LCpl. John Schmidt III

Connecticut Marine dies from combat wounds

May 13, 2005, 5:13 PM EDT

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A U.S. Marine from Connecticut died this week from wounds he received in combat in Iraq earlier this year, the military confirmed Friday.

Lance Cpl. John T. Schmidt III, 21, of Brookfield, Conn., was injured Jan. 30 in an explosion during combat in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He died Wednesday. It was immediately unclear where he died, but Schmidt had spent the last several months in the burn unit of the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Schmidt was with fellow platoon members in an agricultural building near Fallujah when they came under attack, family members said at the time of his injuries. He suffered severe burns to his face and lungs when a mortar shell ruptured a tank of ammonia.

He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Schmidt's unit was attached to 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Judith Heise, a Brookfield selectman, said town officials and others tried to honor Schmidt when they learned he was injured in January. A sign over a railroad bridge quoted the Marines' motto, Semper Fi, and a photo of the bridge was posted in town hall and signed by municipal employees.

"We have all followed his progress," Heise said. "I'm extremely sorry."

Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who also lives in Brookfield, said in a statement that "brave men and women from our state continue to make sacrifices for our nation in the cause of freedom."

"I ask everyone in Connecticut to keep our servicemen and servicewomen in their thoughts and prayers," she said. "I also ask everyone in the state to join with me in letting Cpl. Schmidt's family know that we share their grief."

Schmidt is the 26th military member or civilian from Connecticut who was killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2002.