Gerald M. Bloomfield II
Major, United States Marine Corps
November 15, 1966 – November 2, 2005
Age – 38
Fowlerville, Michigan
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, 1 Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA
Killed when his Super Cobra helicopter crashed flying in support of security and stabilization operations near Ramadi, Iraq
Gerald M. Bloomfield was born in Detroit, graduated from Fowlerville High School in 1984 and from Eastern Michigan. At Eastern Michigan University he earned double degrees in math and physics and before graduating, he joined the Marines and became an officer and pilot. He also earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering.
Passion was something major Gerald Bloomfield had in spades. As a kid in the 80s, he was known around Fowlerville as a daredevil, a free spirit. His sisters remember once how Jerry, or Jer as they called him, got stuck with a friend on a frozen lake. They were doing donuts and the car went into the lake, and they just sat on the hood and laughed.
Years later, married and with a son, he was a career military man who believed in the job he was doing in Iraq. His sister Paula said, “By being there, he was protecting us and everything we have here.” And he also believed in the freedom and the future of the country he was fighting in. He wrote about it in email sent home.
His sister Kate said, “It’s not a 3rd world country. I believe it has hope. He wanted them to experience some of the same freedoms we have here.” And it’s his sisters wish that people who knew her brother in Fowlerville understand this, as well as the people of Iraq and in the country he was so proud to defend. “He would fly high and see the green and know things were changing,” his father, Gerald Bloomfield, said of his son’s experiences in Iraq. He’d see “power lines going up – all the stuff you don’t hear about in the news, all the good things going on. He was optimistic about a country coming back.”
When something funny happened, there was no question of who was behind it. He never let an opportunity for a dare pass him by. Bloomfield II and some of his friends once toilet-papered a friend’s car, and another time during band “initiation” older members turned him upside down and stuck him in a garbage can.
He was remembered by fellow Marines with the following tributes.
Gerald Bloomfield was the kind of leader I still strive to be. Nov 1st 2005 He approached me at breakfast and said that he was too harsh in the way he corrected me for an issue there was on the flight line. I began to say that I deserved to be disciplined when looking me square in the eyes, then Major Bloomfield said You didn’t deserve it, and I wanted you to know you are all doing a great job out there. That was the last time we spoke and I have been privileged to serve with such a terrific leader who was unafraid to be brash or humble at the right times.
Eric Sowers
November 01, 2019 | Lansdowne, PA
So I remember when Maj. Bloomfield would come into Maintenance Control at HMLA-369 when we where in Iraq. He would always walk up through the counter that had swinging doors like an old cowboy saloon, like a real Gunfighter back from them ol’ Western days. Right up over to where the parts were ordered and say to me, “Well Cpl Swan, just like my plane captain keeps my snake fresh so do you Swan” ,and he would thank me and give me a pat on the back and smile then walk away. Did not put two and two together until I knew he was talking about, Until one day he help me out with a logistics problem between us(Marines) and the Air Force. You see I was the one guy in the unit who orders all the aircraft parts the Expeditor. I supplied HMLA-369 Marines in Iraq with fresh aircraft parts. Maj. Bloomfield supply ALL the Marines on the Ground with amazing air support from his AH-1W Super Cobra, with Leadership with always a friendly smile, and a pat on the back. He was an amazing smart man who knew the whole system of the MAGTF and it’s logistics. He was a Marine Officer we Enlisted all looked too and inspired to be. A true leader. HE always came to bat for me when there was supply issues with the big brass. I can not believe it has been almost six years since Gunshot 66. Maj. Bloomfield “Beav” it was an honor to serve with you. Thank You. I and your Gunfighters of HMLA-369 Will Never Forget!
-Robert Swan
a Corporal of Marines
Expeditor for HMLA-369
OIF – Ar Ramadi, Iraq