Schmidt died May 11, 2005, from wounds he received during combat in Al Anbar province Jan. 30. He had been in Iraq less than two weeks when he was wounded by a mortar shell that ruptured a tank of ammonia. He had joined the Marines for a challenge, saying they were the strictest of the services. After he was injured, townspeople in Brookfield put up a sign on a bridge in town with the Marines' motto, "Semper Fi," in his honor, and made sure he saw a picture of it.