Mr. Merchant was a West Point area resident who joined the Navy and was assigned to a task force engaged in naval combat operation against Japan. Seaman Merchant lost his life in the service of his country when his ship, the USS Juneau was attacked by hostile Japanese forces in 1942, and sunk during the naval engagement of Guadalcanal. He was survived by a brother, Earnest L. Merchant, who also fought in the Pacific theater of operations as a membor of the U. S. Army. In May, 1944, Seaman Merchant was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. His parents were Mr. and Mrs. Raymond R. Merchant of Cairo.