School supports pilot accused in mistaken bombing

KIRKWOOD, Mo. -- One of two U.S. pilots who mistakenly killed four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan last year has returned to his high school and received a show of support -- a $1,500 check for his legal fund.

While saying he was heeding his lawyer's advice by not saying much publicly, Maj. Harry Schmidt on Friday told the Vianney High School students in this St. Louis suburb that "I'm very humbled by your generosity."

"I thank you, and I'm very thankful for your prayers," Schmidt told the roughly 200 students during the brief event in the school's cafeteria, a place Schmidt grew to know before graduating from Vianney in 1983.

Schmidt and Maj. William Umbach await a military hearing officer's recommendation on whether they should be court-martialed over the bombing last April 17 that killed four Canadian soldiers and wounded eight others.

In January, a nine-day military hearing into the bombing ended with two pilots offering apologies -- but insisting they were not at fault.

Schmidt flies for the Illinois Air National Guard and lives in Sherman, Ill.