Present and a Past Family Tragedy - Ancestors in 52 Weeks

This year's challenge is 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks and is run by Amy Johnson Crow.

Topic Info:
Our ancestors were no strangers to hardship and loss. We should remember those stories as much as we remember the stories of triumph.

This year
This year has been a hard one for my family. There was the death of my brother, Charlie, in January.

Then six months later, we lost our last dog, Buddy, in July who just turned 15. We had hand raised him after the people who sold him to us had him leave his mother too early. When we were there, I asked about it and was told he was old enough, but found once we got him home, he was too young, but we gave him puppy oatmeals and things like you would do if a puppy lost his mother, and he grew up to be one happy and loving dog which we were very proud of.

Credit: J. Fitzgerald

This week's topic of tragedy had me thinking of these two major occurrences this year. Like I said, 2019 has been a hard year.

Which one to pick for the past?
When I think of the past and tragedy, there could be many I could bring up as there had been many in the family's past, but which one to pick?

There was the family member who was arrested by the Gestapo, and one of my cousin's found out he died in Auschwitz. There was my paternal line who had most of their family assassinated by the Russians as soon as they were found due to the family's history of Poland. There was my maternal grandmother who once she was put in the asylum system, they moved her once our family found her and she kept disappearing until my mother gave up and kept telling us she's probably gone by now. I found her less than 10 minutes away from us when she died according to the SSDI.  Then there were the diseases who took family members tiny bit by tiny bit until they were just - gone.

Got one!
One my mind kept going back to is James 'Jimmy' Sherman. I've talked about him before, but when I think of family tragedy, I think of him. I believe if he hadn't been killed, my mother's life would have been so much different than it was.

1925 Jimmy's NYS Birth Index highlighted. Credit

James J Sherman was born in Newburgh, NY on Jan 13, 1925. He was the son of Florence and Joseph R Sherman. He was affectionately known as Jimmy. He was adored by his mother as he was her only child. His other brothers and sisters were from his father's earlier marriage.

When Jimmy was born his father was a chauffeur and his mother was a housewife with 2 older brothers  and 1 older sister.  They lived on Lander Street in Newburgh according to the New York Census.

Lander St, Newburgh NY in 2019. Credit: Google Earth

Over this time, there was a few mentions on his mother, Florence Gauquie Sherman, and father, Joseph Sherman, visiting other family members. One is Florence's father, and my great grandfather, Jules.

Growing up, he heard his mother worrying about the US being attacked and being in another war. Especially with reports of various U Boats being ready to attack NY City, she was worried. Many different people within the family have told me about how worried Great Aunt Florence was about being attacked. After all, there were the reports, pictures, and video in 1917 of them being there then so it would be just as easy to be there once again.

1942 Newspaper article about Uboats in NY and NJ. Credit

Another U-Boat around NY and NJ. Credit

Credit Youtube

Taking this into account, it wouldn't be very hard to put another one along the east coast of the US. This put fear into people, which is what my Great Aunt Florence had.

Anyhow, once Jimmy turned 18, he went to NY City on 8 March 1943, my mother's 4th birthday, to enlist.

His index of Army Enlistment records, shows he was not assigned to a branch, he was accepted in as a Private as he had 4 years of high school, and he was semi skilled as a chauffeur. He was also 92 inches, over 7 feet, tall and weighed 106 pounds. As my mother told me "He was very tall and skinny as hell." and I can agree with this due to the records. 

Jimmy's enlistment transcription. Credit: Ancestry.com

He came home and told his parents. His mother, understandably, cried and asked him why.

His answer, when it came was a good one, "Because I want to make you safe, Ma, and I can this way."

I do not have any information about why he decided to go into the Air Force.

In May 1943, he went to basic training at Miami Beach, Florida, which was an Air Force Training Center, according to the Sherman papers. The Miami Training Center was closed in 1945. This even has a book written about it.

This is Jimmy Sherman. I believe this picture was taken between May-July 1943 when he was at the Miami Beach base. Credit: Sherman Papers

The full picture of the one above. Credit: Sherman Papers

By July 1943, he was in Lowry Field & Denver, Colorado base which had just opened to the US Air Force.

 In August - September 1943, he went to Flexible Gunnery School in Ft. Myers, Florida. It was called Buckingham Army Airfield which was closed in 1945.

In October 1943, he was then in Salt Lake City, Utah which was known as Salt Lake City AAB/APT. Today, 2019, it is known as Salt Lake City International Airport. 

Jimmy is the one circled above with the crew. Credit: Find a Grave

Between October 1943 and April 1944, he had leave, or vacation, after he was done with his training, and he came home to see his mother and his cousins.

My mother told me this story. The last time I saw him, he came late in the night after I was in bed. We had a special bond and spent a lot of time together. My grandmother let him in to see her. She was in her nightgown in bed when he came in.

He came over and sat on the bed and she climbed up on his lap. She asked him if he was going away again and he said yes, but he'd be back soon. He took off his wings and gave them to her. He told her to be good and he'd see her when he got back.

Jimmy's wings. Credit J. Fitzgerald

She climbed into bed. He tucked her in and gave her a kiss good night. Then left the house after.

In June 1944, my Great Aunt Florence wrote Jimmy at least 3 times. These were later found and the envelopes were marked "Missing".

Next she knew he was missing and the reports were he had died. My mother was 5 years old.

Great Aunt Florence was beside herself in grief. She went to church and to another church in NYC to have vigils in his honor in 1950.

Then my mother had a falling out with her family and never really spoke about them until just before I married in 1997. She brought out a set of wings and gave them to me. Jimmy's wings. These are the same ones he gave her when she was so young.  These would be the something old in our wedding.

But what happened to Jimmy?
After things settled down with me moving from the US and getting married, then I set out to find out what happened to James 'Jimmy' Sherman.

I asked my mother, but all she knew was he went up in the airplane, he was in one of the small bubbles underneath of it, and it was either shot down or crashed in World War 2. They first listed him as Missing in Action (MIA), and later it was switched to Killed in Action (KIA). They don't know what happened beyond that.

1946 list with James J Sherman listed with DNB which is Died Non-Battle. Army personnel who died outside of combat areas. Credit: Fold 3

Apparently everything they had was MIA. They did start putting DNB but they didn't know what this was. 

I had help of my husband's aunt, as she was into genealogy and I was just beginning. She helped me and was able to have someone find the report on what had happened to Jimmy. 

Answers 54 years later - the tragedy of a training flight

He died in May 1944, which is why in June there were missing marks on his mother's mail to him. It wasn't until almost 1998, 54 years later, when we found out what had happened. It was a training exercise gone wrong and he couldn't get out of the airplane and went down with it. 

Microfiche M1380  RG 92  Missing Air Crew Reports  NOS. 16553-16555  Fiche 5965

Microfiche M1380  RG 92  Missing Air Crew Reports  NOS. 16553-16555  Fiche 5965

His body was never recovered. 

Over time, I've still done research on him as I was trying to find out more information to put that flesh on the bones of Jimmy. 

I found his name on the local monument this past January 2019. 

Also, I found his name, and entry, on a tablet in Florence American Cemetery and Memorial in Florence, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy. This is on Find A Grave.  

Credit: Find a Grave

Credit: Find a Grave

Also, I had found, in 2009, the USAF have papers on him called the Sherman Papers. They live in Miami Florida in University of South Florida Libraries in special collections. They contain several letters to and from him (I mentioned these above during the timeline) and his mother among other things. However, they will not release copies to me even though I am family. I can go, or hire someone to go, and take notes of information and take photocopies of select pages only. This directive came directly from the Director, which annoys me. 

I could understand this if I was not directly related to Jimmy, to get this type of response, but a family member? Nope, not very happy at all with the response, but I will prevail. 

I'm stubborn that way.

Credit