Temecula fighter pilot killed in crash honored by Gov. Newsom

A U.S. Air Force pilot from Temecula who was killed during a training mission on the East Coast was saluted Friday, July 3, by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who ordered flags statewide to be flown at half-staff in memory of the aviator.

U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. David Schmitz, 32, died Tuesday, June 30, when the F-16C Fighting Falcon he was flying crashed at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.

Schmitz was on a night training flight, but few details were available regarding the accident.

"Our condolences go out to the Schmidt family, to the Gamblers and to all of Team Shaw," Col. Lawrence T. Sullivan, 20th Fighter Wing commander, said in a video shared on the Shaw Air Force Base Facebook page.

"Dave loved a lot of things – he loved his family, his country and he loved to fly."

Schmitz had been assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing's 77th Fighter Squadron and started his career in the Air Force as an enlisted man, working as a loadmaster aboard C-17 Globemaster cargo planes, according to published reports.

The Temecula native remained focused on his dream of becoming a jet pilot and eventually earned a spot in officer training school, thereafter gaining acceptance into flight training and receiving placement in the F-16, Air Force officials said.

In the hours after the crash, Schmitz's wife, Valerie, shared the time leading up to her husband leaving for the training mission.

"I watched Dave walk down the hall in his flight suit, open the front door and leave," Valerie shared in a Facebook post. "This time he looked back over his shoulder at me and smiled one last time before he shut the door. I didn't know that would be the last time I'd see my husband alive.

"In an instant, my life had changed forever and my heart shattered into a million pieces. A few hours later I kissed my sweet husband one last time on his cold lips.

"Hold your loved ones close. You never know when it might just be the last time you'll see them. Your life can change forever in an instant."

The crash remains under investigation.

A scholarship foundation has been set up in his honor at https://gf.me/u/yd6huh.

"With the love, support and guidance of Dave's widow, Valerie, and his parents, we have created the Lt. David Schmitz Scholarship Foundation," Patrick Bruton, the fundraiser's organizer, said on the fundraising page. "The purpose of this foundation is to support young men and women who want to pursue a career in aviation but have encountered obstacles similar to ones Lt Schmitz experienced on his journey to becoming a fighter pilot."

Valerie shared the fundraiser on her Facebook page along with a tribute to her husband.

"Anyone who had the honor of getting to know my husband knows how he had a way of making you want to be a better person,' she said in the post. "He gave 110% effort in everything he did. He didn't want to be just good enough. He had to be the best and so he always strived for that. He inspired me and will continue to inspire me to live with that same mentality.

"You will continue to live on and continue to inspire so many. I am so incredibly lucky that you chose me to love and spend the rest of your life with. I will cherish you for the rest of my life," she said.

In addition to his wife and the couple's dog, Toby, Schmitz is survived by his parents Brian and Sherrie Schmitz and his sister Laura Schmitz.

CNS contributed to this report.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at [email protected].