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Former resident, son involved in Veterans Day activities in nearby Coesse in Whitley County

Tom Schmidt, a former Huntington County resident, stands in front of the Huey Helicopter that will be housed in a museum he is helping organize in Peru.
Tom Schmidt, a former Huntington County resident, stands in front of the Huey Helicopter that will be housed in a museum he is helping organize in Peru. Photo provided.

Former Huntington resident Tom Schmidt and his son Jon Schmidt will be involved in Veterans Day events at Coesse Elementary School, in Whitley County.

The school will hold its Veterans Day program on Friday, Nov. 9, at 12:30 p.m. in the school gymnasium.

A display including a World War II Jeep owned by Jon Schmidt will be open to the public on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. and again on Friday, Nov. 9, from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 2:40 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The 1944 World War II Reconna Jeep landed on Normandy Beach one day after the invasion. It was used as a scout vehicle throughout France and Normandy.

Jon Schmidt has spent the last three years displaying the vehicle throughout northwest Indiana, the Chicago area and Michigan as part of his mission to share it in as many public tributes as possible.

Tom Schmidt, a 1963 graduate of Clear Creek High School in Huntington County, will share information about the Huey Helicopter 369 Museum under construction at the Grissom Aeroplex in Peru. He served as a crew chief of the helicopter in South Korea during the Vietnam era and is one of the designers of the museum building.

Tom Schmidt will answer questions about the organization and its mission at the museum, as well as the many tributes in which they participate throughout the year.

The public is invite to attend the display and the program. The school is located art 2250S-500E, Columbia City.

Complete caption: Tom Schmidt, a former Huntington County resident, stands in front of the Huey Helicopter that will be housed in a museum he is helping organize in Peru. Schmidt will be at Veterans Day activities at Coesse School, in Whitley County, to talk about the museum; his son will display a World War II Jeep.