Rescue teams at work on the capsized hull of USS Oklahoma (BB-37), seeking crew members trapped inside, 7 December 1941. The starboard bilge keel is visible at the top of the upturned hull. Officers' Motor Boats from Oklahoma and USS Argonne (AG-31) are in the foreground. USS Maryland (BB-46) is in the background. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
Photos of Father Aloysius Schmitt — or Father Al — appeared periodically through the decades as area newspapers remembered the St. Lucas native who was the first chaplain to be killed during WWII. Schmitt helped an estimated 12 sailors escape the USS Oklahoma before his death during the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Photo courtesy of Loras College)
Details were scarce as area readers scanned their local newspaper pages following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 — Saturday marked the 83rd anniversary of the now infamous bombing.
The Dec. 11, 1941, edition of the Decorah Journal listed approximately 30 people with ties to northeast Iowa residing in or near Honolulu, Hawaii, at the time, and its front page relayed a short message from a former Decorah physician stationed there.
“Well — Busy — Please don’t worry,” A.F. Fritchen had said in a Dec. 10 telegram to his wife.
Other families soon had good news in hand as well. Local archives said Dana Price of Burr Oak was on the USS West Virginia, but the sailor had been transferred to the USS Smith a few days before the West Virginia was sunk. The family of Don Huinker, who was assigned to the USS Medusa during that time, received word just before Christmas that their son was safe. The local newspaper also made early mention of Lt. Junior Grade Aloysius Schmitt of St. Lucas, a catholic priest who was serving as a chaplain on the USS Oklahoma at the time. The battleship rolled within approximately 12 minutes of being torpedoed that morning, according to information from the Naval History and Heritage Command, and more than 400 crew members died — Schmitt, who had turned 32 just four days prior, was eventually listed among them.
The St. Lucas native was recorded as the first chaplain to die during the war. Schmitt was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, as well as the Purple Heart and Silver Star, having given his life in helping a number of sailors to safety before the ship sunk.
Schmitt was born on a farm southeast of St. Lucas in December of 1909, according to local archives. He was one of 10 children in that family and, following parochial school, he attended Campion Academy in Prairie Du Chen, Wisconsin, before enrolling at Loras College in Dubuque — formerly Columbia College. Archives said Schmitt was then able to study for four years in Rome at the theological school of the American College, and he was ordained in 1935.
He served churches both close to home and far from it upon his return to the United States, and he volunteered to serve as a Navy chaplain in 1939 — he was assigned to the Oklahoma the next year.
Initially, local newspapers conjectured that the details of Schmitt’s death might never be known. However, later accounts provided some insight into the selfless actions of the local son during his final moments.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor began at approximately 7:55 a.m., and a large portion of the Oklahoma’s port side was torn open by aerial torpedos, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command, causing it to rapidly roll and sink.
Schmitt and several crew members were trapped inside a compartment when the Oklahoma capsized, and a small porthole was the only means of escape, according to information from the Naval History and Heritage Command.
“With unselfish disregard for his own plight, he assisted his shipmates through the aperture,” Naval records said. “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, Lt. 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.”
Schmitt’s relatives in St. Lucas and Calmar received word of his death on Dec. 17 that year.
“The report, because of censorship, was brief, official, full of the dignity of sorrow — and still tinged with pride in his valor,” the next day’s Decorah Journal read.
Local archives credited Schmitt with saving about a dozen lives that day, saying the attack likely came during or shortly after he had concluded morning mass. Schmitt’s communion chalice and prayer book were both salvaged soon after the attack, according to the Naval History and Heritage and Command.
A mass of requiem was held for Schmitt before the month’s end at St. Mary’s church in Festina, according to local archives, and an anniversary mass was held on Dec. 7, 1942 at St. Aloysius Church in Calmar. The U.S. Navy named a destroyer escort vessel in Schmitt’s honor the following May, which the Decorah Journal called “an effective and tangible monument to the memory of this young man of God.” American Legion Post 691 in Schmitt’s hometown of St. Lucas bears his name, and he was given special recognition within the city’s veterans memorial, which was dedicated in 2015.
But his remains weren’t identified until 2016.
The local chaplain was ultimately laid to rest at Christ the King Chapel on the campus of Loras College in Dubuque, according to information from the U.S. Navy.
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