[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3141]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LIFE OF SGT BENJAMIN SHERMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL DELAHUNT

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 10, 2010

  Mr. DELAHUNT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a 
fallen soldier, son, husband, and, now, a father. The life of Sergeant 
Benjamin Sherman was tragically cut short thousands of miles from home 
near on his second heroic tour of duty in Afghanistan. His daughter, 
Skylah May-Marie Sherman, was born just yesterday on Tuesday, March 9.
  Ben was a hero long before he sacrificed his life for his country. 
Born to Bill and Denise Sherman of New Bedford, Massachusetts, he 
served as an exemplary role model for his two sisters, Meredith and 
Jessica, through their youth and adolescence at Plymouth South High 
School. It was during middle school in Plymouth that Ben first met 
Patricia--the girl who would one day become his wife. While many young 
high school students struggle to balance their daily routines with the 
natural torment of their teen years, Ben held himself to a standard 
above his peers. Always the first to stand up for a cause, he was a 
student of integrity and a model of resilience.
  Recognizing his own passion to aid his fellow Americans, Ben enlisted 
in the Army in August of 2006. He was assigned to the 82nd Airborne 
Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the battalion mortars section 
of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was deployed for the first 
time in January of 2007, where his unit was engaged in fierce fighting 
throughout the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Often in the thick of 
the action, Ben was instrumental in the battalion's efforts to clear 
the Taliban from the Helmand River Valley. His steadfast resolve served 
him well through the cutting edge of battle, and he was publicly lauded 
for his astute decision-making despite the pressures of battle and his 
courage in the face of determined enemy attacks.
  It was during his return from that first deployment, on May 2, 2008, 
that he proposed to the girl who had waited for him with patience and 
grace through the long months of deployment. Patricia and Ben were 
married August 26 and hurriedly began what they prayed would be a long, 
healthy life together in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In July of 2009, 
one month before his final deployment, Ben and Patricia learned the 
happy news that their first child--a daughter--was on her way. With 
this newfound joy in his heart, Ben returned with his unit to 
Afghanistan in August.
  Regularly exposed to the many dangers inherent in war, Ben continued 
his tradition of excellence during his second deployment in the Badghis 
Province in northwestern Afghanistan. No task was too difficult nor 
challenge too daunting for the expert mortar-man, Sergeant Sherman. On 
November 4, 2009, while conducting operations near the town of Bala 
Murghab, Ben fell into the Murghab River and drowned. He was 21 years 
old.
  Ben's greatest gift to his country lies not in his heroism in battle, 
his legacy at Plymouth South High School, or the tragedy of his 
untimely death. Instead, his memory will forever endure in the starlit 
eyes, coy smile, and zealous ambition of Skylah May-Marie Sherman--a 
daughter who may never know the embrace of her father, yet will always 
carry in her heart the stories, photos, and memories of a man whose 
passion for life was fueled by his love for an unborn daughter and 
beloved wife.

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