Marine Lance Cpl. Benjamin Whetstone Schmidt was killed during a combat mission in the Helmand province in Afghanistan, where he was a scout sniper, on October 6, 2011. Benjamin was the only son of David R. Schmidt, M.D. and Becky Whetstone, Ph.D. He attended Texas Christian University and was a devout brother of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Schmidt joined the Marines in 2008 and was trained at San Diego's Camp Pendleton. Following his graduation, Schmidt entered Sniper training and excelled as a marksmen. His first deployment was on the USS Bonhomme Richard. In September 2011, Schmidt volunteered for his second tour in Afghanistan, one that would take him right to the end of his four-year service. He received these awards: Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat Valor, Combat Action Ribbon, Sea Service Deployment, Afghan Campaign Ribbon x2 with a double Bronze star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defensive Service Medal, NATO medal- ISAF Afghanistan and Purple Heart.
With his lifelong passion for military history, Schmidt planned to return to TCU and become a history professor following his Marine service. Prior to his second deployment, Benjamin laid out a plan that would keep his dreams alive in the event he didn’t make it back. He requested to his family that half of his life insurance policy would be used to create a scholarship at TCU. Following his untimely death, the Benjamin Whetstone Schmidt Memorial Scholarship Fund was established. The endowment fund will give a graduate student in history a scholarship each fall. The first award is scheduled to be made next fall for the 2012-13 academic year. Students considered for the scholarship must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 in and be a graduate student in history. They must also be involved in community service. TCU is working out the details of how to select each recipient. To date over $465,000 has been contributed to scholarship fund.
For those wishing to contribute to the fund please send donations to:
The Benjamin W. Schmidt Memorial Scholarship Fund/Texas Christian University
TCU Box 297044
Fort Worth, TX 76129