Write to Jamie Schmidt

Captain James E. "Jamie" Schmidt, who was burned in an explosive blast Thursday, Sept. 25, in Tikrit, Iraq, is recovering in Fort Sam Houston Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. Jamie experienced burns on his face, legs and arms, and was left with shrapnel in his legs. He was flown out of Iraq to Kuwait, then Germany and transferred to Texas.

Monday morning his wife, Jessica, said the burns on his face are healing, but his still has a piece of shrapnel in his right leg.

His dad, Henry, said Jamie's left leg is not as severely burned as the right, and doctors at Fort Sam Houston expect to remove the shrapnel as soon as possible. Right now they are concentrating on cleansing the burns.

Jessica said that Jamie welcomes cards, but because of the threat of infection, no flowers are allowed in the burn unit. Send Jamie get-well wishes to Captain James E. Schmidt, 2108 9t Street, General Delivery No. 100, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio TX 78234.

Schmidt Family Fund

Hank Ruland and Jim Noble, representing the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, spoke with Sublette County Undersheriff Henry Schmidt Wednesday morning, announcing the two organizations had banded together to start a fund to support the family of wounded soldier Captain James E. Schmidt, who also serves as a deputy sheriff here in Sublette County.

Schmidt was wounded Sept. 25 while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq. He and Captain Robert Lucero of Casper reportedly entered a building looking for some type of pump, when Lucero apparently opened a box containing an explosive device. The blast killed Lucero and blew Schmidt out of the building. Schmidt crawled back into the building to search for his comrade and was severely burned. Several more explosions reportedly followed the first. Schmidt is now in the hospital at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, with family members at his side.

Ruland said that the VFW and American Legion "are going to prime the pump" for the family fund now established at the First National Bank of Pinedale. Ruland and Noble asked the community to join them in helping build up the fund to help pay the expenses associated with the family's travel and other expenses.

Noble pointed out that the fund is not only to help Jamie, but to help his family "as a whole, with whatever expenses they have, to do whatever we can to help."

Jamie's dad, Henry, struggled to find the words to express his family's gratitude to the community.

"My son is alive and I thank God for that and for the support that we've had from everybody," Henry said. "Our hearts go out to the Lucero family for their loss, and I know Jamie is having a tough time dealing with that."

Ruland pointed out the leadership qualities of both Captain Lucero and Schmidt, noting they could have sent their troops into the building, "but they went in and did it themselves. ... These are great American heroes."