Gerry
1924-1941
Gerard Papineau was born on July 5, 1924, the first and only child of Gustave and Henriette Papineau. They lived on a farm on Pulaski Boulevard in Bellingham, Massachusetts. Gus and Henriette had been trying to have a child for years, and at age forty-five, Henriette’s child-bearing years were nearly history. But following her annual physical exam with her doctor, Dr. Paul Boucher, in September 1923, he announced that she was pregnant. Gus could not believe it when she told him the news that afternoon.
The Papineau farm had fifty cows to milk each day, and the milk was sold to City Dairy, a local milk distributor that made home deliveries throughout the surrounding community. Additionally, they had fields where hay was grown, and once it was baled, the hay was trucked and delivered as far north as Canada. Lastly, the farm produced nearly fifty dozen eggs per day from its hen houses. The eggs were sold to local restaurants, hospitals, and many small grocers in the area.
Raised as a young Catholic boy, Gerry attended Assumption Elementary School, one mile from the farm. By age nine, he would walk to school and back every day unless it rained. The sight of his father’s pickup truck, rumbling up the road towards him on a rainy day, always brought a broad smile to his face.
“Get your butt in here, son, before you catch a cold. Your mother will be all over me if you get sick,” he would shout with a grin from ear to ear. Gerry’s father was always there for him and their relationship could not have been better.
At age fifteen in 1939, he enrolled in a private Catholic high school in the area, a new high school run by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart. It was called Mount St. Charles Academy and even housed boarding students from Canada and South America on a fourth floor dormitory. Known for its strict curriculum and discipline, the new school was committed to preparing its students for college or for immediate entry in the area’s work force.
Gerry was not a great student, carrying mostly a C average in most of his subjects. But he met other boys his age there and developed friendships he never had before. The isolation of farm work did not lend itself to much time off with friends. The Mount was where Gerry met Roland Trudeau, the son of a restaurant owner in nearby Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
Both of them had dreams of someday seeing more of the world, and they often talked about joining the Army when they were old enough. They had heard from Army recruiters at Mount one day that the Army had bases all over the world. Naturally, the recruiters were quick to mention areas of the South Pacific, like Hawaii and the Philippines, as well as naval operations as far away as China. And lately, the recruiters focused on the need for airmen to be part of bombing squadrons and fighter planes, even mechanics that were badly needed to keep airplanes in top operating condition.
After spending an exhausting summer day baling hay onto a flat-bedded truck on the farm, Gerry and Roland would lay against one of the bales with a Nehi orange soda and watch planes fly overhead on their way to Boston, or smaller planes landing nearby at the Woonsocket Airport off Bound Road.
“Someday, Roland, I’m going to be in one of those planes. Once I’m through high school, I’m thinking of joining up. The Army is really looking for recruits these days. And it sounds like there is a war brewing in Europe.”
“Well, I’m not sure I can wait until graduation. That’s about two years away, and I can join up at seventeen next year. I don’t think I want to fly though. I like the Navy more. The ocean is where I think I want to be.”
By the fall of 1940, Gerry was in his junior year and Roland was a senior. The unrest in Europe had escalated, and it appeared the United States would soon become involved. Under Adolf Hitler, Germany was building its military force quickly, and was about to overtake nearby countries in rapid fashion. It seemed to both Gerry and Roland that farming or restaurant work was not something either of them wanted to pursue going forward.
Gerry’s dad had counted on him someday taking over the family business. Roland’s dad thought likewise for his son. Neither father had reason to believe otherwise. But the idea of venturing away from home spread like a fever across the country as the excitement of joining the military became addictive. Local recruiters were signing up young men at a rapid pace, and within weeks, off they went to training camps and assignments everywhere. Roland was the first to bolt. With only six months until graduation in June 1941, he enlisted in the Navy and was sent to Newport News, Virginia for training as a navigator on a destroyer. Before he left, he and Gerry sat together at a farewell dinner at his father’s restaurant, The Cottage Club, with all of Roland’s family.
Following the initial shock Roland’s father had when Roland told him he had enlisted in the Navy, he thought the experience of being away from home would probably be a good learning experience for him. His father was convinced Roland would return to take his place in the restaurant business once his tour of duty was over.
“You will write to me won’t you? I’d like to know what it’s like in the service,” Gerry asked.
“I promise, Gerry. I know you’re thinking about flying. So go for it, buddy. Don’t let anyone change your mind. The one thing we’ve got to do is keep in touch with each other, wherever we are. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Gerry never realized how much of a void the absence of Roland was in his life. He did not socialize after school, and he rarely spoke to other classmates during the day. He began to think more and more about flying. He didn’t have to be a pilot, just so long as he was in the air. Yet he had never flown before, nor did he know anything about flying. He could shoot a rifle, and was a good marksman when he and his dad went hunting every November. His mom could always count on them returning from their hunting trip with a deer. The family would have venison for months during the winter. Bombers need good gunners, he thought, and he knew he could be one as well.
The summer of 1941 brought on an even heavier workload for Gerry. His father had been inflicted with a bad knee, and suddenly was not able to handle strenuous farm tasks that now fell on Gerry. Although a relatively small person at five feet six inches, he was built like a hydrant, solid as could be throughout. He immersed himself completely in running the farm at the young age of seventeen. His mother could see the drain in his face each day that went by. He had no time on his own, and worked seven days a week. By September, his father could barely walk, and aside from the bum knee, his back began to bother him. At age sixty-two, Gus was diagnosed with bone cancer, and there was no cure. To make matters worse, Henriette began having breathing problems. Her shortness of breath was attributed to congestive heart failure, and she began a regimen to slow down her work habits.
Gus was aware of his deteriorating condition and began making plans related to the farm.
“Son, do you want the farm? Your mom and I can’t do much anymore, and I’m not going to be around much longer. Your mom has her own issues and I’m not sure how the doctors will handle that,” Gus asked Gerry in early November. Gerry had been forced to drop out of school until he knew what would happen next.
“I’ll do what has to be done, Dad. Somebody has to get all of this done. I’m going to have to hire somebody to help me though. There’s just too much for me to do alone.”
“That’s not what I asked. I asked if you want the farm. You’ve been the best son a father could ask for, and we couldn’t have survived without you around here. I’m proud of you, son, but I’m not so sure this is what you really want to do with your life.”
“Haven’t really given it much thought, Dad, but what’s the rush all of a sudden?”
“Six months, that’s what the doctors say. I’ve got only six months to live. I haven’t told your mother yet. She’s got troubles of her own. But I don’t want to leave you with this place if you don’t want it. I got an offer from Garvey Construction to buy all two hundred acres. They want to build a housing development on one side of the road, and a new cemetery on the other side for the diocese.
“What about the livestock? The cows and the hens?”
“We can sell the cows. City Dairy said they could get us a good deal from another farm they deal with. And the hens can go to Smithfield Poultry in Smithfield. They’re having a tough time meeting the demands from all the hospitals in the Providence area and the restaurants in downtown Providence.”
Gerry tried not to show any emotion on hearing the news about his father, but his eyes told it all as tears trickled down his cheeks as he stood there in silence.
“It’s okay, Gerry. I’m thankful for the years I’ve had, and if your mother is taken care of, I’m ready for the next life.”
Gus was not a religious man, but at times like these, a person’s perspective changes rapidly. He had always been a good husband, provider, and father, but somehow the Lord had not been a factor for much of his adult life. Now that his days on earth were limited, he turned to his religion as an act of desperation. By doing so, he felt revived in his Catholic faith, and had come to accept his impending death as part of life. The thought of an afterlife was comforting to him, and he tried to convey that feeling to Gerry.
“I’m guessing you’ve had enough of this farm life about now. Am I right?”
“Yea, I’m not sure I can do this for years, Dad. I like hard work, but not seven days a week. And I think I’d like to learn about flying.”
“Flying, you mean like a pilot?”
“A pilot, a navigator, a gunner, anything that has to do with flying.”
“A gunner, like in a bomber? Are we talking the Army Air Corps here? Are you thinking of joining the Army?”
“I was hoping to finish high school first, but I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen.”
“Why not? Look, get back in school and finish high school. That will give you more time to think about this. Remember, you might have to watch your mom more than you think, though I think she’ll be okay with medication and rest.”
Within weeks, the sale of the animals took place, and Gus had signed an agreement to sell the farmhouse and land. Henriette was visibly distraught at hearing about Gus’s illness and the diagnosis. While she attempted to comfort Gus as best she could, her own difficulties in breathing left her incapable of doing too much. This would not be a happy Thanksgiving for the Papineau family.
On November fifteenth, Gerry received a letter from Roland.
Hi Gerry,
I’ve completed my navigational training here in Virginia, and I just received my orders sending me to Oahu, Hawaii on the USS Arizona. I have always wanted to go to the South Pacific, and by the time you get this letter, I’ll probably already be on board the destroyer. I’m glad I joined the Navy. I like everything about it, and I really like being on the ocean.
This letter is shorter than usual, but I’ll write again soon once I’m settled aboard the Arizona. I expect to hear from you soon, flyboy!
All the best,
Roland
Gerry kept the letters from Roland in a shoe box under his bed, and he thought about the Army more and more each day.
On Thanksgiving Day, Gus announced that the sale of the farm had been approved by Garvey Construction, and they were scheduled to move out by December fifteenth.
“We’ll be moving to a first floor tenement owned by my brother Henry in Lincoln. We can start moving some stuff right away because the five-room apartment is vacant right now. I’m going to hire a mover to help us out. Gerry, I think it’s time for you to go back to Mount and finish school. I’ve already talked to Brother Clement, and he agreed to let you back in right after the holidays.”
“But if I go back to school, what will we live on? There won’t be any money coming in on a regular basis. Uncle Henry will need to get some rent from us. I’m sure he’s got bills to pay too.”
“Your uncle doesn’t need the money, son, nor do we. With all the stock sold and the money from the sale of the farm, your mother and I have much more than we’ll ever spend. I sure as hell won’t be spending a lot for too long,” Gus answered.
This brought silence to the table. The thought of Gus’s impending death was a reality Henriette and Gerry didn’t want to face. Gus was more at peace with his condition than they were. Nothing he could say or do would change that. The rest of the day was spent tending to last minutes chores by Gerry, while Gus and Henriette spent precious time together by themselves. At age sixty-two, they both had worked daily for over forty-five years, and had recently celebrated their fortieth anniversary. The thought that there would likely not be a forty-first anniversary or another Thanksgiving together was very painful for both of them, but especially for Henriette. She was about to lose her beloved husband, and her son’s contemplation of joining the Army meant that she would be alone for the first time in a long while. Her brother-in-law Henry had never married, and was three years older than Gus. Gus tried to assure her that Henry would be there for her. He had promised Gus he would always be there.
* * *
On December 7, 1941, everything on the news was about the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Gerry was worried about Roland. The news on the radio broadcasts specifically mentioned severe damage to the American ships in port, and even cited the USS Arizona among the ships affected by the attack. So much for being assigned to a destroyer in the tropical South Pacific.
Gerry wasn’t a religious person, much like his father, but he found himself visiting Assumption Church on Pulaski Boulevard to pray for his friend’s safety. He knew it would be some time before he heard of Roland’s fate from that horrible day. Four days later, Gerry received a phone call at seven o’clock at night.
“Gerry, this is Mr. Trudeau, Roland’s father. We received a telegram from the Navy yesterday informing us that Roland was killed aboard the Arizona on Pearl Harbor on December seventh. The Navy was making arrangements for his body to be shipped back home. I don’t know any more yet, but I thought you should know. You two were like brothers, and I knew you would want to know.”
There was only silence at the end of the receiver as Gerry began to cry. He could not speak. He didn’t want to believe what was happening to him. First his father announcing his bone cancer, then his mother’s heart condition, the sale of their farm, and now this. He tried to compose himself, but it took several minutes before he could reply to Roland’s father.
“Mr. Trudeau, please let me know when his body arrives. I would like to be there. He was my best friend, and he was so proud to be in the Navy and on a destroyer. I got a letter from him just a few weeks ago. He was going to send me his address on the Arizona as soon as he was settled in Hawaii. I don’t know what to say.”
“Gerry, he always spoke of you the same way. He told me he wished you were going in the Navy with him, but that you wanted to fly. He said that if anything ever happened to him, to tell you what a great friend you were. I will call again when I have more news.”