They Called Him Marvin: A History of Love, War and Family

"They were the fathers we never knew, the uncles we never met, the friends who never returned, the heroes we can never repay. They gave us our world. And those simple sounds of freedom we hear today are their voices speaking to us across the years." Bill Clinton

Such a man was 1st Lt Dean Harold Sherman, B-29 Airplane Commander.

“They Called Him Marvin” is a history. A history of war and of family. A history of the collision of the raging politics of a global war, young love, patriotism, sacred family commitments, duty and the horrors and tragedies, the catastrophe that war is.

It all starts when Dean accepts an innocent invitation to attend Church with his friend Stanley, who’s girl friend happened to be the best friend of Constance Baldwin, who also just happened to attend the same Waterloo Ward of the Mormon Church, who also didn’t have a boy friend, and who was also more than happy to make a visitor feel welcome.

Lt Sherman enjoyed the experience so much he joined the church and married the girl.

Not all the characters are human. The B-29, it’s development and history assumes a role as a main character.

The war, as all wars do, has two sides. The lives of a Japanese family, the Kiyoshis, and their interactions with the B-29s is woven throughout the narrative.

At first glance, the story does not seem to end well for Lt Sherman his wife Constance and the newly born Marvin. His B-29 is shot down over Nagoya, he is captured and labeled a war criminal for the incendiary bombing of the city. But that is definitely not the end of their story.

Their history is partially documented through the sixty seven letters exchanged between a twenty year old Dean and his still teenaged pregnant wife. The un-edited letters provide their own words to help tell the story. When Marvin was born, 18 Feb 1945, Dean without knowledge of the Marvin's birth wrote:

"Whenever I hear nice soft music, I think of you. And when the sun comes up so bright and fresh in the morning, I’m reminded of you. When I take a short walk in the moonlight I have the pleasantest memories of you and all the wonderful times we have spent together. Darling, those things mean all the world to me, an I keep thinking of the something new that has been added to us, and the blessings that have been ours continuously all being added up to make the future all ahead of us better to live for and more to be desired. I guess you know from these things that I am ever so glad I married you, altho it never could have been any different because we were just meant for each other. All the incidents and happenings that brought us together, tho they may seem like accidents, seem to me to have just been part of a plan that been so plain that we just couldn’t see it. I just keep getting more and more in love with you all the time too, Honey."

The day Dean was shot down Connie, again without knowledge of his situation confesses in her 14 May 1945 letter:

"I’m in a rather odd mood tonight Honey, and it is most all about you and Marvin and me. I have been trying to decide whether or not I would write to you tonight most all evening. I wanted to, but I didn’t know if I could express my feelings as I would want to, and, as I feel them. As you can see Honey, I have made up my mind to try. How well I succeed remains to be seen."