WWIIMarine
survived
Pacific
Theater's
worst battles
At 84 Jerry Sherlock
of Smithfield blogs
about his war
experience
By Dick Martin
Come July 4th, Jeny Sherlock of Smithfield will be standing
at attention when members of the anned services parade by.
He will salute the flag and honor those who have served their
country. Chances are that few people will realize that the WWII
Marine veteran has been to hell and back in defense ofthat
same country and been through some of the worst battles in the
Pacific Theater, including Saipan and Iwo Jima in doing so.
"It was hell on earth," says Sherlock, 84. "I was constantly
wondering which bullet was going to hit me ... "
Sherlock, at 17 fought to get into the war, but his parents
wouldn't give their consent. Finally, at 18, he simply said he
was going, despite the fact he barely passed the physical with
a heart munnur. He was going to be drafted anyway. He had
spoken to the Marine recruiter beforehand and made anange-
ments to be taken by the Marines, and in a blink of an eye he
was through training and on his way to Hawaii, where he mo-
mentarily hooked up with his sister, Martina, a Navy registered
nurse. When he and his sister and her friend went to dinner at
the officers club in the prestigious Moana Hotel, which had
been commandeered as an officers retreat, he recalls, it caused
quite a stir, seeing that he was a Marine private.
"They thought I was the luckiest guy in the world," he
chuckles. "There I was a Marine private with two pretty nurses.
That was a big no-no!"
From there, however, it was all downhill, along with uphill
and take the hill, as his unit entered the fray. One of his first
major battles was Saipan, where his unit was part of the Marine
battalion which invaded, crossed the island, and captured the
airport, a key ingredient to help ensure future success for the
Allies. Part of Sherlock's job, along with a fellow Marine, was
to clean out a section of the thousands of caves dotting the
island where Japanese soldiers were holed up.
"There were two of us. We flipped fingers at the first one,"
50 Your Smithfield Magazine, June 2010
As a U.S. Marine Jerry Sherlock (r) survived some of the worst
fighting in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.
On Iwo Jima only 150 of his unit of 900 men survived unscathed.
Jerry's son Steve (on left) assists Jerry in the posting of a blog about
his experiences on the internet. It can be found at jerrysherlocksto-
ry.blogspot.com. (Your Smithfield Magazine photo by Dick Martin)
says Sherlock. "We didn't have any coins. He lost, so he had
to go in the first one. He killed tv"o Japs and came out. I went
in the next one, and we took turns after that. He was a cattle
rancher from Colorado, and he had his grandfather's Colt .44,
so he knew how to shoot. He was wounded at Iwo Jima, and
we carried him back to the beach so the hospital ship could
pick him up. Marines don't leave anyone behind. He died two
days later. His name was 'Jonesy.'"
Sherlock's job was to spot enemy positions and call in the
big guns, radioing back coordinates for targets. That meant
sometimes inching his way as close as possible to enemy
positions alone, extending and weakening his connection to
his fellow Marines behind him at times. While watching the
HBO special Pacific, directed by Tom Hanks, Sherlock noted
that what he saw on the TV screen was as accurate a portrayal
of what had actually happened as he had ever seen. In fact, it
brought back memories ... and sleepless nights.
"It was very well done," says Sherlock. "One of the greatest
series ever produced. I watched the Iwo Jima segment, and I
had disturbed sleep, tossed and turned all night. It still dis-
turbed me to see it after 65 years."
Other episodes brought back other memories as well, includ-
ing one incident in the series where a Marine comes apart and
loses it under all the pressures of war. On his website, Sherlock
recalls similar incidents which he witnessed on the front lines.
"It happened," he writes. "Guys reached the breaking point
and for everyone it was different. I'm glad it never happened to
me. Some guys, you never knew when it would happen."
Amazingly, Sherlock made it through without even being
wounded. However, there were plenty of close calls.
 "I was in my foxhole and felt something trickling down my
leg," he recalls. "I wasn't sure what it was. It was pitch dark, so
you couldn't see a thing. I reached down with my hand and felt
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of it, and then tasted it. It was water. We wore two canteens and
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one of them had been hit with shrapnel. The next day you could
still hear the piece of shrapnel rattling around in the canteen. I'll tell you. If you have tried spinal care in the past
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Death, it seemed, was never far away. Ever wonder what is causing the pain? Well, it's what
"I can remember jumping into a hole and starting a conversa-
tion with a guy," says Sherlock. "It was a one sided conversa- we work to fix. I adjust extremities too (shoulders,
tion. I checked, and he was dead. Wounded and dead were knees, feet). If you are suffering with back pain or
eyerywhere." headaches or have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia
Sherlock recalls in his blog that the constant fighting, and
wounding never seemed to end. He says that it was" ... just
or disc problems, I urge you to call. We may be able to
help you feel good again and get your life back.
,;ruel and unusual punishment is all I can think of what hap-
pened. Guys getting hit multiple times. We'd fix a guy up, and .
he'd get hit again. It was unfair in a sense. I just still don't Celebrating
understand why. To this day .. .I was just so very lucky. I never 9 years
realized how lucky I really was."
Others weren't so lucky, including some former fellow Ma-
rines who still carry the evidence in their bodies to this day, he Robitaille
says. One Marine he knows of is still having shrapnel removed
from his body as it works its way to the surface. Among those Family
killed in the war was Jerry's brother Jack, who had fought in
Europe as part of a tank destroyer battalion. Chiropractic
After years of bloody fighting, came the bomb on Hiroshima. Dr. Jeff Robitaille and Family
"I was in my tent, and I heard a lot of gunfire," writes Sher-
lock. "Guys were shooting everything. Couple mortar rounds 973 Greenville Avenue, Greenville
went out too. When they told me, I started firing my carbine
also."
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It was both relief and happiness, knowing that he would not www.getwellrLcom
be landing on the Japanese home islands. He added that if that
were going to be the case, he was sure he would be wounded,
possibly killed in action. Now it was over.
"It was the impossible dream," says Sherlock. "I was re-
ally glad. A lot of Marines would have died hitting the home
islands. I know it sounds strange, but that was it. The war was
Q\'er with two bombs."
Out of the 900 Marines in Sherlock's unit who stepped onto
Two Jima, only 150 survived, adds Steve Sherlock, his son.
Somehow, miraculously, Sherlock had survived some of the
worst fighting in the Pacific. Part of the reason he says was
faith as a Roman Catholic. Despite the battles, the atrocities,
:he killings and everything else he had witnessed, his faith had
':1elpedhim survive.
"That was not a place where you lost faith," he adds. "That
was a place where you gained faith. It helped me survive."
~owadays, Sherlock, with the help of his son Steve, has
'oegun posting his memories at his website in hopes of both
:nspiring other veterans to do the same, as well as reminding
people that war is hell after all. It is not something to be taken
lightly or entered into lightly.
"What I had been through .. .it was enough. Later on during
Call to schedule vour Steak Frv from 2-150 people
:he Vietnam War I thought I didn't want my sons going through
what I'd experienced. I'd go back before they went. It's hard to
Jllderstand for some people. I knew what to do. Some things Wed. OJSergio • Golf Tournev August 28th
you don't ever forget. I would have been able to do the job. Not UDOIE EVERYSAT.• NOW BOOIING PARTIES
some kid who didn't know any better." I
~ 0 one will be standing taller come July 4th •••
Visit Sherlock's website at jerrysherlockstory, blogspot. com. 45 Cedar Swamp Road
Smithfield
Take out 233-0660
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 2pm-lam, Sat. & Sun. llam-lam