May 15, 2025
Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry continues her series on Mayflower descendants, with another special tribute to fallen heroes to commemorate Memorial Day. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, americana-archives.com, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
Here is a photo of the New Plimmoth Gard, a group of historical reenactors portraying the militia of Plymouth Colony, 1621-1646. At this drill the Gard is at the Benjamin Nye Homestead, located at 85 Old County Road in Sandwich, Massachusetts.
The spirit of military preparedness is found in the early Pilgrims. This energy is recreated today through the New Plimmoth Gard, who provide historically accurate demonstrations of military drills and the culture of Plymouth Colony.
Today I continue my series “Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who,” with a special tribute to fallen heroes to commemorate Memorial Day.
To recap: Part 1 covered 1st Lt. Walter Alvin Blair (1922-1943), a descendant of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren. Walter, a navigator on a B-17 bomber, was killed when his plane was shot down during a mission to Frankfurt, Germany, on 4 October 1943.
In his memory his father, Linwood “Sarge” Blair, organized “Blair’s Rangers,” a training program that helped hundreds of young men and women prepare for military service to their country.
Lt. Blair is part of the Crocker family line, which has a long history in Marston Mills, a village in Barnstable, Massachusetts. The family is also linked to several Mayflower descendant lines through marriage. Our subject today shares this connection as well.
I’ve been working with Katie Crocker on her family tree for the past few years. She and our subject today, Sherman (Neil) Crocker, descend from Mayflower passengers Edward Winslow, Henry Sampson, Francis Cooke, William White, William Brewster, John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley. For the lineage and family history please refer to all the links at the end of this article.
Katie’s great uncle, Captain Sherman Crocker, commander of the 507th Fighter Squadron during WWII, was hit and killed by a German 88mm anti-aircraft gun at Ahrweiler in the Rhineland on 13 February 1945.
In 2010, Katie and her father James Lauchlan Crocker spent a week in San Diego, California. During an air show, James befriended another attendee, and their conversation about planes led to the discussion of World War II and her uncle, Captain Sherman Crocker.
Katie quietly listened and took in the stories. When she returned home, she began investigating her uncle’s military career.
She tracked down Captain Floyd Blair, who flew with her great uncle. Below is a photo of Captain Blair courtesy of the Best Defense Foundation of Solana, California.
Captain Floyd informed Katie that her uncle Captain Crocker wasn’t due to fly the day he was killed. However, he filled in for another pilot. He also informed Katie that her uncle was “quite the ladies’ man.”
Sherman Crocker is one of the four sons born to Lauchlan MacLean Crocker Sr., aka “Locky,” and Wilhelmina Mary (Sherman) Crocker.
Below is a photo of Captain Crocker’s three brothers with their mother. In this photo, we see: (back row, left to right) James “Jimmy” Hawley Crocker (1930-2010); Merle “Buzzy” Macdonald Crocker (1928-2003); (front row, left to right) Wilhelmina Mary (Sherman) Crocker (1893-1984); Lauchlan “Lauchy” MacLean Crocker Jr. (1918-2000).
In 2023 Katie’s father, along with two of his cousins, James and Kevin Crocker, visited the site where Captain Crocker’s plane crashed. The area was being excavated and the family returned home with pieces of his plane unearthed from the crash. They are indeed cherished relics and important artifacts of family history.
On his final mission, Captain Crocker had been promoted to command of the 507th Fighter Squadron, with the prospect of becoming Major Crocker. He was flying the P-47 “Harriett” named for his fiancée Harriett Jey Jones (1922-2009).
Harriett shares several branches of Crocker lineage with Captain Crocker. She is a direct descendant of Mayflower passengers George Soule, Myles Standish, John Alden, Priscilla Mullins, John Howland, and Elizabeth Tilley. She later married William Pomroy Swift.
With a load of three 500-pound bombs and a thousand gallons of gas, Captain Crocker was flying only 50 feet above the ground at 300 miles per hour when his plane was hit.
The news of Captain Crocker first came in as missing in action. Here is the newsclip.
This article reads:
Air Captain Missing
Barnstable, March 5 – Capt. Sherman N. Crocker, 24, a Ninth Air Force pilot, son of Barnstable County Sheriff and Mrs. Lauchlin M. Crocker, has been reported missing in action over Germany since Feb. 13, according to a telegram received by his parents from the War Department.
Then came the confirmation of Captain Crocker’s death, when his obituary was published in the local paper. The family furnished a copy.
This obit noted that Captain Crocker would be entitled to/was decorated with the Air Medal and 17 oak leaf clusters, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down five German planes. He was also awarded the Purple Heart.
He flew in the Battle of the Bulge and the Hürtgen Forest, and was on his 90th mission with his squadron when he was shot down.
A memorial stone for Captain Sherman N. Crocker is located on Route 149 in Marstons Mills, and I encourage readers who may have kinfolk who sacrificed their life in service for their country in this area – or WWII history buffs – to check out this video that covers Captain Crocker and other fallen heroes. See: Barnstable Memorial Stones Project.
This memorial honors Captain Crocker, who shares a common undeniable goal with all American veterans to protect our country’s freedoms. Forever a symbol of heroism, sacrifice, loyalty and freedom:
“They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate.” — President Franklin D. Roosevelt
I believe Captain Crocker would have made his Pilgrim ancestors mighty proud, especially Captain Myles Standish, who is described in the following newspaper article as “the first military commander of our country and the greatest example of protection and preparedness that ever existed.”
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Note on the header image: “Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor,” by William Halsall, 1882. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
Related Articles:
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 1)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 2)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 3)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 4)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 5)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 6)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 7)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 8)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 9)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 10)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 11)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part12)
- Mayflower Descendants: Who’s Who, Part 35 (part 13)
- Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 1)
- Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 2)
- Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 3)
- Mayflower Descendants & the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (part 4)
- Richard Bourne: Missionary to Plymouth Colony Indians
- Thomas Tupper: Missionary to Plymouth Colony Indians
