Ames Youth Follows Father’s Steps by Enlisting as Airman
AMES, (AP) – James Merrick, 20, son of an Iowa air ace in World War I, Wednesday was believed to be the first Iowan to follow his father’s footsteps by enlisting in the army air corps.
Merrick, son of C. I. Merrick, manager of the Iowa Electric Light and Power company, Ames, enlisted and is expected to report for training soon at Bakersfield, Cal.
The youth’s father was one of about 12 Iowans who saw air action in the last war. He flew overseas for 18 months, first with an American unit of which Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker was a member, and later with the French squadron, Lafayette Esendrille.
The elder Merrick was credited with destroying three enemy aircraft and was awarded the Croix de Guerve by the French government. His son recently attended Iowa State college [present-day Iowa State University, Ames, IA].
Source: The Globe Gazette, Mason City, Iowa, Thursday, January 08, 1942
James Lee Merrick was born Sept. 17, 1920 to Charles Irvin and Norma Lee Merrick. He died Mar. 10, 1999 and is buried in Ames Municipal Cemetery, Ames, IA.
Major Merrick served in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps as an instructor for B-29 Super-fortress planes at McCook Army Air Field. He was awarded the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross.
Source: ancestry.com
