ST. LOUIS — The Blues are hosting their annual "Salute to Military Night" on Thursday at Enterprise Center, and will be honoring a fallen St. Louis area servicemember.
The team will recognize the life of St. Louis native Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz before and during the team's Thursday night game against the Nashville Predators. Schmitz was one of 13 U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan on Aug. 26. Schmitz was among a group of Marines sent back to Afghanistan to assist with evacuation efforts.
The Blues will wear special military-themed jerseys during warm-ups that will have a patch featuring the names of all 13 service members killed in the airport bombing. Each jersey will have an individual name patch as well on the right chest. The majority will have Schmitz's name on them and will be raffled to benefit the Lance Cpl Schmitz Memorial Fund and H.E.R.O.E.S. Care. 12 players will wear the names of the other 12 fallen service members.
Players will also wear a helmet decal throughout the game to honor Schmitz.
There will be a pregame ceremony honoring Lance Cpl Schmitz, with his mother, father and stepmother dropping the ceremonial first puck, followed by a moment of silence.
Schmitz, 20, grew up in St. Charles County and was a 2019 graduate of Fort Zumwalt South. His father told 5 On Your Side his son’s interest in the military started in high school, and he trained before he even was a recruit.
Schmitz was laid to rest in September at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.