United States Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz made his final pass down the highways of St. Louis in a military Hummer in the early afternoon of September 16, 2021. LCpl Schmitz was escorted by dozens of St. Charles, St. Louis, and Missouri Highway Patrol Officers in addition to untold hundreds of Patriot Guard motorcycle riders. Just after 1:30 p.m. CST, Missouri State Troopers began the roughly 30-mile motorcade from Baue Funeral Home, where Schmitz’s service was held, to his final resting place at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Patriot Guard riders assemble in the cell phone lot at the Cargo Terminal of St. Louis Lambert International Airport as they wait to escort the remains of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz back home. (Photo by Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Schmitz Returns Home

Schmitz’s remains originally arrived at the Lambert International Airport on Wednesday, September 8, to a hero’s welcome. Many thousands of grateful patriots, friends, and family lined the streets, hands on their hearts and flags in their hands, to show their support for the Schmitz family.

Signs thanking and honoring Schmitz were posted throughout the streets while dozens of first responder vehicles lined the roads, bridges, and overpasses along the motorcade route.

An F-15 lifts off as the remains of Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz arrive at Signature Flight Support at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (Photo by Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post Dispatch)

 

Hundreds of supporters wave flags and place their hands over their hearts as the Humvee carrying the body of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz passes by. (Photo by Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post Dispatch)

Schmitz, a 20-year-old St. Charles, Missouri native, was killed in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 26, 2021, along with 12 of his fellow U.S. servicemembers. Schmitz had been providing security near a gate that led to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul when an ISIS-K suicide bomber detonated himself killing hundreds and injuring many more.

All 13 U.S. troops who perished were awarded the Purple Heart for their sacrifice.

Withdrawal From Afghanistan

LCpl Schmitz and his fellow Marines and were in Afghanistan to support President Biden’s objective to pull out all U.S. military troops from the war-torn country by August 31. President Biden’s decision to withdraw troops in the heat of summer, which, in Afghanistan is the heat of the fighting season, has drawn a lot of criticism from pundits and combat veterans alike. Many believe the U.S. should have waited until the winter season, the time when the Taliban and local Afghans hunker down to survive the brutal Afghan winter.

There has also been significant criticism of the Biden administration regarding the immense amount of U.S. weapons, vehicles, and aircraft that was left in-country.