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name
MERRITT, Thomas J - Date of
birth
30 January 1925 -
Age
19 - Place of
birth
Duluth, St. Louis County, Minnesota -
Hometown
Duluth, St. Louis County, Minnesota
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-535417 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
Platoon Commander -
Unit
C Company,
1st Battalion,
508th Parachute Infantry Regiment,
82nd Airborne Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
11 October 1944 - Place of
death
Vicinity of Bemmel, The Netherlands
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| G | 3 | 10 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Carleton Merritt (father)
Mae Carroll Merritt (mother)
Sallie Merritt (sister)
Napoleon B. Merritt (grandfather)
More information
2nd Lt Thomas J. Merritt attended Shattuck Military Academy at Faribault, Minnesota and was an avid hockey player. He enlisted in the U.S. Army prior to graduation and entered basic training immediately after leaving school. On completion of basic training he was assigned to officer candidate school at Fort Benning, Ga., and was commissioned in the infantry in December, 1943 when he was 18. Lt Merritt was sent to England in June 1944 and took paratroop training in that country, joining an airborne infantry division. He didn't participate in the Normandy invasion, he was assigned to the 508th as a replacement platoon leader in C Company. He was killed north of the Waal River.He was temporarily buried, October 13, 1944 at the Molenhoek Cemetery (Grave E-3-73), alongside the Nijmegen-Malden-Mook Highway.
Source of information: Astrid van Erp, Ronald Merritt, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.fold3.com, Basher82, www.findagrave.com
Photo source: Basher82, Newspaper Article