ABOUT
THE
AUTHOR
Founder & Executive Director
I am a graduate of the College of William & Mary, where I earned degrees in History and Accounting. Having graduated in 2026, I now work in the maritime logistics industry.
In 2023, I worked as the Lead Historical & Acquisitions Intern for the 1st Cavalry Division where I worked side-by-side with division leadership. I helped revitalize and write the history of the division and assist Major General John Richardson IV, the commanding general at the time, with the division's museum and oral history. For this work, I was presented with the Public Service Commendation Medal.
The current plan for this website is to continue updating the site's visuals and incorporate new articles. The main long-term goal is to provide a searchable database for Korean War personal awards.
Parks Schmidt
Tales of the First Team seeks to preserve and share the stories of the veterans of the 1st Cavalry Division through the physical reminders of their service.
What started as a COVID-19 Pandemic pet project has now become one of my biggest passion projects. I began Tales of the First Team out of my childhood bedroom in 2020 with the goal of sharing the First Team's rich history. Initially focusing on their service during the Korean War, I have since branched out to cover the division's service from World War Two to the modern day.
I have always been enamored by history, though it wasn't until high school that I dived into studying the Korean War. My grandmother, a native of Suwon, South Korea, survived the war as a refugee. Her brother was not so lucky. Learning of this personal connection to the conflict, I began learning all I could about it. Quickly, the 1st Cavalry Division began to appear more and more in my studies, being emphasized as playing a key part in the United Nations' effort to halt and reverse the North Korean invasion. The division's story was incredible to me, and as Edward Daily told The New York Times "my eyes kept focusing on that big yellow and black patch with the horse head on in."
From this initial fascination, I have since expanded my scope to include all eras of the 1st Cavalry Division's story. From the sandy beaches of the Admiralty Island Campaigns to the humid jungles of Vietnam and the dusty mountains of Afghanistan, all time periods are now featured on this website. Each era contains its own unique characteristics in how records were kept, historians recounted them, and how the wars themselves played out. It is always an amazing journey to find new sources, aquire new artifacts, and share each story with the world.
It is my sincere hope that this site not only inspires you to learn more about the illustrious First Team but to remember what these troopers sacrificed to ensure the freedoms we enjoy today.