Maine Maritime Academy

We are the proud parents of William Schmidt, and are happy that he, and his brother Michael, share our love of the sea. Laura and I met while we were both stationed at the Naval Medical Center, Oakland, CA. We both retired from the Navy, Laura in 1997 and myself in 2005. Both of us served in the Navy Dental Corps, Laura as a Maxillofacial Prosthetics Technician and myself as an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon.

When I received my commission, I thought I was in the Navy. Surprisingly, my first duty station was at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Paris Island, SC! Not quite the Navy I had envisioned. This was the path I could not get away from; 16 of my 22+ years of Naval service were with the Marines, and it was great. I did service on the USS Dwight D Eisenhower, CVN69, for two years, but hung out with the Marine Detachment on the Eisenhower quite a bit.

Laura spend her years of service at Naval Medical Centers, keeping our service members and their families healthy and happy.

We both consider our service in the United States Navy as an honor and privilege. We often reminisce about our time in the Navy. It is our hope that our son William, and all the MMA graduates in Maritime programs, find their Maritime careers as fulfilling as we have ours. There is something very special about the sea and being at sea.