The Real Meaning of a Hero

I promised Celia (Jerry's youngest Grandchild) I would post this essay she shared with me. It was written for her Language Arts class.

It's a great essay Celia, thanks for sharing it with us.

The Real Meaning of a Hero
By Celia Palardy

There is a wooden old box above the TV. That box holds a black and white picture, two flags, and six medals. Those didn’t come from a contest; they came from the blood sweat and tears from being a marine in World War II. To get those you had to be selfless, strong with conviction, courageous, and dedicated. The only person who is all of this is Papa or my grandpa. Born in the city of Pawtucket he entered the marines at age 19. By entering the marines Papa had to leave his six other siblings behind. The other two had joined him in the war, one fighting and one as a nurse. After the war Papa married a wonderful women named Rita Joyal. They had six wonderful children that now take care of him now in his home in Smithfield Rhode Island. Papa’s wife had passed away when he was 58 years old.

Being selfless doesn’t take a lot of work. Papa definitely was selfless being on Imo Jima. One time a plane had landed there for help. And the marines and Papa helped them get back in the air. He also looked after all the injured soldiers he came upon. Papa risked his life to save the whole country. Now if that isn’t selfless then I don’t know what is.

Having a strong conviction is something Papa is very strong in. He has to deal with two obstacles in his life. They are diabetes and being legally blind. He has always believed that his sight will come back and he won’t have to deal with this obstacle any more. But until that day comes along he has all these “toys”. The “toys” are all these machines that he has. There is a special magnifier, a computer that magnifies things, and some glasses. Even with all of the help he still doesn’t lose faith in getting his site back.

Papa had to be very courageous to enter World War II. If he wasn’t then he wouldn’t have put his life in danger. At one point during the war Papa had felt something drip down his leg. He was about to get rid of his canteen when he found a bullet laying in there. He had come that close to being hit. He certainly was very lucky. Entering the war he was willing to give his life for his family and the country. He was very lucky to come out of the war alive. That just shows how courageous my hero was to put his life in danger for something he loves.

The last reason why Papa is my hero is because he is dedicated. Being a Marine meant that he had to help his fellow marines in all situations. He couldn’t back out of the war and leave everyone else without him to help out. He couldn’t cower after that bullet to the canteen, he had to keep going and not give up. He also is dedicated to his family. Everyday I get home I am always greeted by “Hello”. It is a weird way of saying it but that is dedication to want to say hi everyday.

Going back to that wooden box with the six medals; it is not the medals and fame that make a hero. It is someone who is selfless, someone with strong conviction, courageous, and dedicated. Papa is truly my hero that I love and will always look up to. Papa said that in “World War II the real heroes didn’t come back” but I don’t believe that.

Paul Sherlock - links

As I was checking for family information yesterday, I did happen to find a couple of postings on Paul Sherlock's passing in 2004.

The Boston Globe had this:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2004/01/19/rep_paul_sherlock_73_advocate_of_disabled/

The Warwick Beacon had this:
http://warwickonline.com/view/full_story/1451463/article-Sherlock-hailed-as-teacher--listener

And finally, the RI Senate passed the following resolution recognizing Paul's accomplishments and extending condolences to his family:

S2130_Resolution: Paul Sherlock


Paul's wife, Ann will be buried today.

Ann (Devine) Sherlock

(DEVINE), age 79, of Warwick, died suddenly on Sunday, October 24, 2010 at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. She was the wife of the late Paul V. Sherlock. Born in Pawtucket, a daughter of the late Joseph P. and A. Viola (Warnock) Devine, she lived in Warwick for over 50 years. She was a 1949 graduate of St. Xavier Academy in Providence, and a 1953 graduate of Rhode Island College of Education. Mrs. Sherlock taught second grade in Warwick for a few years before retiring to raise her family.

She is survived by four children, Kathleen Sherlock MacLean and her husband Douglas of Foster, Timothy P. Sherlock and his friend Marian Maloney of Warwick, Martin D. Sherlock and his wife Jodi of Foster, and Mary E. Sherlock of Providence; six grandchildren, Cameron Simpson, Patrick and Elizabeth Sherlock, and Malcolm, Duncan, and Graham MacLean; several in-laws, and numerous nieces and nephews including one favorite niece. She was the mother of the late Patrick J. Sherlock, and the sister of the late Eileen Pryor, Clare McElroy, and Joseph Devine.

Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, October 26, from 4-7 p.m. in the Barrett & Cotter Funeral Home, 1328 Warwick Avenue, Spring Green, Warwick. Relatives and friends are invited, and are also welcome at a luncheon to be held on Wednesday, October 27, at 12 noon at Mrs. Sherlock's home. Her burial will be private.

Kindly omit flowers. Contributions in her memory may be made to the J. Arthur Trudeau Memorial Center, 3445 Post Road, Warwick, RI 02886.

Published in The Providence Journal on October 25, 2010

---------------

At Chelo's in Warwick, a frequent location for the periodic Sherlock Brunch, Ann was delighted by the size of her dessert!

65th Anniversary of the Iwo Jima Survivors in Connecticut.

On Sunday I had the pleasure of attending the 65Th Anniversary Dinner of the Iwo Jima Survivors. Steve Jerry and I drove down and got in early. I quickly noticed several Marines wearing dress blues and one in particular had the 4th MARDIV patch on his shoulder. I pointed it out to Jerry. Jerry went over and spoke to his fellow Marine and found out he was in the 14 Marines Arty. An artillery unit based across the street from Jerry in Hawaii.



At the table we sat with two other 4th MARDIV marines and a Navy Flight nurse. She left early as her husband a member of the 1st MARDIV is in failing health.



I was struck by the amount of history in the room. It was humbling. Had we known in advance more Sherlock family members could have attended. Many family members of the survivors were in attendance.



I sat next to Joe Woods. He asked who Jerry was and what unit. 1st JASCO 3BN, 25Th Marines. He gave me a look and asked me to repeat the unit. I did and he said that was my unit.

" Hey Jerry this guy was in your unit." Jerry slid in after the main course and they compared notes. I spoke to Ginny Woods Joe's wife. She told me that Joe's WW2 experiences are highlighted in a new book called "Pacific War Stories" by Gerald Meehl and Rex Smith.

A funny note. Joe told me he was alittle hard of hearing due to the war. I chuckled and agreed anyone who has been exposed to loud noise in close combat is lacking in the hearing department. " What did you say!" Inside joke for the hearing impaired. I don't expect the rest of you to understand.

The undercurrent was that these folks are all very humble. The majority of attendees who spoke generally agreed they missed their friends who didn't make it back. A good many of them are trapped in their thoughts and prayers at Iwo late at night.

It was very emotional. A roller coaster ride of funny and some brutally honest insight to Iwo.

Great time watch, for the pictures coming soon.

"The Marine Corps has been called the elite of the country by the New York Times.

I think it is the elite of the world."

Adm William Halsey, United States Navy

Horseshoes

Of all the games the Joyals played during the summer, horseshoes at the lake or in the backyard has to be the number one memory. I recall that the Sherlock gatherings didn't involve games as I was growing up. They were more formal dressed up affairs.

Growing up and watching the men play, Pepe seemed to be on the winning team a lot. The duo trying to play against his team had a hard time. He could get a ringer or two on each pair of tosses. So pitching against him, you needed to get a ring or two to match, or else!

The NY Times has an article about the current horseshoe champion who regularly throws a ringer 80% or the time and in last years championship broke 90%.

That is some serious pitching!

Pepe and the uncles wouldn't have stood much of a chance against Alan Francis.

You can read the NY Times article here
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/sports/21horseshoe.html?_r=1

and see a slideshow here
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/07/20/sports/07212010-horseshoes-audioss/index.html

Smithfield Magazine Article

Jerry was interviewed by Dick Martin of the Smithfield Magazine during June and the article appeared in the July issue.

You can view the 2 page story here

Smithfield Magazine Article July2010 Jerry's Story

The article came out very nicely. There are two factual errors.
(1) The reference to the Marine who is still having shrapnel removed from is body as it rises up to the surface is slightly incorrect. The story was about Del Brouillard and he passed away.
(2) The reference to Jerry's brother Jack fighting in Europe is correct. Jack did survive the war. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 90.

The color version of the photo above can be view on the YourSmithfieldMagazine website here
http://yoursmithfield.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=30388237&event=1034888&CategoryID=51072

I haven't be able to find any links to current issues. They appear to have stopped posting content to this website.

Newsreel - 1945

A newsreel clip showing the Japanese surrender in 1945.

Dear Papa,

I think I want to just say a few things from the perspective of your 13 grandchildren. What a lucky lot we are. We are all still figuring out what our contribution may be to this world we live in, we face unique challenges ahead. You have the benefit of knowing what your contribution was. Our freedom and our family.

As you have shared your story here and with us in person, we have come to know the exact extent of this. You returned home from the Pacific with stories no one would believe. So instead of telling them you moved on. While that is a simple sentence I know it could not have been that easy. I’m sure meeting Grandma helped. As well as these crazy kids of yours that started showing up. The stories from their childhood are also fun to hear. Baseball, food, sewing, wheel-barrels, cranberries at Christmas, and cleaning the floor. They look back on it with a fondness that is shared with us.

When we get to the moment on Jerry's story when we are present, we will have gone through some very significant moments in your life. And we each have our own Papa stories to share. And share them we will. But on today, Father’s Day I wanted you to know just how much we love you.

Our lives would have been so different if you were not in it.

I still might not be able to add to 15. But hours of Cribbage practice have made that a reality. I still haven’t won a game unless you were on my team, but that’s to be expected when playing against the Master Champion of the World (and Central Falls).

My first trip to the WaterFire would not have been as magical. Inspiration for artists is all around them through out their entire life, access to moments like this helps me stay inspired everyday.

Hot dogs, Del's, peanuts, pretzels, ice cream in mini hats and baseball. PawSox Games were looked forward to as summer treasures.

You are close to holding the world record for games/events attended by any Papa. Swim meets, graduations, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, backyard badminton and volleyball tournaments, eagle scout ceremonies, bring your grandfather to school day… the list goes on.

Our stories about you will continue. And at some point they will be recorded. Our oral history as a family has been started. Thanks for sharing with us. We listen eager to learn more about your life, and your place in our countries history. We can only aspire one day to be as influential in the lives of our loved ones as you are.

Happy Father’s Day.

Now sit back, relax, and try everyone of the desserts tonight. You deserve it.

Semper Fi.

~Allie

Happy Fathers Day

Rare Color Film Action In The Pacific

Some rare color film showing aircraft and fighter pilot action in the WW II Pacific Theater.



This was sent along by Jerry's sister-in-law, Vivian.
Thanks

Big number phone

Big number phone, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Jerry got a new phone with big numbers from the VA. Some of the frequently called numbers were pre-programmed to help make the dialing easier.

Set up the 'old' phone to ring and allow Jerry to bring it outside within. The big number phone is not mobile. Now he should have the best of both worlds. One to use outside and answer calls. One with big numbers to help dial the calls he wants to make.

Paul V Sherlock Center

Jerry's brother Paul was a long time RI State Senator and an educator at RI College. His work at RIC was recognized with a building dedicated in his name. Jerry took pictures with Helen and Albert at the building on the RIC campus earlier this year. Helen and Jerry:

Albert and Jerry:

A view of the building

And Jerry in front of the building:

Enjoy!