Air Medal of Brigadier General Herman A. Schmid

[starrynights]

Hello everyone, 

I recently acquired the Air Medal awarded to Brigadier General Herman Alfred Schmid, a highly decorated officer whose service spanned both World War II and the Korean War, and I wanted to share his story here.

Based on my research into award cards, General Schmid received the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and the Army Commendation Medal. What stood out to me was that he appeared to have been awarded the DFC and two Air Medals in a single General Order (GO 106, India-Burma Theater, 1945). I'm planning to submit a request for the full text of the order in hopes that the citations might reveal details beyond the standard logged combat flight hours. I’ll update this post once I receive it.
 

General Schmid was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1910 and began his aviation career as a flying cadet in 1932. After completing advanced flight training at Kelly Field in 1933, he was assigned to the Third Attack Group and later participated in the Army’s early airmail operations. He held a number of training and instructional roles throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, including work with civilian flying schools and as an instructor at Randolph Field. During the summer of 1943, he attended the Empire Central Flying School in England, then returned to the U.S. as director of flying at the Central Flying School.
 

In May 1944, Schmid was sent to Calcutta as an operations and training officer at Army Air Force headquarters for the India-Burma Theater. He later served as the U.S. Air Force liaison to the Royal Air Force 221 Group, supporting joint air operations during the reconquest of Burma alongside the British 14th Army. After the campaign ended in July 1945, he became commanding officer of the Flying Training Center in Karachi, where he remained until early 1946.
 

Following his return to the U.S., Schmid played a central role in rebuilding the Air National Guard, serving as an adviser for California and Arizona and then as senior instructor for the 62nd Fighter Wing. He later deployed to Korea with the Fourth Fighter-Interceptor Wing and assumed command of Suwon Air Base, before returning stateside to join Eastern Air Defense Force leadership at Stewart Air Force Base. He continued his service in key Pentagon roles throughout the 1950s, including as director of NATO Affairs and military assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
 

Over the course of his career, General Schmid flew 102 combat missions, including 92 in World War II, primarily in P-47s and P-38s, and another 10 in F-86s during the Korean War. He was a command pilot, a dedicated leader, and a builder of institutions whose impact extended far beyond the cockpit. I’m honored to preserve and share a small piece of his story through this medal.

 

[starrynights]

Here are a few additional photos, including a copy of one of his Legion of Merit General Orders, a photo of him receiving the Legion of Merit from General Stratemeyer, and another showing him (second from left) working alongside RAF officers, including Air Vice Marshal Stanley F. Vincent, commander of RAF 221 Group in the India-Burma Theater.

 

[decwriter]

This should help on the flight decorations.

 

[Spartan19]

I see you bought this off Ben. He showed me this medal a few weeks ago. Unfortunately at the time I didn't have the funds to buy it. 

 

Its a very nice medal and hopefully you are able to find more information on him and his awards.

[Dave]

It's pretty cool...rare to see named ones to senior officers. I wonder why he split the medal from the rest of the group...the remaining parts weren't hugely valuable without the medal. 

[starrynights]

@decwriter Thank you so much for helping me with finding the General Orders again! 

 

Looks like the awards were all for standard combat flight hours, but cool nonetheless seeing a senior officer participating in so many combat missions.

 

Side quesiton. Are you pulling these General Orders from an online resource, or did you happen to have them on hand? I was only able to find the LOM General Order in the National Archives WWII Army GO series, so I’m curious if there’s another source out there.

[starrynights]

3 hours ago, Spartan19 said:

I see you bought this off Ben. He showed me this medal a few weeks ago. Unfortunately at the time I didn't have the funds to buy it. 

 

Its a very nice medal and hopefully you are able to find more information on him and his awards.

 

It's really a small world. Yes, I happened to spot it on the Machmilitaria eBay store a little while ago which I'm guessing is his. I decided to grab it since it fits within my collecting interest of CBI related medals and it's rare to come across medals awarded to high-ranking officers. 

[starrynights]

29 minutes ago, Dave said:

It's pretty cool...rare to see named ones to senior officers. I wonder why he split the medal from the rest of the group...the remaining parts weren't hugely valuable without the medal. 

 

I didn’t see anything else belonging to the general listed at the time, so the seller may have only had the Air Medal. I’d definitely be interested in acquiring any of his other items if they surface, would love the chance to reunite them.

[decwriter]

2 hours ago, starrynights said:

@decwriter Thank you so much for helping me with finding the General Orders again! 

 

Looks like the awards were all for standard combat flight hours, but cool nonetheless seeing a senior officer participating in so many combat missions.

 

Side quesiton. Are you pulling these General Orders from an online resource, or did you happen to have them on hand? I was only able to find the LOM General Order in the National Archives WWII Army GO series, so I’m curious if there’s another source out there.

You're welcome on the GOs and I just happened to have them on hand. 

[DSchmid]

This is my dad. I am Daniel Schmid. I am 71 years old and have just about all my fathers military items. It amounts to closets full. I have one one air medal without his name on it. I don't know anything about this one you have here. 

I joined this group just to get in touch with you. I Googled my dad to see what would show up and I found your posting. I wonder if he gave this medal to my grandparents or something like that. I have no idea how it got out into the wild. I hope to hear back from you.

Thank you. Dan Schmid