WWII Marine was entrepreneur

Schmidt witnessed the planting of American flag on Iwo Jima, then planted his own in Hamilton.

HAMILTON — Joel Schmidt witnessed the planting of the American flag on the island of Iwo Jima after a fierce battle with the Japanese as a Marine in World War II.

But it was after he returned home that he planted his own flag, starting a family, operating six McDonald’s restaurants in Butler County and becoming a leader of Hamilton’s civic society.

Schmidt died Saturday at Fort Hamilton Hospital. He was 94.

He was born May 15, 1926 in Noblesville, Indiana., to Jacob J. and Caroline (Heylmann) Schmidt and grew up in Cleveland, where he met Marilyn, his wife of 70 years. After graduating from Indiana University and while working for Shell Oil Co., he moved to Hamilton in 1953.

In 1969, their neighbors and friends, Chuck and Charlotte Posey offered the Schmidts a chance to join in a partnership of a new McDonald’s restaurant on Northwest Washington Boulevard. The couple became McDonald’s operators for the next 23 years, ultimately owning three in Hamilton, one on Oxford and two in Fairfield.

As a Marine from 1944-45, Schmidt was on a landing craft taking supplies to shore when the flag was raised on Iwo Jima’s Mt. Suribachi. He could hear the

Schmidt

Joel Alan Schmidt, a World War II Marine and owner of six McDonald’s restaurants in Butler County before he retired, died Saturday in Hamilton. He was 94.