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Gold Star families share their service members’ sacrifices on Independence Day

This is part one of Fox News Digital’s “Freedom Isn’t Free” series, honoring America’s fallen heroes as the nation celebrates the Fourth of July.

Gold Star father Mark Schmitz channeled his grief over the death of his son, Marine Corporal Jared M. Schmitz, into gratitude for American freedom.

Jared Schmitz was killed in action along with 12 other U.S. service members at then-Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 26, 2021. He was 20 years old.

“Human nature is always going to take things for granted, but that never bothered me before. Now it bothers me personally when I see people squandering the freedoms they have on a lot of things,” Mark Schmitz said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

He hasn’t forgotten his son’s sacrifice and what it means this Fourth of July weekend.

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Gold Star father Mark Schmitz is trying to honor his son Jared’s memory through a foundation housing veterans known as the “Freedom 13,” a group that remembers the 13 men killed in combat on Aug. 26, 2021. (Mark Schmitz)

“Whether it’s complaining about being a ‘Karen’, getting angry because they didn’t get the right thing at a restaurant, or complaining about ‘first-world problems,’ people complain about a lot of things that people in other countries want but can’t have,” Mark said.

“There’s so much complaints from people about things that other countries want and can’t get.”

Mark Schmitz

“When our kids go out into the world like so many others, our expectations of the world have become so routine that [protected] “They have taken away our freedom and some of us cannot return home,” he added.

According to the Freedom 13 website, Jared realized he wanted to join the military when he was eight years old.

“A kind, gentle and selfless man with a great sense of humor, a love for the underdog and deep caring for his family and friends,” the site reads.

Mark said:[Jared had] He had talked for years, ever since high school, about wanting to be a Marine — he knew it was his calling — and we couldn’t be prouder that dream came true when he became a Marine. [Camp] Pendleton.

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Fallen Marine Jared Schmitz as a child (left) and a teenager (right)

Marine Corporal Jared M. Schmitz was born in Missouri on February 25, 2001. He was 20 years old when he was killed in action in Afghanistan. (Mark Schmitz)

Jared graduated from high school and officially enlisted in the Marines in 2019, but his training ended during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, his father said.

“After he had done everything they had, he was told to go out and see the world, and finally received orders to go on his first deployment to Jordan.”

“He really enjoyed it. He got to train there and actually shoot with the designated shooters. It was an honor for him,” Mark continued.

Jared was deployed to Jordan and then quickly called back to Afghanistan to assist with the withdrawal of American troops.

“Jared contacted me. He said he was going somewhere, but he wouldn’t tell me where. Well, if you knew my relationship with my son, I wasn’t going to be satisfied with that answer.” [Jared] “They kept me guessing, and when I guessed right, he gave a different answer, so I knew he was going to Afghanistan,” Mark said.

Jared Schmitz poses in a Marine uniform on the left and sits with a rifle on the right.

His father, Mark Schmitz, said Jared had talked about joining the Marines “for many years, especially since high school.” (Mark Schmitz)

Mark heard from Jared shortly after arriving in Afghanistan, and soon after, Jared told his father he didn’t know if he was going to survive.

“He thought he was going to die right there because of the crowds, the pressure and the heat,” Mark said.

“Everybody’s packed in together. Even if you have your arms up as you walk out, you’re crammed with someone in front of or behind you, so he said you have to keep your arms up then,” he said.

“…He told me that the day they landed and he first stepped out onto Abbey Gate, there were so many people rushing in and out, he thought he was going to die on the spot…”

Mark Schmitz

Mark couldn’t believe that Jared was among the 13 U.S. soldiers killed on August 26, 2021, and believed his son had been moved to the airport tarmac.

in the end,”[Jared] He was one of 13 people tragically killed in the explosion that day.”

Mark founded a foundation called “Freedom 13” in honor of Jared’s sacrifice.

“We remember the heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice by supporting the veterans who are still with us,” Freedom 13’s mission statement reads.

The foundation’s goal is to build veterans’ memorials in all 50 states to honor the memory of Jared and the 12 others who died on August 26, 2021.

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