John T. Jim

Korean War veteran was stationed along the 38th Parallel

John T. Jim was drafted in July 1952, from Syracuse N.Y. to Indiantown Gap, Pa. The time he served in Korea was just one example of his life-long dedication to civic ideals and community involvement.

After 16 weeks of basic training and eight weeks of leadership school, John received his orders for Korea. He traveled to San Francisco via troop train, and then to Pusan, Korea by ship. After reaching Korea, he was sent to the infamous 38th Parallel as a member of the 5th Regimental Combat Team (RCT), which served as reinforcements to the front lines.

His duty as a member of the 5th RCT was for blocking. Blocking is taking a position just behind the frontline troops and going up to the front line to replace the troops that were killed or wounded, as well as to provide extra protection if the enemy broke through the front lines. Every night, the enemy shelled these lines, killing and wounding soldiers. The 5th RCT continuously was called upon to replace the wounded soldiers along the 38th parallel.

During his time in Korea, John served as a rifleman, assistant machine gunner, communications chief for Fox Company, and Fox Company staff sergeant.

John’s recollections are detailed and somewhat dispassionate. There was a job to be done - distasteful or not, responsibility for a greater cause was a part of life.

“One experience I will never forget, we took positions early in the afternoon and my friend Gus Lotito, also from Syracuse, dug our foxhole,” said John. “Nearby a small tent was erected for officers and the communications gear. We kept an open line with the battalion 24 hours a day.”

John went on to relate how he was assigned communications duty that evening from 7-9 p.m. After a quiet shift, his replacement arrived; John briefed him on the equipment operations, and returned to his foxhole 20 feet away. Ten minutes later all hell broke loose.

“We started to get shelled with mortars and larger artillery,” said John. “There was a direct hit on the tent; two soldiers were killed instantly, my replacement, Parker, and one officer. The minute the tent was shelled the company commander, Murphy, ran to my foxhole, which was dug out for two, and stayed there while the shelling took place for hours.”

After the shelling stopped, the Red Cross medical personnel were called up from the bottom of the valley, about a mile away, to treat the wounded and collect the dead bodies, which were transported down the hill.

“Our position was at the top of the ridge,” said John. “Word came up that they needed to have the bodies identified at once. We were still being shelled in the middle of the night when Captain Murphy ordered the buddy of the man who replaced me to go down the hill and identify him. He refused, and said he didn’t know either man.”

Captain Murphy then turned to John and ordered him to identify the bodies, since he was the last man to see them alive.

John traveled from the ridge down the hill, which were still being shelled, to the medical tents. “I was not happy at this to say the least,” said John, “but I grabbed my rifle and went down the hill in the dark through the shelling, identified the bodies, and filled out the paperwork. After I did my duty, I spent the next few hours in a slit trench (a trench that is just wide enough for soldiers to fit in) during the shelling until dawn. Then I walked back up the hill to the ridge to report back to Fox Company.”

When John returned from serving his country in Korea, he earned his degree from Syracuse University in 1958, with the help of the G.I. Bill.

John moved his family from Pittsburgh to Bucks County in July 1969. He worked as a successful salesman of products for the United States Rubber Company, managing a multimillion-dollar territory, encompassing four states. However, it is his family and community involvement during the last 40 years in Northampton that have given him pride.

John and Joann, now married 55 years, have three children, Karen Jim, of Northampton Township, who works for Merrill Lynch; John D. Jim, of Chalfont, a senior financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial; and Jeff Jim, of Northampton Township, who has run a small business in Northampton for more than 25 years.

For the past 40 years, John has remained dedicated to the community of Northampton, and to the civic ideals of leadership and involvement. He started the civic association in his neighborhood, volunteered for various projects, worked at the Grange Fair and Northampton Days, and volunteered for clothing and food drives for the less fortunate. His elected positions have included serving as a local Committeeman for many years, and serving on the Northampton Municipal Authority Board for eight years.

The Jim family has seen their share of Pennsylvania and New York, moving seven times over a ten-year period. But for John Jim, Northampton Township has been the place to stay. “I have always told my children that our last move was our best move. We’ve grown up and grown older in a great place to live.”

John has had the pleasure to meet or work beside many great local people who live, work, volunteer, and serve the residents - county Judges, commissioners, and other elected officials in Northampton Township and Bucks County - as well as many of the Pennsylvania legislators, senators and congressmen, and even presidents of this great nation. That involvement starts at the local community level.

According to John, “We’ve been fortunate to contribute to the quality of life here in Northampton Township all these years. It’s a great place to live and raise a family.”

Stanley D. Mathews

Navy veteran was in Tokyo Bay as World War II was ending.

By Matthew Fleishman, BucksLocalNews.com

Stanley D. Mathews wanted to serve his country so badly that he enlisted in the Navy at age 17, which meant that his father had to sign him up for duty in World War II.

“My father was a Navy veteran, and he had to sign me up,” said Mathews. “At that time, almost everybody was signing up. It was the thing to do.”

While Mathews enlisted in the Navy, his first thoughts were about serving in the Army, but he started training while in high school, and a series of exercises in the rain and mud changed his mind.

“After those maneuvers in the mud, I said ‘the Army is not going to get me,” said Mathews.
After enlisting in September 1944, Mathews spent 16 weeks training in Maryland and then four more months in gunner’s school, before being assigned to the U.S.S. Ordronaux in May 1945. The Ordronaux has just come back from France and was equipped with anti-aircraft weaponry because it was being reassigned to the Pacific Theater.

“Nobody knew exactly where we were going, but we all knew that we were heading for the Pacific,” said Mathews.

On the way to Japan, Mathews and the rest of the crew passed through the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and all said “Be back in ‘49,” because that was how long they figured it would take to end defeat the Japanese.

When the Ordronaux arrived in Hawaii, Mathews’ first sight was a badly damaged destroyer.
“We wondered what we were in for,” said Mathews. “We were really scared when we saw that ship.”

After leaving Hawaii, Mathews’ destroyer was assigned to protect the U.S.S. Pennsylvania, which was heading to Japan. On the way, Japanese fighter planes spotted the group of ships, including the Pennsylvania, so Mathews and the rest of the men on the Ordronaux used smoke to try to shield the sight of the battleship.

Twenty men died on the Pennsylvania, but it could have been much worse if not for the work of the Ordronaux.

By the time Mathews made it to Japan, the war was basically over.

“We convoyed into Tokyo Bay, and arrived right before the signing of the surrender agreement,” said Mathews. “The first thing I saw on the dock was a Chevy truck. I knew things had turned in our favor.”

Despite the war nearing its end, Mathews had dangerous times ahead of him, as the Ordronaux was given the task of clearing mines out of a Japanese river so that ships with high-ranking military officials could get through.

Then, after leaving Japan, the Ordronaux was caught in a typhoon. During the storm, the crew of the Ordronaux rescued a man who had gone overboard from another ship.

“That is quite an experience,” said Mathews. “The destroyer was kind of small, so we had to go right into the typhoon or we would have been snapped in two.”

After a long journey back from Japan, Mathews and the Ordronaux made it back to San Francisco several years sooner than their prediction.

“We went under the Golden Gate Bridge way before time,” said Mathews. “I’m quite proud of my services, but there were a lot of guys who got in sooner and saw quite a bit of action, but I only got a taste of it.”

After leaving the Navy, Mathews married his wife, Helen, in 1949, and the couple has spent more than 60 years together. They live together in their home in Upper Makefield Township, which was build by Mathews over a two-year span. Mathews has two sons, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. One of his granddaughters is married to a Lt. Commander in the Navy.

“Besides my family, my time in the Navy was the highlight of my life,” said Mathews.

For Mathews, his Navy career came full circle in 2001 when he received his high school diploma from the Council Rock School District. The state legislature and the governor authorized Pennsylvania school districts to award diplomas to students who dropped out of high school to defend the United States in World War II.

“It was quite a thrill,” said Mathews. “They played it up real big for us.”

*****

During his time in the Navy, Mathews earned four medals:
*American Campaign Medal
* Asiatic-Pacific Medal
* World War II Victory Medal
* Navy Occupation Service Medal

Robert Patrick

Purple Heart winner achieved even more in Bucks County.

By Tim Chicirda, BucksLocalNews.com

Robert Patrick is not originally from Bristol Borough. In fact, he has only been a resident on Radcliffe Street for just over a decade, but Bob has completed a lifetime of service to the small Bucks County town.

Patrick's life journey began on South Mountain in Bethlehem, Pa., where he was born under the 81-foot electric “Star of Bethlehem” to Stanley and Agatha Patrick.

Bob went on to attend Hellertown High School (now Saucon Valley High School), just outside of Bethlehem in Hellertown, Pa.

Here, Bob took on numerous activities, including wrestling and announcing football games as a member of the AV Club. Bob also played drums in a band called “Magic.”

During Bob's junior year of high school, he joined the Navy Reserve, attending Hospital Corpsman School in Great Lakes, Illinois.

Bob became a flight deck corpsman with the United States Marines. Specifically, Bob's title was Hospital Corpsman II Robert Patrick.

A Hospital Corpsman is someone who serves as an enlisted medical specialist. They perform duties as assistants to prevent and treat disease and injury. They also assist health care professionals, providing medical care to Marines and their families.

In Bob's case, a flight deck Hospital Corpsman would help with emergency medical treatment, including initial treatment in a combat environment.

For Bob's noble efforts with the Marine Corps, he was awarded a Purple Heart, which according to the order given from the U.S. Government is for one who “has given of his blood in the defense of his homeland and shall forever be revered by his fellow countrymen.”

Bob left the Marine Corps in 1971. After jumping back and forth from various jobs, Bob was hired by Aramark in 1974. Aramark Limited has a plethora of different specialties, including being a food, facilities, and clothing provider. They help supply businesses, courts, educational institutions, the armed forces and health care providers. The health care aspect of Aramark is where Bob focused his time, until he was laid off in 1995.

This is when Bob moved to Bristol Borough, according to him, “through the blessing of God,” amidst a very tough financial situation.

While dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Bob still had the presence of mind to start a wonderful non-profit organization called Operation Pay It Forward, which is owned and operated by Patrick, who is a Service Disabled Vietnam Veteran. He is a cash flow specialist broker, an alternative to banks, working with doctors, group practices and medical equipment suppliers.

“Bob has done great service in the area with his concern for homeless veterans,” says Bucks County Director of Veterans Affairs and Marine Corps vet Daniel H. Fraley.

Bob humbly adds: “That which we make important, we make happen.”

And, his charitable work does not end there, as Bob is a vital part of the Bristol Borough Community Partnership (BBCP), a local organization that organizes community events in Bristol.
Bob was instrumental in the “Oral History Project” in Bristol Borough, which helps youngsters grasp their roots through stories told from the elder neighbors.

“Bob is invaluable. He is constantly helpful and sharing with his time and ideas ... Bob has helped advance the mission of the partnership,” said Loretta M. Vasso, Community Mobilizer for the BBCP.

And, there's more. Patrick devotes even more of his time to the area, working with the Borough's “Home Again” initiative, which helps find a “way home” to homeless people in Bristol Borough.
Bob is also a member of the VFW, American Legion, DAV, Lower Bucks Chamber of Commerce and the Historic Bristol Borough Revitalization Task Force (RTF).

In 2009, Bristol High School student Samantha Kasperitis took part in the “Adopt-A-Marine” program. Kasperitis said at the time: “He is an intelligent man with great ideas.”

But, Bob is not only full of great ideas, but great passion and drive for his community, as he took his prestigious military career and spawned it into a grand life of charity in Bristol Borough and Bucks County.

Cate Murway contributed to this article.