(54/229) 1944-00-00-f.jpg

Alfred Schmidt models his World War I Army uniform alongside his son Ruben in his World War II uniform, about 1944.

53: Claude Schmidt in Navy cadet uniform in 1944 at age 19.
52: Claude Schmidt in Navy cadet uniform, circa 1944.
51: Claude Schmidt and dog Mickey on the family farm, about 1944. Claude is wearing his Navy midshipman's uniform because he was enrolled in the Navy's V-12 program for pre-med students.
50: Claude Schmidt worked the family farm in 1943 with these horses. The "chicken barn" is in the background.
49: Alfred Schmidt family circa 1943, when oldest son Ruben was called into military service in World War II. Left-to-right are Irmgard (née Ruhbusch), Claude, Alfred, and Ruben.
48: Claude Schmidt took off his sophomore year of college in 1943 to return home to work the farm for his father Alfred, who had nearly died from a burst appendix the year before and was unable to handle all the farm chores. Working the family farm also gave Claude a deferment from the draft which followed the Pearl Harbor attack and the US's entry into World War II, which being a pre-med college student probably would not have.
47: Claude Schmidt's high-school graduation photo, 1941. He was 16 years old.
46: When Claude Schmidt was 14 years old, his dear pet cat Caesar gto run over in the road by their house. He asked his mother to take this picture of him with the cat.
45: Ruben F. Schmidt's high-school graduation photo, 1937. He was 16 years old.
44: Memorial Day 1936. Brother Ruben (center) and Claude (right) Schmidt pose in front of Spirea bush under elm tree on the family farm. The "chicken" barn is visible on the right.