Four years after chronicling the stories of 50 Gold Star families across the country, Heath native Keith Sherman has started another mission to ensure the legacies of service members killed overseas are not lost to the shrouds of time.

Sherman, who now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, is working with his congressman, U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, to try to get May designated as Fallen Heroes Memorial Month. The resolution, which has yet to be introduced on the House floor, would recognize the 1.3 million men and women who have laid down their lives for the country, as well as the families and loved ones of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

“Sometimes we can be quick to forget things,” Sherman said in an interview.

He said the resolution has had multiple drafts and getting it right “took some time.” Its language cites former presidents who said soldiers deserve endless gratitude for putting their lives on the line for their nation.

Attempts to reach Bishop for comment were unsuccessful.

In 2019, Sherman set off on a cross-country trip to interview a Gold Star family in each state. The term ‘Gold Star’ dates to World War I, when families displayed a star for every member in the military; the star was blue if they were alive, gold if dead. Sherman started from Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, California, where he was stationed, and recorded stories for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project.

Sherman finished his journey by interviewing Raymond Harris, the father of Marine Capt. Jennifer J. Harris, a Swampscott native killed in 2007 while piloting a helicopter in Iraq. He said it was lessons learned from this experience that led him to spearhead the fight for Fallen Heroes Memorial Month.

“Memorial Day has gone commercial, and they feel that meaning has been lost,” he said of the Gold Star families. “It just seems like everybody has a month, and we don’t have a month.”

Sherman, 50, still struggles with the trauma he experienced abroad as a naval special warfare combat enabler. To make matters worse, he lost 12 military friends to suicide and even more on the battlefield. Sherman said he believes a friend or loved one dies twice — once when their life ends, and once when memory of them fades.

In 2018, before embarking on his quest, Sherman took to the Facebook page for Gold Star family members to ask for help and guidance. This post caught the attention of Kristine Flores, whose brother, Army Spc. Michael Mihalakis, was killed serving in Iraq on Dec. 26, 2003. As Sherman’s luck would have it, Flores is a news producer at NBC Bay Area. She was able to assist Sherman via FaceTime, guiding him through how to operate a camera, conduct an interview and edit video.

“I was very interested in what he was trying to do. After a few minutes of talking with him, I was in full support,” Flores said. “I was very moved and touched by his mission. I could tell just by talking to him he had a lot of pain just below the surface.”

Flores said Sherman’s project came out beautifully. She was there when he formally presented the stories to the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. in November 2019, with some other Gold Star families and lawmakers present. Flores said she and Sherman have become incredibly close over the past five years and she has thrown her support behind Sherman’s effort to declare a Fallen Heroes Memorial Month.

“[Memorial Day] is overshadowed by barbecues and sales and the unofficial start of summer and stuff. A lot of families feel it’s not enough, myself included,” Flores said, adding that the resolution’s language is strong and inclusive. “Most people don’t know what a Gold Star family is until they have to. Keeping the memory alive is the most important thing for us.”

The full text of the draft resolution can be viewed at bit.ly/3ZGTlyn.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.