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Army Hero's Actions Earn A New Honor

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By JOYCE McKENZIE

jmckenzie@tampatrib.com

Published: December 24, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - James Cherry's military comrades consider him an American hero.

The retired U.S. Army Special Operations staff sergeant fought in five combat zones during his 1990-96 tenure, incurring several injuries that included a dislocated shoulder and a bullet wound to the chest.

For his many acts of gallantry, Cherry, 39, was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, Airborne Ranger tabs and the Meritorious Service Medal.

Connie Blaney, one of his civilian companions, also calls Cherry a "hero" and a man still bent on saving the lives of his comrades at home.

It was she who nominated him for the 2008 Hillsborough County Brave Citizen Award. The honor was presented to him Oct. 22 by the county commission.

Cherry's first act of local bravery happened one evening when one of his roommates at Liberty Manor - one of four facilities that houses honorably discharged homeless veterans - complained of chest pains.

Cherry, a former firefighter and paramedic, promptly took the man's blood pressure and, seeing it elevated, called 911.

Another occasion happened while Blaney, Liberty Manor's founder and administrator, was outside chatting with Cherry. He said he smelled smoke and then spotted flames coming from a neighbor's home. Cherry quickly made his way to the house and broke a window to rescue the woman inside.

"He scaled three fences," Blaney said. "It was unbelievable."

Blaney made it her mission to have Cherry's once-estranged children - Kayla, 12, and Zachary, 10 - at the ceremony to witness the caring, courageous side of their father. He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which causes him to sometimes act erratically. And because of his erratic actions, his former wife and children broke off contact.

The disorder has left him with haunting memories of death and starving children, migraine headaches and the inability to sleep at night. As a result, he is incapable of holding a job.

"This was a grand opportunity for his kids to see that James is a great person who, because of his illness, has fallen upon hard times. He's been living for 11 years trying to disguise it, but they are understanding more and more what James has had to live with," said Blaney, who is in the process of having him admitted for treatment at Bay Pines VA Medical Center in Pinellas County.

Cherry, the associate director at Liberty Manor, is grateful to Blaney for saving his life at a time when he contemplated suicide.

"There is nothing that has been invented to describe the thanks and the love we have for Connie," he said. "For me to repay her, I'd redo my time in the military."

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849.

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