SAW YOU IN THE NEWS
More than 81 years after the Battle of Saipan, we pause to honor the life and sacrifice of U.S. Marine Sergeant Frank L. Schmaltz, who was finally laid to rest in his hometown of Metairie, Louisiana, on October 13, 2025. Sergeant Schmaltz fought bravely with the 1st Battalion, 29th Marines, during the fierce campaign to secure Saipan in June 1944. He was mortally wounded near Mount Tapochao and died aboard the USS Rocky Mount. For decades, his remains were unaccounted for until the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified and returned him home for burial with full military honors. The people of the Northern Marianas will never forget the men and women who fought and died here. Their sacrifice is woven into the story of who we are, Americans bound together by service, valor, and gratitude.
