Frank Ludwig Schmaltz
Sergeant Frank L. Schmaltz served with Able Company, First Battalion, 29th Marines.
He died of wounds received in action at Saipan on 26 June 1944.
Branch
Marine Corps Regular
Service Number 315039
Current Status
ACCOUNTED FOR
2025
Recovery Organization
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Press release pending
Capsule History
Pre-War Life
Birth
April 7, 1920
in New Orleans, LA
Parents
Anthony Joseph Schmaltz
Elfrida Olga (Von Wolff) Schmaltz
Education
Details unknown
Occupation & Employer
Carpenter’s helper
Service Life
Entered Service
July 8, 1941
at New Orleans, LA
Home Of Record
8614 Willow Street
New Orleans, LA
Next Of Kin
Parents, Anthony & Elfrida Schmaltz
Military Specialty
Section Leader
Individual Decorations
Purple Heart
Loss And Burial
Circumstances Of Loss
Frank Schmaltz enlisted in the Marine Corps from New Orleans, Louisiana, and went through boot camp at MCRD San Diego. He was assigned to Dog Company, First Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment after completing his training, then transferred to M/3/2nd Marines shortly after Pearl Harbor. Both outfits were the heavy weapons companies of their respective battalions, and Schmaltz likely served as a heavy machine gunner or 81mm mortarman in combat. He participated in the battles of Guadalcanal and Tarawa with M/3/2, rising to the rank of corporal by January 1944.
In January 1944, Corporal Schmaltz was transferred to the “Second Separate Infantry Battalion” attached to the V Amphibious Corps. Because they had no permanent regimental assignment, the battalion was considered an “orphan” unit – which the men started calling the “Bastard Battalion.” They would finally become the First Battalion, 29th Marines in May 1944 – while en route to the invasion of Saipan. The “Bastards” went ashore on Saipan’s Green Beach 2 on 15 June 1944 and were immediately hit by intense shell fire. For the next several days, they fought in support of the 8th Marines.
On 25 June 1944, 1/29th Marines attacked up the slopes of Mount Tapochau, Saipan’s highest peak. An artillery shell exploded close by Sergeant Schmaltz, inflicting a horrific wound to his upper body; a Marine Corps casualty card notes “right shoulder practically blown away.” He was carried down the mountain and evacuated to the USS Rocky Mount. Unfortunately, there was little that surgeons could do, and Schmaltz died of his wounds early on the morning of 26 June 1944.
Burial Information or Disposition
Sergeant Schmaltz’s remains were sent ashore from the USS Rocky Mount for burial – but for reasons unknown, he was interred as an unidentified body. His remains were declared non-recoverable in 1949.
Frank Schmaltz’s remains were recovered from Saipan by a Graves Registration team in 1948. After laboratory analysis failed to establish his identity, he was interred in the Manila American Cemetery as an unknown.
In 2025, Schmaltz’s remains were identified and returned to his family. He was buried in Garden of Memories Cemetery, Metairie, Louisiana on 13 October 2025.
This article will be updated.
Memorials
CENOTAPHS
Honolulu Memorial, Courts Of The Missing
Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery, New Orleans, LA
FINAL BURIAL
Garden of Memories Cemetery, Metairie, LA
Next Of Kin Address
Address of parents, Anthony & Elfrida Schmaltz.
Location Of Loss
Schmaltz was mortally wounded on Saipan and died aboard a hospital ship offshore.
