Army Sgt. Benjamin W. Sherman

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Benjamin W. Sherman, 21, of Plymouth, Mass.

Sgt. Sherman was assigned to 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Nov. 4, 2009 in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, while participating in a resupply mission.

Hundreds pay tribute to Mass. paratrooper
The Associated Press

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray joined hundreds of relatives, friends, soldiers and well-wishers paying tribute to a U.S. paratrooper who died while trying to save a comrade in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Benjamin Sherman of Plymouth died after jumping into the river to save a colleague who was also swept away by the current. The two soldiers were trying to retrieve airdropped supplies from a river in western Afghanistan.

Sherman’s body was found Nov. 10, six days after he disappeared. He was promoted posthumously.

Members of the veterans’ motorcycle group, the Patriot Guard Riders, mounted an honor guard during calling hours at the Richard Davis Funeral Home.

A Funeral Service is set for 11 a.m. Nov. 19 at the Second Church of Plymouth in Manomet. Burial will follow at the Manomet Cemetery.

Associated Press -- Sherman, a New Bedford native who grew up in Plymouth, was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was a member of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. He lived on the base with his, wife, Patricia, who is expecting the couple's first child.

A former Army specialist, Sherman was posthumously promoted to sergeant.

He and another U.S. soldier were swept away by strong river currents while trying to recover a food parcel that fell in the river during a resupply mission.

The Department of Defense issued a release Wednesday identifying Sgt. Sherman as "having been killed while participating in the Nov. 4 resupply mission" in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan.

The release stated that Sgt. Brandon T. Islip, 23, of Richmond, Va., has been unaccounted for since he "went missing" while involved in the resupply mission.

"Search and recovery efforts are ongoing, and the incident is under investigation," according to the defense department.

The family has established the Benjamin W. Sherman Memorial Foundation for donations that will honor his memory by providing financial assistance to families of military service members during unexpected times of hardship.

Donations can be dropped off at any Rockland Trust branch or mailed to Rockland Trust, 288 Union St, Rockland, MA 02370.

Army Sgt. Benjamin W. Sherman was killed in action 11/04/09.