The Vision

The Freedom 13 is a 501(c)3 Non-Profit set up with a simple Mission:

Remembering The Heroes That Made The Ultimate Sacrifice by Supporting The Veterans Still With Us.

How?
Our goal is to build a Recreational Camp in each of the 50 states consisting of 13 individual homes honoring the 13 American Heroes lost in Kabul on 26 AUG 2021. We will hire 1 veteran to live/work full time on site as a property manager and they will live on-site rent free.

Remembering Heroes.

While we can't change the past, we can learn from it.

But even more importantly, we can make a positive impact in the lives of those that made sacrifices some of us will never understand.

The Freedom 13 Non-Profit Organization, and the vision of The Freedom 13 Veterans Recreational Retreat Villages, was founded to honor and remember our son, LCPL Jared M. Schmitz, USMC, along with the other 12 brave American Heroes.

The 13 - The Freedom 13 - tragically lost their lives in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate, Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan on 26 AUG 2021, 17:50 local time.

# NEVERFORGET

The Freedom 13

LCPL David L Espinoza, USMC ~ SGT Nicole L Gee, USMC ~ SSG Darin T Hoover, USMC ~ SSG Ryan Christian Knauss, US Army
CPL Hunter Lopez, USMC ~ LCPL Dylan R Merola ~ LCPL Kareem M Nikoui, USMC ~ LCPL Rylee J McCollum ~ CPL Daegan W-T Page, USMC
SGT Johanny Rosario Pichardo, USMC ~ CPL Humberto A Sanchez ~ LCPL Jared M Schmitz, USMC ~ HM3 Maxton W. Soviak, USN

Supporting Veterans.

OUR BIG MISSION
50 camps in 50 states on over 50,000 acres with a total of 650 homes to be built for veterans and their families to stay in for 1 week. 

Each of the Camps will be a safe haven for veterans and their families, consisting of 13 homes, from single bedroom to to multi-bedroom to accommodate veterans with families. Many units will be handicap accessible.

Each Camp will offer a variety of recreational activities like hiking, camping, fishing, kayaking, swimming and more. Fire pits, a gazebo and other amenities will make The Freedom 13 Recreational Retreats a great place to recharge and renew.

We'll also be partnering with independent Veteran Service Organizations to bring Mental Health Counseling, job training, search and placement, service dogs.

Recreational Village 1

The first Veterans Recreational Retreat Village will be built in Bourbon, Missouri.

Estimated costs for the project:
Land acquisition $1,582,000 (closed 15 Oct 24) consisting of 171 acres + 2 houses, swimming pool, tennis courts 3 barns and a stocked fishing lake) + $2,000,000 - $3,500,000 development costs for improvements to the barns, converting tennis court into pickleball and basketball and building the 11 additional houses. We have raised approximately 1/4 of our goal for this first project already. 
Our goal is to have a commitment from 2,000 individuals joining our recurring giving program and all we ask from each is $13 per month for each camp we acquire.

Mark and Jaclyn Schmitz were born and raised in St. Louis, MO.

Mark, Jared's father, owns and operates two businesses in the greater St Charles County, MO area:

  ~ Wide I Photo, a marketing photography company  www.wideiphoto.com
  ~ Barley & Vine, a mobile beverage catering business.
www.mobiledrinks.com

Jaclyn is Jared's stepmother, who owns and operates her own insurance business covering multiple states:

~ Brightside Insurance Agency.
www.brightsideins.com

Jared graduated from Fort Zumwalt South High School in 2019 and immediately left for Camp Pendleton to become a US Marine.