A convoy of motorcycles, jeeps, trucks and cars rolled into St. Peters, Missouri this weekend as hundreds of Missourians paid tribute to Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, the Wentzville native killed nearly five years ago in the Abbey Gate bombing outside Kabul's airport. More than 500 participants took part in the Angels of Abbey Gate Memorial Ride, which drew vehicles from 13 different locations across four states before converging into a single caravan.
The ride was organized by The Freedom 13, the nonprofit Schmitz's father founded after his son's death, according to FOX 2. Greg Doolin, camp director of Freedom 13, described the scene as a complete convoy caravan of motorcycles, jeeps, trucks and cars leaving Mid Rivers Mall as the procession got underway. The ride honored Schmitz's legacy while raising money for the Freedom Healing Camp, a refuge the organization operates for veterans, first responders, law enforcement and Gold Star families.
A Marine From Wentzville, Killed at Abbey Gate
Schmitz graduated from Fort Zumwalt South High School in Wentzville in May 2019 and enlisted in the Marine Corps two months later, serving as an infantry rifleman with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, according to the Mid America Veterans Museum. He was on his first overseas deployment, having been repositioned from Jordan to Kabul shortly before the attack, the museum's account notes. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Afghanistan Campaign Medal and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
On August 26, 2021, a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate outside Hamid Karzai International Airport killed 13 U.S. service members amid the final days of the American evacuation from Afghanistan. The attack, carried out by ISIS-K, killed 11 Marines, one Navy corpsman and one Army soldier, along with an estimated 170 Afghan civilians, according to reporting cited by NPR. The bombing came during a non-combatant evacuation operation in which U.S. military personnel helped evacuate more than 124,000 civilians from Afghanistan, one of the largest airborne evacuations in military history, per a statement from the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
From Grief to a 171-Acre Healing Camp
In the years since his son's death, Gold Star father Mark Schmitz built The Freedom 13 into an organization with a physical footprint: 171 acres in Bourbon, Missouri, where the plan calls for 13 individual homes serving military veterans, first responders and Gold Star families, according to Missourinet. The organization's stated goal is to eventually establish similar recreational retreats in all 50 states.
As of this month, the Freedom Healing Camp in Bourbon has two operational homes, new ADA wheelchair-accessible paths leading to the pool, and security infrastructure installed ahead of ground breaking on three additional residences, per The Freedom 13. The retreat is designed to give veterans dealing with PTSD access to outdoor recreation as part of their recovery, the organization says.
Highways and a Gold Medal Keep Schmitz's Name Visible
Schmitz's death has also reshaped state policy. In 2023, Missouri lawmakers passed the FA Paul Akers Jr and LCPL Jared Schmitz Memorial Sign Funding Act, which waives fees and directs the Missouri Department of Transportation to fund highway signs honoring fallen service members and emergency personnel, according to the Missouri Senate. Before the law, families or private donors had to cover thousands of dollars in fees for that kind of official signage.
An Interstate 70 bridge in Wentzville has also been designated the Marine LCPL Jared Schmitz Memorial Bridge under state law, ensuring visible recognition along a major transit corridor in his hometown. On September 10, 2024, congressional leaders presented the Congressional Gold Medal, authorized under Public Law 117-72, to the families of Schmitz and the 12 other Abbey Gate service members at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
The Mid America Veterans Museum in O'Fallon, which serves as a recurring launch point for the annual memorial ride, also houses a permanent granite Abbey Gate Memorial Monument dedicated to Schmitz and his fallen comrades. The museum regularly hosts other local military memorial events and Gold Star family gatherings, keeping the story of Abbey Gate present in St. Charles County well beyond the anniversary each August.
