WENTZVILLE, Mo. – Friends and family of Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz described him as a fun-loving, easygoing kid who got along with just about everybody. There was never a stranger in the room when Schmitz was around.

“Jared was always smiling. He could light up a room,” recalled his stepmother, Jaclyn Schmitz. She noted Schmitz had the kind of “goofy, infectious laugh” that would lead to everyone else smiling. “He just loved to love life.”

One of the things Schmitz loved most was his family. He was the “best big brother,” to his younger siblings, Jaclyn said. He made it a mission to watch over his two little sisters who “absolutely adored him.”

“Jared just loved people,” Jaclyn added. “He befriended everyone, from varying walks of life and offered help to anyone who needed it.”

Jared Schmitz training back home in Missouri. (Provided: The Freedom 13)

It was that drive to serve others that led Schmitz to join the U.S. Marine Corps. It had been his dream since he was a sophomore at Fort Zumwalt South in Wentzville. With his parents’ permission, he enlisted at the age of 17.

Tragically, Schmitz, on his first deployment to Afghanistan, was killed Aug. 26, 2021, when a suicide bomber attacked the airport in the country’s capital city of Kabul. In total, 13 U.S. service members died along with 170 Afghans who were trying to get flights out of the country.

The attack happened in the days leading up to the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Schmitz was only about 6-months-old when those attacks took place.

Friday would have been Schmitz’s 21st birthday.

To honor his legacy, and to show support for other veterans, the Schmitz family has partnered with breweries, bars, restaurants and other businesses near and far for a weekend-long fundraising pub crawl.

Friday and throughout the weekend, those will be able to go to participating businesses to buy Jared a drink. Participants can also pick up a memorial beer brewed in Schmitz’s honor.

Proceeds will benefit The Freedom 13, a nonprofit started by Jaclyn and her husband Mark earlier this year. The nonprofit provides funding to support veterans and their families.

“It’s kind of a tradition that you take your son or daughter out to buy them drinks or shots to celebrate their 21st birthday, so we thought an event like this would be a great way to honor Jared,” Jaclyn said. “We want him to have the largest 21st birthday ever, but with purpose.”

LCPL Jared Schmitz Pub Crawl 2022

That support has continued for the upcoming pub crawl, with requests to participate coming from all corners of the United States – as far north as Maine, as far south as Florida and as far west as Southern California, not far from Camp Pendleton where Schmitz was first stationed.

A flyer for the pub crawl honoring fallen Marine Jared Schmitz.

Jaclyn said they never intended for the event to get so big. It started out as “just a small local thing.” But a mixture of friends and family across the country, national media attention and some major restaurant chains quickly changed all that. Her husband’s “unrelenting” promotion of the event on social media also played a major role.

“All of the sudden, it just got a lot of traction then it kind of took on legs of its own,” Jaclyn said.

In total, between 150 to 200 businesses have agreed to take part. It’s not just bars and restaurants either. A few other types of businesses – real estate firms, mortgage companies, etc., – have stepped up to commit to donate to The Freedom 13 in honor of Schmitz’s birthday.

But the pub crawl itself will focus on businesses in the food and beverage industry.

"The idea behind the pub crawl is for somebody to go into any participating restaurant or bar and say, 'I want to buy Jared a drink' and all the proceeds from that sale go to The Freedom 13 nonprofit,” Jaclyn said. She said some businesses promised to match on any funds raised at certain locations.

One of those participating bars is a little closer to home – Mascots, a sports bar on Mexico Road in St. Peters, Missouri. The bar’s owner, Jen Sanley, said Mascots will match all cash, check, Venmo and PayPal donations. Other businesses will operate similarly.

“We’re a part of this to show respect, to show honor, to show that Jared’s service and sacrifice isn’t forgotten about,” said Stanley, who co-owns the bar with her husband, Rob. “We’re doing this to show support for Jared's family and their amazing work to turn the absolute tragedy of losing him into something positive for other veteran families.”

Stanley comes from what she described as a “long-line of military family members” and “couldn’t be more proud” to support military veterans. She said it means “something deeper” to her and her husband.

“This is what communities are supposed to do, rally behind each other when needed the most,” she added. “That’s what makes our community great and strong, and that’s what makes me proud to be a part of.”

Brewed in Jared’s honor

The support her family has received since her stepson’s passing has been huge for her family, Jacyln said.

There’s been an outpouring of well-wishes from veterans, families of service members and really, people across the entire country. Some of the most meaningful have originated very close to home in Wentzville, though.

One of those residents is Brian Nolan, who owns Friendship Brewing Company, which isn’t too far from the Schmitz family home. He knew them from a few business dealings in the past, he said. Jaclyn and Mark would stop in his brewery from time to time as well.

Nolan described Schmitz’s death as a “tremendous blow” to Wentzille, a city of about 39,000 in western St. Charles County.

“He was a great kid who loved being a Marine. He died doing what he wanted to do, but it’s still such a loss for our community and it’s absolutely devastating for his family,” Nolan said of Schmitz.

The Honoring Our Heroes beer brewed by Friendship Brewing Company on display. (Provided: Brian Nolan)

To show support for the family, Nolan collaborated with a few local businesses to create a special beer in Schmitz honor – “Honoring Our Heroes,” a light blonde ale. The can design depicts Schmitz in his uniform and a rendition of an American flag.

The commemorative 16 oz. cans debuted in November. They cost $10 and all the proceeds go toward The Freedom 13, formerly known as the Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz Memorial Fund.

The cans were donated by DigiCan Printing, the grain was donated by Bono Burns Distributing. Friendship Brewing Company provided the brewing and beer. It was a “true community partnership,” Nolan said.

“We wanted to keep the beer light and approachable to give it the most broad appeal across,” he added. Though, he’s heard some people opt to never open the cans but instead plan to save them as a memorial to Schmitz. The brewery also kept some empty cans for purchase.

The beer is only distributed to a few local locations and sold at the brewery. But the response was “overwhelming” for those first few months Nolan said. He said beer sales have already led to “tens of thousands” of dollars for The Freedom 13.

And more is expected this week. With Schmitz’s birthday approaching, Friendship Brewing decided to make an additional “limited run” of the beer. “People started reaching out for it so we decided to do another run to show support for the foundation.”

Friendship Brewing is also home to an on-site memorial to Schmitz. Community members and business partners raised more $20,000 in a matter of days to make the project possible.

The memorial includes a granite statue, plaque and bench under a new flag pole. The flag is maintained by the local Marine Corps. Branch, Nolan said.

About the Freedom 13

The Freedom 13 is named in honor of the 13 service members who died as a result of the incident in Kabul. The organization’s goal is to better the lives of former soldiers after they’ve finished serving their country.

“In many cases, veterans don't have a whole lot once they're done serving. You know, a lot of them end up with PTSD, the suicide rates are really high among veterans. A lot of them unfortunately end up homeless,” Jaclyn said. “They come back to difficult family lives and can't get through it by themselves. And so that is what our nonprofit is meant to do — help them through it.”

In just their first few months of operations, The Freedom 13 has already raised more than $400,000, Jaclyn said. About $100,000 of that has gone to the Veterans Community Project, which is building 50 tiny homes for vets in St. Louis City. Funds from The Freedom 13 will help build two of them – one in Jared’s name and one in the name of the nonprofit.

The Schmitz family has also acquired land by the Missouri River waterfront to create a retreat of sorts for veterans. Jaclyn said it will give them a chance to “fish, breathe fresh air and escape the world for a bit when they need it.”

“We’re really trying to take this tragedy involving Jared and run forward to make the best of a really terrible situation,” Jaclyn said.

More information is available at thefreedom13.org.