Delbert Adolph Schmand

Delbert Adolph Schmand
Personal details
Born	1915 Little Rock, Arkansas
Died	9 September 2003
Nativity	United States
Religion	Protestant
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
Arm / service	Signal Corps
ASN	0392763
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Rank at Ritchie	Second Lieutenant
Camp Ritchie	Class 10 (23 July – 20 September 1943)
Section	2

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Delbert Adolph Schmand (1915 – 9 September 2003) was an Arkansas engineer and Ritchie Boy (Class 10) who later rose to lieutenant colonel in the reserves and led major Corps of Engineers and professional-engineering work.

Biography

Delbert Adolph Schmand was born in 1915 in Little Rock, Arkansas, the son of William and Anna Schmand. He graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1937 with an engineering degree. After briefly working in his father’s candy business, he joined the Little Rock District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on 15 May 1938. He married Frances Rossner on 15 October 1939.

Called to active service after Pearl Harbor, Schmand trained at Camp Ritchie (Class 10). While stationed there he learned of his father’s death on 7 March 1944. He continued Army and reserve service after the war and retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1965.

Schmand spent thirty-eight years with the Corps of Engineers, including supervising design of locks and dams on the Arkansas River, and received the Meritorious Civilian Service Medal. After retiring from the Corps he directed the Little Rock Port Authority until 1977 and later served as president of the National Society of Professional Engineers. He was inducted into the University of Arkansas College of Engineering Hall of Fame. He died on 9 September 2003 at age 88.

Research notes

• Section II
• An earlier profile incorrectly used 7 March 1944 (his father’s death) as Delbert’s death_date; corrected from the family history narrative.

Gallery

• 
  Later-life portrait of Delbert Adolph Schmand (RB Archive)
• 
  The Sweet Side of Little Rock excerpt noting Camp Ritchie (RB Archive del01)
• 
  The Sweet Side of Little Rock excerpt on father William Schmand (RB Archive del02)
• 
  Biographical clipping with portrait (RB Archive pg00)

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	88
Class_ASN	392763
Class_Name	SCHMAND, Delbert A.
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 1915 — Born in Little Rock, Arkansas.
• 1937 — Graduated University of Arkansas (engineering).
• 15 May 1938 — Joined Little Rock District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
• 15 October 1939 — Married Frances Rossner.
• After 7 December 1941 — Called to active service; Camp Ritchie Class 10.
• 7 March 1944 — Father William Schmand died (news reached Delbert at Camp Ritchie).
• 1965 — Retired from Army reserves as lieutenant colonel.
• Corps of Engineers career (38 years); Meritorious Civilian Service Medal; later Little Rock Port Authority director; NSPE president (from 1977).
• 9 September 2003 — Died (age 88).

Sources

• RB Archive folder “Delbert Adolph Schmand” photographs (portrait, Sweet Side Camp Ritchie page, biographical clipping)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page material previously linked to this profile (2023-03-04)
• RB Archive book/page scans (del01–del02, pg00, DTIC_ADA635506.pdf; private copies, not uploaded)
• Internet Archive — Delbert A. Schmand, The Sweet Side of Little Rock (excerpt on Camp Ritchie / family history)
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-03-04 (1 post)