WENTZVILLE, Mo. (KMOX) - Talking to someone who has experienced a tragedy is a sacred conversation, even more so when that tragedy occurs in front of the world. Driving up to Mark Schmitz's home in Wentzville to talk about his plans to raise money for veterans and honor his son, Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, I had to smile when I saw a group of kids playing in the cul de sac. It was a windy, freezing day and there wasn't a coat in sight. YOUTH! Once inside, their two French Bulldogs jumped on me for some love.
It is a beautiful home filled with family photos and warmth.
We set up cameras downstairs where more gifts celebrating Jared's brief but powerful life are displayed. There was the 80 pound hand carved wooden American flag, the replica of the eventual highway sign designating a nearby bridge, "Hero's Way" in Jared's name and a teddy bear made out of camo print with the Marine logo on its chest. There was also the now well known picture of the 20 year old Marine flashing the peace sign. I spotted a strobe light and pointed out what I thought was a dance floor! Mark said they use the space for Karaoke!
When I was driving the 45 minutes to get there, I kept wondering how he would feel. I know that just because someone agrees to an interview doesn't mean they won't be hurt or angry or even want to stop the conversation when it gets overwhelming. He shed tears. His voice was both frustrated and angry. He says he has gotten conflicting reports of his son's August 26th death and the lack of accountability is something he describes as, "disgusting."
"If somebody in the government had the cojones to approach me as a Gold Star dad and say, look, I effed up. I made a bad, bad call and I can't bring your kid back, but it's my fault. I would shake that person's hand because they had the courage to stand up and take responsibility. They haven't even given us that opportunity because not one of 'em is taking responsibility for anything." He also told me, "You know, when you lose your kid. It's a horrible thing. You get spit in the face by the government he worked for, which is another spit in the face. And then you're left with nothing but BS, lies and stories."
Now, Mark has two goals, to find out the truth of the deadly bombing and to honor his son by helping veterans especially those who are homeless. His wife is an insurance agent and he is a real estate photographer and licensed drone operator with decades in the mortgage industry.
"So instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we wondered, who can we partner with initially? That's when we met Adam McBride with VCP, the Veterans Community Project, They're based in Kansas City and they successfully built a 50 unit, tiny home village for veterans."
Their newly launched foundation, TheFreedom13, was started by Mark and Jaclyn(his step mother) in memory of Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz will raise money to take care of as many veterans as they can. They've already donated $100,000 to build two tiny homes in the St. Louis area. They hope the first annual Pub Crawl taking place this weekend celebrating what would have been Jared's 21st birthday, 2/25/22, will be their biggest fundraiser each year.
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As a mother, I can admit that I've often worried about my son's health and safety, when they are driving at night or going off to college. I told Mark that I thought no one would begrudge him if he curled up in a ball and didn't leave his house. His response is now a classic in my mind.
"If you knew my son, and pardon my French, my son would say, Dad, it's time to grow a pair. He would not be happy if he knew I was sitting here distraught and depressed over what happened. We have a deep faith in God and Jared was baptized at 12. We feel that we will see Jared again. There's no doubt."
No doubt Mark. No doubt.
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Video by Sam Masterson
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