Walt Schmisseur
| Date and Place of Birth: | 1921 Belleville, IL |
| Date and Place of Death: | February 19, 1945 near Chichi Jima, Bonin Islands |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Catcher |
| Rank: | Ensign |
| Military Unit: | VBF-9, US Navy |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Uncle Sam will get Walt Schmisseur before the war reaches a
climax but meanwhile he hopes to do a lot of catching for the Olean
Oilers.
Olean Times-Herald May 29, 1942
Walter J. Schmisseur, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Schmisseur, was born in Belleville, Illinois, and won
letters in baseball, football and track at Belleville Township High
School. He went on to play two years of varsity baseball at Milliken
University, where he also enlisted in the Naval Reserve Officers'
Training Course. Schmisseur later worked as a plumber and a farm hand,
and in 1941 he hit .300 with the Belleville Stags semi-pro team.
He was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers' organization in 1942, and joined
the Olean Oilers of the Class D PONY League. "Uncle Sam will get Walt
Schmisseur before the war reaches a climax," announced the Olean
Times-Herald in May 1942, "but meanwhile he hopes to do a lot of
catching for the Olean Oilers."
Schmisseur quickly earned the starting spot behind the plate with the
Oilers and regularly demonstrated an uncanny ability for hitting in the
clutch. The likeable catcher also became a local hero following the
Olean flood of July 18. The Allegheny River flooded the town and War
Veterans' Park was under seven feet of water. Two men were in a boat
that capsized in the park, and Schmisseur risked his own life to swim
out to the boat in a desperate attempt to save them. Unfortunately, both
men drowned, as did a six-yearold boy, who was swept away when his
mother's car plunged into swollen Haskell Creek.
In 77 games with the Oilers, Schmisseur batted .278 with 51 RBIs, and
was an allstar selection. The Oilers' fans were sorry to see him leave
when the Brooklyn organization sent the 21-year-old to the Dayton Ducks
of the Class C Middle Atlantic League on August 8.
Schmisseur entered military service with the Navy after the 1942 season.
He trained as a fighter pilot and served in the Pacific with Bombing
Fighting Squadron VBF-9 on the USS Lexington (CV-16). On February 19,
1945, Ensign Schmisseur took off in a Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat on a mission
over Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands, supporting assaulting troops
landing at Iwo Jima. He was forced to bail out when his plane was badly
damaged by enemy anti-aircraft fire, and reported missing in action. "He
was seen landing in the water," explained a message to his parents, "and
when last seen was in an inflated life raft. He later disappeared from
sight of rescue planes circling the area, and no later trace having been
found, his death must be assumed."
Schmisseur's body was never recovered and on April 5, 1946, the young
athlete was officially declared dead by the Navy Department.
Walt Schmisseur was awarded the Air Medal and Purple Heart, and is
remembered at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu,
Hawaii.
|
Team |
League |
Class |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
|
| 1942 | Olean | PONY | D | 77 | 255 | 51 | 71 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 51 | .278 |
| 1942 | Dayton | Mid-Atlantic | C | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
The Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat. The type Ensign Schmisseur was flying when badly damaged by enemy anti-aircraft fire over Chichi Jima in the Bonin Islands
Source
Olean Times-Herald, May 29, 1942
Belleville Daily Advocate, April 5, 1946
Thanks to Lou Ann James, archivist at Belleville Public Library for help with this biography. Thanks also to Astrid van Erp, for help with photos for this biography.
Date Added February 19, 2012 Updated July 30, 2017
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