Five sergeants in the 603rd Camouflage Engineers during the Battle of the Bulge. From the left: Charles "Beef" Boullianne, John Beeler, Paul LaHive, William "Buzz" Senat and George Vandersluis
County of residence at enlistment: Kings County, NY
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: artists, sculptors, and teachers of art
College education before the war: Pratt 3 years
Notes: Rank changed from PVT in GA Roster to T/5 per New York Area Leave List
Source: 603rd Camouflage Engineer Roster provided by W. Anderson; Company C roster
Joseph Sherlock was born on March 19, 1921 in Bayonne, NJ, the younger of two sons. His father worked as a chemist at a soap manufacturing company. At some point prior to 1935 the family moved from Bayonne to Brooklyn, NY.
Joseph registered for the draft on February 15, 1942 and enlisted on August 24, 1942, a few months after graduating from Pratt Institute. Like many of his classmates, he was assigned to the 603rd Engineer Camouflage Battalion, and served in Europe during the war.
After the war he went to work as an industrial designer in New York City; he had a distinguished career that lasted nearly 40 years.
On April 9, 1949 he married Rose Clare Bies in Belleville, MI. Joseph and Rose would go on to have five children: Joseph, Thomas, Brian, Christine, and Clare. The family settled in New Jersey.
Some of Arthur's letters to his wife discussed a particular artwork he was creating, and gave us some insight into where he was, and what he was experiencing and thinking about in the moment. Here are a few of them.