{"id":2191,"date":"2023-04-16T23:21:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-16T23:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=2191"},"modified":"2023-04-17T00:05:38","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T00:05:38","slug":"former-pewaukee-chief-raising-money-for-new-tombstone-honoring-george-schmidling-1st-waukesha-officer-killed-in-line-of-duty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=2191","title":{"rendered":"Former Pewaukee Chief Raising Money for New Tombstone Honoring George Schmidling, 1st Waukesha Officer Killed in Line of Duty"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.wisconsinrightnow.com\/george-schmidling-waukesha-police\/<\/a><\/p>\n

If you want to help Gary Bach with the monument\u2019s costs, you can email him at gbach3@wi.rr.com. We\u2019ve known Gary Bach for years, back when he was a Pewaukee police chief, and we can vouch for him.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

To retired Pewaukee Chief Gary Bach<\/a>, slain Waukesha police Detective George Schmidling is more than a name on a grave stone. Schmidling was Bach\u2019s uncle.<\/p>\n

Schmidling, a Navy veteran and married father of three, was shot to death in 1961 when Bach was 12, becoming the first Waukesha police officer killed in the line of duty. Bach, who was himself a police officer for 28 years, retiring as Pewaukee\u2019s chief, retains memories of Schmidling that burn strong today.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorge was probably one of the greatest individuals I\u2019ll ever remember,\u201d Bach says. \u201cHe was a great dad, a great husband. He was an entertainer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"george
George schmidling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today Bach has made it his mission to better honor Schmidling where he rests; the officer is buried at St. Mary\u2019s Cemetery in Pewaukee, but his tombstone is aging badly, almost unreadable, and it doesn\u2019t make his ultimate sacrifice clear. Bach is trying to raise $3,800 to give Schmidling a proper memorial monument at the cemetery. The monument would say, \u201cCity of Waukesha Police Detective George Schmidling, killed in the line of duty,\u201d and it would include his picture and a \u201cspiritual note,\u201d said Bach, replacing the more simple and deteriorating stone that is there now.<\/p>\n

We learned about Bach\u2019s effort when he made a comment about it on our Facebook page. We contacted him and asked if we could do a story, which he appreciated.<\/p>\n

\"george
Gary bach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The recognition for Schmidling at the cemetery is currently \u201cterrible,\u201d said Bach. \u201cIt\u2019s a little flat stone. There is no information on it in terms of him being a police officer. I want to make it right. That\u2019s what I am doing now. This is the least I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

It has bothered Bach for years that Schmidling\u2019s current stone does not make his sacrifice clear. It is not a proper way to honor him, he believes. Schmidling is one of only two City of Waukesha Police Officers to die in the line of duty; the other was Capt. James Lutz in 1994. (There are several other<\/a> Waukesha County law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty as well.)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s mattered to me ever since I went up and looked at the stone, which was many years ago,\u201d Bach told Wisconsin Right Now in an interview. \u201cI always said I need to do something to make this right.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, Bach said, \u201cevery police officer who dies didn\u2019t expect to die. They did it through the drive to do the right thing in their job and unfortunately suffered the consequences of that. Your life is always at risk, and, when that happens, society needs to pay you back in some form. You deserve that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"george
Det. Schmidling\u2019s grave<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bach also wants Schmidling\u2019s kids, great-grandkids, and grandkids to see a new monument.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the right thing to do,\u201d said Bach.<\/p>\n

Bach said a ceremony will be held when the new monument is obtained. The City of Waukesha and probably the Village of Pewaukee will have honor guards and all who donate will be invited.<\/p>\n

After Schmidling\u2019s death, his widow and three children went through great struggles, said Bach. The kids now live down south.<\/p>\n

Bach says law enforcement was a \u201cfamily tradition.\u201d His father worked for the Waukesha County Sheriff\u2019s Department, and other relatives became officers as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would go to his house, and I remember laughing all the time,\u201d Bach says of Schmidling. \u201cHe would take us out roller skating. When he would come to our house, he was always full of energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Schmidling was an officer who showed great empathy. For a period of time, he said, Schmidling was \u201cone of the old Waukesha motorcycle cops,\u201d riding a three-wheeler cycle.<\/p>\n

\"george<\/p>\n

According to Bach, Schmidling was slain when he thought he was stopping a robbery in progress at an old Waukesha restaurant. He was shot five times and then run over. He managed to shoot and kill one of the assailants.<\/p>\n

The City of Waukesha does have<\/a> a public safety memorial in that city that also honors first responders who died in the line of duty. However, Bach believes Schmidling also deserves to be properly memorialized in the spot where he rests.<\/p>\n

In addition to Schmidling and Capt. Lutz, the other names on the memorial are firefighters:<\/p>\n