive the special group rate, enter ACRC in the Group Code field. Rooms are going quickly and to date, one-third of the hotel’s rooms have been reserved. This is the quickest time ever that we have achieved 100 reservations and 70 rooms. We expect around 400 guests, so please plan ahead and book early. ________________________________________ Armor School Information These two links take you to flyers from the Armor School:
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E-News – March 2017
Trooper Down
