Thomas Sheehy

Thomas William Sheehy is most likely not known to all of you. He was my grandfather, my idol, and most importantly my hero. You probably have an idol or someone that you look up to, but I am hoping that after you read this you will think that my grandfather is an amazing person as I do.

My grandfather was born on May 20, 1921 in Columbia, Pennsylvania. His father was Edward Thomas Sheehy and his mother was Marcella Zercher Sheehy. He had one brother named Edward Thomas Sheehy Jr. For high school he attended Trinity high school in Columbia, Pennsylvania and graduated from there in 1938. He went to St. Vincent college. After he graduated from there, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in the year of 1943. The next year after in 1944 he married Henrietta Carolyn Moyer Sheehy and had four kids, whose names are Thomas William Sheehy Jr., Pamela Clair Sheehy, Theresa Moyer Sheehy, and lastly Lance Daniel Sheehy. He also entered the theater of combat in World War 2, serving in France and Germany. Following the war he returned to St. Vincent college on the "GI bill" and graduated "cum Laude" in 1947. He attended Syracuse University Medical School to get his M.D. He obtained his M.S. in internal medicine from Baylor University in 1959. After wards he returned to Walter Reed army hospital and became chief of medicine. He retired from active service and moved to Birmingham, Alabama where he became chief of medical services at the veterans administration and acting chairman for the department of medicine at the University of Alabama Medical School.

He endured many hardships and struggles. He grew up during the Great Depression. He was the son of a "huckster," who took vegetables from Pennsylvania and sold them on the East coast and returned with seafood which he sold from his truck in Pennsylvania. Also as a U.S Army soldier during World War 2, he lost his brother at the age of 35. My grandfather had to leave his wife and four children at the age of 44 and return to war. Some of his major accomplishments were in 1965. He became the first medical consultant to the Pentagon appointed since World War 2. He was responsible for all the medical care given in the entire Southeast Asian theater, where a major objective was to find a treatment for chloroquine resistant Malaria. There are so many great accomplishments but there are too many to list here.

My grandfather's heroism is obvious because he devoted his life to research and teaching within the medical profession. During his tenure as a professor over 2,000 students, interns and residents benefited from his hard work and enthusiasm for learning. Untold millions of people around the world have lived longer and healthier lives as a result of his work. My grandfather was very caring, humble, hardworking, happy, and loving. My grandfather used to say "I am third" What he means by that is that God is first, others are second, and I am third. He died on January 2, 1996.

My grandfather is my hero because without him it would have been harder to create the cure for malaria, and he also fought in wars such as World War 2 and the Vietnam War. My grandfather inspires me to try to be a good person and help others and that is why he is my hero.