Pearls of Patriotism

By Jay Schofield

Pearls of Patriotism, a book written from personal memoirs through interviews, are true stories bringing American history to life. Clients' actual words, be they foreign-born immigrants or native-born, foster a sense of "being there." Stories range from an escape from the British during the Revolutionary War's "privateering" days to the helicopter pilots involved in Saddam Hussein's hanging.

Hearing differing accounts on one subject from several different perspectives helps many learn history. Three different clients report their individual takes on meeting Charles Lindbergh while three others provide different experiences on the bombing of Pearl Harbor. A surviving American POW and a German POW describe their first-hand experiences in captivity. An Auschwitz Holocaust survivor describes confronting Dr. Josef Menegele, the Nazi's "Angel of Death."

Best news of all? Each Pearls of Patriotism story is told for the first time in print for public reading.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 14, 2013
• ISBN: 9781479795123

Jay Schofield

The author, Jay Schofield, is a former teacher and Hall of Fame basketball coach at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School in Massachusetts. Long aspiring to be an author, he has written over two dozen books since the 1990s including one on metal detecting, "Beach Detecting in Surf and Sand" and one on coaching, "How to Coach Basketball's 2-2-1 Penetration Offense." Although his speciality is private memoirs, Jay's most recent book, Our Final Salute, has a focus on WW II and family letters from the front. The author relies on first-hand stories and letters for his books and is forever fearful of the "delete" button which has the potential of erasing so much of today's personal history in emails. Oral history, since the days of living in caves and eating around campfires, has played a big role in all history. It's how many of us make sense of the world. Jay hopes his books on oral history enhance that concept. Feel free to contact Jay at: Website: memoirs-matter.com E-mail: [e-mail]

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Copyright © 2013 by Jay Schofield.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 03/01/2013

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1  The 1700s

Chapter 2  The 1800s

Chapter 3  The 1900s

Chapter 4  The 2000s

Acknowledgements

I want to thank two people who were extremely helpful in the original editing of the manuscript. The first is Susan Klein and the second is my editor for always and all things, my beautiful wife, Patricia.

This is my first thank you for the wonderful people who allowed me to use their stories without which this book would be impossible. Each of these people I have worked with are among the nicest people I have ever known. Sharing their stories has been a highlight in my life of writing.

Dedication

I wish to dedicate this book to our eleven grandchildren who we hope will understand our country’s history a little better after reading this book their Grandpa Scho dedicated to them.

Their names, in order of birth, are James, Shane, Shivonne, Spencer, Trey, David, Ariana, Shakihra, Aja, Sophia, and Elisa.

Introduction

The Odds

For every child born in this world only one in forty will be born an American. We Americans are a fortunate few. But it’s not enough to be born an American, we should know why this is such a prestigious honor. If we are to appreciate who we are; we must learn our country’s history.

As we read this book, I hope more and more people develop an appreciation for just how great it is to be an American. Several contributors for this book are from foreign countries, saw the value of coming to America, and left for its shores.

These are the folks who wanted to be Americans, not like some today who simply want to live in America and get all the benefits without all the work.

Stories Within Stories

As a personal historian, I am privileged to have written many people’s life stories, including my own. For this book, I collected stories within stories to illustrate how America evolved as told by ordinary citizens including my clients. These mini-stories had been passed down through the generations eventually making it to my all-absorbing tape recorder. Following transcription, they ultimately entered my trusty Mac.

While reading these anecdotes, we can begin visualizing people’s lives and paint pictures of their ancestors’ lifestyles. These visuals show how America was shaped by hard-working people who sacrificed for their families, and by extension, our country. Undoubtedly, their stories provide different perspectives than those in standard history books. They present first-hand observations all placed in chronological order. But many stories didn’t make the cut. Ranging from today’s Marine Corps to the Bible’s Matthew it is claimed, Many are called, but, few are chosen. I only selected a few of the hundreds of stories within my books. These hand-picked family stories begin in our nation’s embryonic years and finish in the 21st century.

Clearly, America grew from its immigrants as well as those native born and our sampling of stories originate from my clients’ ancestors who had once lived in countries as distant as Ireland, England, Canada, Germany, Italy, and Greece.

First Hand Observations

Americans, especially our youth, symbolize a Clicker Generation as countless kids average eight hours a day with screen time as they face monitors of either smart phones, televisions, or computers. Many in that age group know precious little of their country’s history. Perhaps this book can help ignite a spark of interest in readers of all ages to get involved in the beautiful story of America. Because the book’s format is in story form as told by its participants, I’m hoping history can be experienced almost live and appear relevant as opposed to the boring memorization of dates and events which seem to typify much of today’s taught history.

While teaching, I’d occasionally ask my students simple facts about American history and many were puzzled for the right answer. In jest, I asked the question,

Do you think American history started with your birthday?

They laughed but then questioned themselves if I was right. If I planted a seed of introspection in them, I was pleased. Clearly, we have to understand history or we know very little. It’s like you are a leaf that’s unaware it’s part of a tree.

Why Save Stories?

People have been saving stories for thousands of years beginning with the families living in caves as the elders shared stories with the youth. Capturing personal stories has tremendous benefits. I feel everyone should attempt to record their life story. You’ve got to just get it down and polish it later. When an old person moves on from his earth, they take their remarkable stories to their graves. Another library vanishes. We are all storytellers. It’s how we make sense of the world. Even handwritten letters, if saved, can effectively share with their readers the intimate details of daily lives.

With email correspondence, so commonly practiced in today’s world, it is just so easy to push the Delete button which immediately severs readers from ever reviewing those personal email letters. I often wonder what American historians like the Vineyard’s David McCullough would do without personal letters to aid his research for wonderful works such as John Adams.

Meeting My Clients

To gain a background of each client and their contributions, I will introduce them to you in their first story and later familiarize you with them later when they re-appear. These folks were a wonderful group of people and I am eager to share their stories since I began writing them in 1996. These stories were either written by me or ones I collaborated on.

Let us begin a new study of American history shared by people like you and me. See their scenes. Hear their words. See why those 1-40 odds of being born an American should be so significant.

The Book’s Title

Years ago, back in the 1980s, while coaching high school girls’ soccer, I had a wonderful young lady on my team named Malia. She always wore a string of pearls which I found eye-catching. Malia wore her pearls with everything ranging from sweatshirts to formal wear and looked just great in her trademark accessory.

Those same pearls, when unstrung and carried loosely in a bag, would have little appeal and no function. But when you string them together, they provide an image of beauty with unending unity for the world to see. That is my goal for this book.

I assembled all of these patriotic pearls of past writings, these short stories and vignettes, strung them together in this manuscript, and titled it Pearls of Patriotism. I thank you, Malia, for your contribution.

The Book’s Format

The large chapters are broken up by century beginning with the 1700s.

Each new pearl of patriotism begins with a brief introduction about my client and the title of their story. These introductions, along with my editorial notes in the middle, or end of the text will appear in italics to separate my words from those of the client.

Chapter 1

The 1700s

America’s Beginnings

Following are a few paragraphs with a thumbnail sketch of early America. It is difficult to compress 150 years into several sentences but here we go…

In the early 1600s, emigrants from England arrived on what would be American soil. Why? They wanted economic and religious freedoms. Those who settled in the northeast mainly wanted to choose their own religion. In the south, the English settlements were formed to grow tobacco and eventually cotton. But to increase their earnings, they imported African slaves. As we know, that didn’t work all that well.

The newly arrived settlers didn’t meet with instant approval with the Native Americans who had lived here long before the English arrived. Yet, several tribes were friendly and helped the newcomers survive the early winters.

War entered the picture in the 1700s once Britain emerged at the top of the world’s pig pile for power among European powers. Trying to exert that same power over the colonists, Great Britain started throwing its weight around by taxing them heavily. Those colonists, tired of being pushed around by the very folks they ran from, fought back to achieve those two freedoms I spoke to earlier.

We’ll begin our story several decades before the first big war broke out.

The earliest documented family history I have written comes from my own life story titled, Hey Jay! What’s The Story? This section is based on my ancestors, the maternal Sawins and the paternal Schofields. Each played important roles in forming the foundations of both Canada, our northern neighbors, and Massachusetts, one of America’s original colonies. First, my maternal ancestors . . .

1754

The Sawins

"My great-great-great-great grandfather, Thomas Sawin, was born in the Boston area almost sixty years before the American Revolution. Renowned as an expert with firearms; he provided food for his growing family with his excellent hunting skills. Along with his prowess in weaponry, he believed in making many young Sawins with his wife (name unknown) who was tens years younger. Thomas first became a father at forty and produced his tenth (and final) Sawin, just thirteen years later. Such constant birthing must have taken its toll on his wife who died just three years later.

"When he wasn’t making Sawin children, Thomas fought in the French and Indian War beginning in 1754. Three years later, in 1757, he commanded a detachment of the Natick Military of Garrison Duty in Springfield, MA. That war began when great Britain and France fought for control of the world. Between 1689 and 1773, these two countries went to war four times, the last being the Seven Years’ War. The colonists and Great Britain shared a strained relationship suggesting an uncertain future together. With constant military preparation, the colonists stayed focussed on their self-protection. Later, readiness became into play when Thomas Sawin re-enters our story.

1760

The Schofields

As an early aside, the Schofield name has its origin in merry old England meaning he who lives by the field." But on to the Sawin-Schofield stories…

"That same French and Indian War in which Thomas Sawin fought also had a major effect on my paternal ancestors, the Schofields. In 1760, the Brits finally won and took control of North America.

"On a global basis, French power had ended and England ruled most of the world. The treaty signed by both countries granted England the area now known as New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The long-established French settlements, known as ‘Acadia,’ were allowed to remain on one condition, they had to take an oath of allegiance to Great Britain. This they refused and thus, they were banned from Nova Scotia. Between 1755 and 1763 British authorities enforced their deportation order, known as the ‘Acadian Expulsion.’

The banished Acadians settled in the colonies to the south with some even extending as far as New Orleans. Great Britain, realizing Nova Scotia’s vacated land needed both farmers and fishermen, offered free land grants to farmers, or planters," from the colonies. Fishermen and farmers got the same amount of land. Newcomers were needed to re-populate the vacated land and also became the first major group of English-speaking immigrants in Canada who did not come directly from Great Britain. Now, on to the Schofields.

"Oliver Cromwell was the rebel ruler of England during England’s civil war (1640-1660). He was killed in 1660 and the throne was restored by Charles II. Researchers have suggested that Arthur Schofield, and his brother John, were fighting on the wrong side in that war supporting Oliver Cromwell. At any rate, they were the first Schofields to emigrate from England arrived that same year in 1660.

"One hundred years later, in 1760, Arthur’s great-grandson, Arthur left from East Haddam, (now Connecticut) and moved to Nova Scotia where he accepted an offer of free land in exchange for farming his gifted property. This is when our Schofield heritage is traceable back to Nova Scotia and our family history begins.

Nova Scotia Beginnings

In early June of 1760, my great, great, great, great, great grandfather Arthur Schofield, one of 700 colonists in forty ships, sailed up the Gaspereau River to the town of Horton, Nova Scotia to claim his free" land. They set up a little community of tents and temporary shelters. These planters were given either a half share (200 acres) for a single person, a full share (400 acres), or a share-and-a-half (600 acres) of land to develop as they wished. The new planters lived close to their farm land to protect it from marauding Indians. When hostilities lessened, and travel became safer, they moved back to the village of Horton, now called Wolfville.

"The land was considered almost worthless in terms of planting anything but the Schofields were a determined lot. Some of the Schofields did so well at farming their neighbors accused them of gaining their riches from discovering some of the pirate treasures which tradition says lie buried all along the southwest coast of Nova Scotia.

1763

The Schofield Family Begins in Nova Scotia

"Three years later, at 28, Arthur married Jermina Coldwell. He seemed so taken with his new wife that he neglected to collect the King’s reward of 50 pounds (around $250, a large sum of money in those days) for the first marriage in Nova Scotia having partners of English descent. Evidently, the desirable Jemina’s value exceeded the $250 reward many times over.

1775

The American War of Independence

"Twelve years later, after a series of events, the Thirteen Colonies and the British each declared war. But the war’s names differed. Britain named it the ‘American Revolutionary War’ while the colonists called it the ‘American War of Independence’

The war, triggered in part, by The Boston Tea Party began on April 19, 1775, with the battles in Lexington and Concord. It was. The British sent a regiment to confiscate arms and ammunition from some local ‘revolutionaries.’ The colonists, on their home turf, were determined they’d had enough from England with their relentless waves of taxes and oppression. In all-out battle, Britain’s so called elite "troops fared poorly against the local militia or ‘Minutemen.’ Reinforcements with their primitive weapons arrived to increase the British casualties. The British Army retreated to Boston after taking heavy losses. The colonists must have been a brave lot and I’m proud to say our very own Thomas Sawin, with sons, Thomas and Moses, served in the local militia.

The Schofields helped make Nova Scotia what it is today and the Sawins were equally instrumental in establishing Massachusetts and ultimately our United States. I’m proud to know my blood has coursed through the veins of both heritages.

——————————

May, 1775

Revolutionary War—Aboard the Falcon

The first person we meet in telling our stories is a woman named Eugenia Gene Seamans. Her book, titled Light & Love was completed in 2003. This wonderful woman captured, then related to me, her ancestors’ contributions toward building America. We combined her quotes with my parallel research to round out dates and names and get a glimpse of America’s early years. I loved interviewing her and so appreciate all she provided.

Remember that just two years before this date the Boston Tea Party erupted as an act of revolt against the British and their tax on tea coming into the colonies. England felt they had the right to impose this tax because their funds were low following their efforts to protect us from the French.

Eugenia Seamans’ great-great-grandfather, Elisha Ayer, is the key figure in this story which begins with privateering. She tells her story . . .

"Privateering began when the colonists hired privately-owned ships and crews to fight during wartime. The colonists improvised this emergency measure to contend with England’s mighty naval strength. Once the Second Continental Congress authorized their use, these private ships played major roles in the American Revolution. Using these makeshift battle vessels, the colonists captured over 600 British ships. Let’s examine one such colonist/privateer, Mrs. Seaman’s ancestor, Elisha Ayer.

"At 17, as half owner of the privateering ship Falcon, Mr. Ayer, from Stonington, Connecticut, was aboard the two-masted