For God and Country (Score)
One truly never knows whether They would give their life for another Until they are in that situation. Some give their life as a matter of decision, A few give their life Because they could do no other. “For God and Country” was written in honor of Lt. Aloysius Schmitt for the Loras College Wind Ensembles, Glenn Pohland, director. The Catholic chaplain and Columbia College (now Loras College) graduate gave his life helping twelve of his shipmates exit a porthole on the side of the U.S.S. Oklahoma as it took enemy torpedo fire, rolled over and finally faltered on the morning of December 7, 1941. Schmitt was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Silver Star. In 1943, the Oklahoma was righted and salvaged. Navy personnel recovered remains of the crew that could not be identified and eventually buried them at two cemeteries in Hawaii. Due to advances in technology, specifically DNA testing, the POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed those remains. In June 2015, the remains of Lt Schmitt were identified. On October 3, 2016 the remains were placed in a casket, returned to Iowa where he was finally laid to rest in Christ the King Chapel on the Loras College Campus. In May 1943, the Navy launched a newly built destroyer escort at Quincy, Massachusetts, and christened her the U.S.S. Schmitt. She served the Navy until being decommissioned in 1949 and remained afloat until being scrapped in 1976. Throughout the work, the Navy Hymn “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” is a reoccurring motive. Several U.S. Navy bugle calls are also used in the work including portions of “Abandon Ship”, “Man Overboard”, “Man Torpedo Defense Battery” and “Watertight Doors”. The work ends with a quiet and solemn rendition of the Navy Hymn in various solo instruments.
Duration: 9:00
One truly never knows whether They would give their life for another Until they are in that situation. Some give their life as a matter of decision, A few give their life Because they could do no other. “For God and Country” was written in honor of Lt. Aloysius Schmitt for the Loras College Wind Ensembles, Glenn Pohland, director. The Catholic chaplain and Columbia College (now Loras College) graduate gave his life helping twelve of his shipmates exit a porthole on the side of the U.S.S. Oklahoma as it took enemy torpedo fire, rolled over and finally faltered on the morning of December 7, 1941. Schmitt was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Silver Star. In 1943, the Oklahoma was righted and salvaged. Navy personnel recovered remains of the crew that could not be identified and eventually buried them at two cemeteries in Hawaii. Due to advances in technology, specifically DNA testing, the POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed those remains. In June 2015, the remains of Lt Schmitt were identified. On October 3, 2016 the remains were placed in a casket, returned to Iowa where he was finally laid to rest in Christ the King Chapel on the Loras College Campus. In May 1943, the Navy launched a newly built destroyer escort at Quincy, Massachusetts, and christened her the U.S.S. Schmitt. She served the Navy until being decommissioned in 1949 and remained afloat until being scrapped in 1976. Throughout the work, the Navy Hymn “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” is a reoccurring motive. Several U.S. Navy bugle calls are also used in the work including portions of “Abandon Ship”, “Man Overboard”, “Man Torpedo Defense Battery” and “Watertight Doors”. The work ends with a quiet and solemn rendition of the Navy Hymn in various solo instruments.
Duration: 9:00
One truly never knows whether They would give their life for another Until they are in that situation. Some give their life as a matter of decision, A few give their life Because they could do no other. “For God and Country” was written in honor of Lt. Aloysius Schmitt for the Loras College Wind Ensembles, Glenn Pohland, director. The Catholic chaplain and Columbia College (now Loras College) graduate gave his life helping twelve of his shipmates exit a porthole on the side of the U.S.S. Oklahoma as it took enemy torpedo fire, rolled over and finally faltered on the morning of December 7, 1941. Schmitt was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Silver Star. In 1943, the Oklahoma was righted and salvaged. Navy personnel recovered remains of the crew that could not be identified and eventually buried them at two cemeteries in Hawaii. Due to advances in technology, specifically DNA testing, the POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed those remains. In June 2015, the remains of Lt Schmitt were identified. On October 3, 2016 the remains were placed in a casket, returned to Iowa where he was finally laid to rest in Christ the King Chapel on the Loras College Campus. In May 1943, the Navy launched a newly built destroyer escort at Quincy, Massachusetts, and christened her the U.S.S. Schmitt. She served the Navy until being decommissioned in 1949 and remained afloat until being scrapped in 1976. Throughout the work, the Navy Hymn “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” is a reoccurring motive. Several U.S. Navy bugle calls are also used in the work including portions of “Abandon Ship”, “Man Overboard”, “Man Torpedo Defense Battery” and “Watertight Doors”. The work ends with a quiet and solemn rendition of the Navy Hymn in various solo instruments.
Duration: 9:00