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Saint Peter's Cemetery

Born:  August 21, 1926 at Staten Island, NY

Entered Service in the US Army from Staten Island, NY

Earned The Medal of Honor During World War II For heroism April 18, 1945 at Lohe, Germany

Private Merrell made a gallant, one man attack against superior enemy forces near Lohe, Germany when his unit was pinned down by brutal enemy fire. On his own initiative, he began a single-handed assault. He ran 100 yards through concentrated fire, and at pointblank range engaged four Germans with his rifle, killing all of them. As he started forward again his rifle was smashed by a sniper's bullet, leaving him armed only with three grenades. He zigzagged 200 yards through a hail of bullets to within ten yards of the first machinegun, hurled two grenades and then rushed the position ready to fight with his bare hands if necessary. In the emplacement he seized a Luger pistol and killed what Germans had survived the grenade. Rearmed, he crawled toward the second machinegun 30 yards away, killing four Germans on the way though receiving a critical wound in the abdomen. Pressing on, staggering, bleeding, disregarding bullets which tore through the folds of his clothing and glanced off his helmet, he threw his last grenade into the machinegun nest and stumbled on to wipe out the crew before he was killed. In his spectacular one-man attack Private Merrell killed two dozen enemy in order to facilitate his comrades' advance.