Rovello Sherrill Hull was born on February 13, 1921 in Earlville, New York to Ray Cassion Hull (1888-1962) and Florence Ann Pugh (1891-1984). His parents were married on September 2, 1919 in Plainfield, Otsego County, NY. According to U.S. Census records his father was a farmer from Berlin, Clark County, South Dakota and his mom was a telegram operator from Plainfield Center, New York. Those same Census records show he had two younger sisters, Margery and Nordica. (Margery married a World War II veteran of D-Day, Richard Holdridge).

Rovello was known by his middle name Sherrill. When he was four years old he moved with his family to Burlington Flats, NY where he lived the rest of his life. Sherrill was well liked and smart. He consistently achieved high grades in school, often the best in his class and he was rarely absent. He won a number of speaking contests as well. He was a member of the Baptist church where he served as a deacon for a number of years, even traveling to Detroit in 1937 for a ministerial conference. He graduated from Edmeston Central School in 1939. His sisters and he attended the "Historic Cooperstown" festival in the fall of 1940. He traveled to New York City in October 1940 with friends to visit the World's Fair. Starting in June of 1941 he worked at Otsego Mutual Insurance. In February of 1942 he was appointed the Salvage Chairman for the town of Burlington on the Otsego County Salvage for Victory Campaign Committee. On February 14, 1942, just weeks after his 21 birthday, he registered for military service in Cooperstown, NY. He was 5'-9" tall and weighed 128 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in Utica, NY on August 29, 1942.

He reported to Camp Upton and from there to Fort Logan, Colorado. Fort Logan was an Administrative Inspector School that trained air inspectors. Sherrill graduated there as an operations clerk On November 25, 1942 and in December 1942 was transferred to Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. He received his basic training at Jefferson Barracks and in late January 1943 was sent east. A newspaper article of the day recorded that his parents went to visit him in a "camp near Boston." At the time of this writing I was unable to find documentation on what camp he was in near Boston. From there he was ordered to New York City to board the SS Dorchester.

Built in1926 in Newport News, Virginia, the SS Dorchester was originally known as the Queen of the Chesapeake Bay, a luxury liner. During World War II the ship was recommissioned and refitted to be used as a troop ship and on February 3, 1943, now USAT Dorchester, it was plowing through "icy seas" off the coast of Newfoundland in "waters infested with German submarines." At 12:55 a.m., with more than 900 men below decks sleeping, a torpedo struck USAT Dorchester below the water line. Although numerous sources report panic and chaos, the official report by Lt. jg William H. Arpaia noted, "There was apparently no panic during the abandoning ship operations." (The full report from Lt. jg Arpaia can be read in the "Related Documents" section at the end of this profile.

Of the more than 900 souls onboard more than 660 were lost. Pvt. Hull was one of those lost that night and he is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing in New York City, New York. He was awarded the Purple Heart, American Campaign Medal and European - African Campaign Medal.

In June of 1947 his two sisters, Margery and Nordica unveiled a memorial dedicated to the fallen of Burlington Flats, NY that served in World War I and World War II. Years later, Margery attended the dedication of the Chaplain's Memorial and Chapel in Philadelphia in February 1951. The Memorial was dedicated to the four chaplains who gave their life jackets to boys when the Dorchester went down.

Sources

Admiralty War Diaries, 1/1/43 to 1/31/43; 2/1/43 to 2/28/43, National Archives, College Park, MD, pg. 237.

American Battle Monuments Commission; Arlington, VA; Cemetery Records

Edmonton Central School Graduation Announcement, The Otsego Farmer, June 23, 1939, pg. 6

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/74553365/rovello-sherrill-hull: accessed 03 June 2023), memorial page for PVT Rovello Sherrill Hull (13 Feb 1921–3 Feb 1943), Find a Grave Memorial ID 74553365, citing East Coast Memorial, Manhattan, New York County (Manhattan), New York, USA; Maintained by ShaneO (contributor 47009366).

Hull, Rovello Sherrill, Purple Heart Database accessed at https://www.thepurpleheart.com/roll-of-honor/profile/default?rID=ae783dcc-7a4e-464d-ac05-ccae634e1988, June 5, 2023.

National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, USA;Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946; NAID:1263923; Record Group Title:Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789-ca. 2007; Record Group: 64; Box Number:05212; Reel:185

National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri;Wwii Draft Registration Cards For New York State, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group:Records of the Selective Service System, 147

Sherrill Hull Dies When Transport Sinks, The Courier, Brookfield, NY, April 28, 1943, pg. 8.

SS Dorchester, Wikipedia entry, accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Dorchester, June 7, 2023.

Summary of Statements by Survivors, SS Dorchester, H.V. Stebbins, Lt. USNR. accessed at http://www.armed-guard.com/dork.html, June 4, 2023.

U.S.A.T. Dorchester, Sinking of, March 9, 1943 by Lt.(jg) William H. Arpaia, USNR. accessed at http://www.armed-guard.com/dork.html, June 4, 2023.

Year: 1940; Census Place: Burlington, Otsego, New York; Roll:m-t0627-02716; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 39-1

If you notice anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at nez13820@gmail.com

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