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Brevard Veterans News
Veterans spring to action after fire in North Brevard
You can always count on veterans helping other veterans whenever there is a need in Brevard County. So, when a fire destroyed four homes and damaged several others in late May in Sharpes, a VFW Department of Florida Disaster Response and Recovery team sprang to action. “There were veterans out there who lost cars and homes,” said Don Pearsall, who directed the team working with Titusville’s VFW Post 4228 Commander Nick Leon. They set up their Quick Hit trailer at the Four Communities Fire Station on U.S. 1 in Sharpes, where supplies were distributed to help the veterans who sustained loss because of the fire. They
also helped other victims of the fire, not just veterans, who were the priority. Pearsall created the team in 2018 following Hurricane Michael’s destructive force that caused havoc in the Caribbean and parts of Florida. The Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Department of Florida named Pearsall director.
He said the Disaster Response and Recovery trailer is always stocked and ready to respond within 15 minutes to disasters anywhere in Florida. The team tested its response after Hurricane Dorian caused extensive damage to parts of the Bahamas in 2019, where many U.S. military veterans were living. Supplies were shipped on 11 flights following the storm. Supplies stocked and ready in the trailer and in storage include medical supplies, first-aid kits, food, water, pet food, tarps and stoves. It also includes generators for veterans left without power but who require it to operate medical devices such as a CPAP or oxygenators.
The team also has a large cooker that can be used with gas, coal or wood that can serve food to the community with donated groceries from stores in affected areas. “If we can do this in the Bahamas, we can do it here,” Pearsall said. The team worked with the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center and the Florida Division of Emergency Management getting medical supplies, including masks, gowns and gloves to hospitals in Florida during the COVID pandemic. The team spent a day and a half on site in Sharpes making sure they helped all those who needed it, especially the veterans. SL
The Fountains Four veterans join others for Honor Flight BY MARIA SONNENBERG Dawn was hours away from visiting, but that did not stop four residents from The Fountains of Melbourne to gather at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 11 at Wickham Park Senior Center, where the four veterans joined 26 others in the latest Space Coast Honor Flight. Honor Flight celebrates veterans by hosting them for an expense-paid, whirlwind trip to visit the Washington, D.C. memorials to the wars in which they fought. It was a trip of a lifetime for the foursome, whose histories represent military service across four conflicts — from World War II to Desert Storm. The elder veteran in the group was Charles Merserau, who served as a Navy engineer and diving officer from 1941 to 1946. Mersereau worked aboard the USS Parche, one of the most highly decorated boats in the Pacific Submarine Force. It’s conning tower is on display at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park in Pearl Harbor. Mersereau helped the Navy, and the Navy helped him. With the aid of the GI Bill, he earned his degree in mechanical engineering. He worked at Pacific Gas
and Electric in California before retiring at 55 to become a property developer in Missouri. “It was valuable to get my college degree through the service,” he said. Unlike Mersereau, who spent his military service in the water, Fountains neighbor Al Rollins was on dry land, in Korea, to be exact, serving as an expert rifleman from 1952 to 1955. From rifleman, Rollins pivoted to weatherman, serving the Eastern Test Range for 16 years before signing on with the City of Cocoa to teach computer skills to employees. Oh, yes, he also purchased a Cocoa motel, renovated it and operated for a dozen years. Since Honor Flights include an official photographer, Rollins didn’t need to take pictures of his Washington trip, but he could most certainly have done so, since the versatile veteran is also a talented, self-taught photographer. Honor Flight provided a chance to revisit monuments he remembers from visits years ago. “I wanted to see them again,” he said. Both Rollins’ Fountains fellow veterans Jim Herndon and Karen Cathcart served their country during the Vietnam
SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of The Fountains
Veterans Charles Merserau, James C. Herndon, Albert A. Rollins and Karen Cathcart joined others for a Space Coast Honor Flight, an expense-paid trip to Washington D.C. to visit memorials to the wars they fought.
The Murtha Law Group, PA Kevin M. Murtha
Attorney and Counselor at Law
Serving Brevard County · Estate Planning · Wills · Trusts · Probate · Family Law 7351 Office Park Place Melbourne 32940
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SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of The Fountains
The Fountains of Melbourne honored Karen Cathcart, James C. Herndon, Charles Merserau and Albert A. Rollins during the Space Coast Honor Flight.
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War. From 1965 to 1999, Herndon was with the Navy Reserve. Depending on how you consider it, he is either an expert at retirement or a failure, since the former Harris architectural designer, North Carolina home flipper, and facilities manager for the Florida Department of Health and Human Services has retired three times. Honor Flight holds a special place in his heart. “My father went on Honor Flight and I want to walk in his footsteps,” he said. Karen Cathcart’s military service
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spans both Vietnam and Desert Storm and encompasses both the Air Force and the Army. The former Philadelphian who moved to California and joined the Air Force at 18 served from 1964 to 1967, but that was just the start of a long career. “The U.S. called me back in 1972,” said Cathcart, who was master sergeant in administration, personnel and recruitment until her retirement in 1997. “I wanted to do my duty for my country,” she said. SL
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