The beginning

My passion for military history research began with my Grandmother’s brother Raymond E. Schmidt who was killed in action outside of Heddert, Germany on 14 March 1945.  I grew up hearing about Ray, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I opened my heart to learning about his service and sacrifice. 

One summer when I visited my Grandma, she had all of Ray’s war time letters laid out on her couch.  When I began to read a specific letter written in January, 1945, my whole world changed.  Raymond sent my Grandma a “sealed envelope” with documents detailing a child that he fathered in England in 1944.  Nobody in my family knew the identity of the child, digging into something like that just didn’t happen back then from what I was told.  But my Grandma had a longing in her eyes that spoke to me so I asked her if I could try and find the child, her response was a nod.  That nod was the beginning of my journey.