Family that runs bakery, dressed astronauts descended from O’Fallon’s only fallen officer

The first and only O’Fallon law enforcement officer who was killed in the line of duty has been honored for his heroism and service with a memorial plaque.

Benjamin B. Schmitt was a city marshal when he was shot in the line of duty. He died March 21, 1916, at the age of 41. He left behind a wife and seven children.

Since then, his memory lives on and he continues to inspire, said Valerie Hancock, president of the O’Fallon Historical Preservation Commission.

Hancock said the commission introduced the idea to honor Schmitt with a plaque, as he was the only officer killed in O’Fallon’s 170-year history.

The city, the O’Fallon Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 198, city historian Brian Keller and retired O’Fallon Police Lt. Keith Townsend helped make the plaque and presentation happen.

The plaque was dedicated at an official ceremony on Dec. 19, with a police color guard presenting a flag from the police department to Gerald Schmitt, BB’s oldest surviving grandchild.

“He will always be my hometown hero,” Hancock said. “I’m just happy we could finally honor him in a good way, and the family was able to be there.”

Hancock has worked for the city for more than 20 years and is currently a dispatcher with the city’s Metro East Communications Center.

About 60 people attended the ceremony, including the more than 25 descendants attended the event. Benjamin Schmitt’s grandson, Jim Schmitt, who owns Wood Bakery, spoke on behalf of the family, with gratitude for the recognition.

Schmitt’s teenage great-great grandson, Hank Schmitt, unveiled the plaque. He wore his great-great grandfather’s original police badge that has been in the family since the tragedy occurred 108 years ago.

The local tribute followed his inclusion in national and state law enforcement memorials, and he was honored with a light pole banner six years ago. The O’Fallon Police Department purchased a Hometown Heroes banner in his memory in 2018 after the program was expanded to include any person who was a police officer, firefighter, EMT, paramedic or dispatcher.

A great-grandson, Anthony Schmitt, had written a tribute following his great-grandfather’s name being placed on the memorial wall in Washington on Memorial Day in 2013.

“The stories I heard about you when I was a kid I will never forget. You were well respected by the community and loved by your family,” he wrote in tribute afterwards.

Hancock said it will be mounted on the Chamber of Commerce office building downtown, which is located on First Street.

According to historical records, as reported on the Officer Down Memorial Page, BB Schmitt was investigating two suspicious subjects at the Baltimore and Ohio railroad station platform, just east of Lincoln Avenue.

While questioning them, a heated exchange occurred. As Schmitt reached for his service weapon, one of the subjects pulled a .32-caliber revolver from his overcoat pocket, fired once and struck the marshal in the heart.

Historian Brian Keller said it was early evening on a Tuesday when he encountered Thomas Boreman and Kenneth Ford.

“Apparently satisfied, he had turned to leave, but Boreman said something to make him turn around, gun drawn. Boreman quickly drew his gun and shot Schmitt in the heart. Schmitt fired twice but missed. Boreman was caught and indicted for murder,” Keller explained.

“At his trial, he argued self-defense. The verdict returned by the jury on Oct. 4, 1916, was ‘not guilty,’” he said.

Schmitt had served with the O’Fallon Police Department for three years.

His extended family settled in O’Fallon after arriving from Germany in the late 19th Century.

A former coal miner, Schmitt joined the police department on May 5, 1913, and was appointed city marshal on May 4, 1914, by Mayor John Seddon. He was re-appointed on May 3, 1915, by Mayor C.E. Tiedemann.

His widow Addie never remarried and supported her family by doing laundry services. His youngest son, Joseph, was 10 weeks old when his father died. As a young boy, Joe would deliver clean clothes back to customers in his wagon.

To help support his family, he cleaned out spittoons and shined shoes in his brother-in-law’s barbershop in downtown O’Fallon.

As an adult, Joseph W. Schmitt had an integral role in the small steps and giant leaps of the U.S. Space Program as NASA’s first space suit technician. He was responsible for designing and constructing the suits that Alan Shepard and John Glenn wore on their first historic flights, as well as all the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts.

In a BND article dated April 5, 2017, that chronicled Schmitt’s career, the two illustrations that artist Norman Rockwell drew of him were featured. He died six months later, at age 101.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, the BND ran an article on Schmitt, dated July 18, 2019.