Veteran Name: Merle Derscheid
Branch of Service: US Navy
Years in Service: 1937-1941
Year Interviewed: 2016
Merle Derscheid
Merle Derscheid was born on February 3rd, 1919 at a farm in South Dakota during a blizzard. He was amongst two brothers and a sister who were all “A students” and he admits that he was not as smart as the others. Since, he was born during the Depression, it was hard to find work or food. He got an eighteen-hour day job at a farm and earned about 25 cents a week, which was two thirds of a penny every hour. Due to these conditions, he graduated high school, moved to Wolsey, South Dakota and joined the US Navy, so he was able to get a job and earn money to buy food.
He joined the US Navy in 1937 when he was eighteen years old. He went to a boot camp in Chicago, Illinois to receive basic training, such as learning how to march. He was amazed to see all the food they had there which made him very happy. During training, he figured out that his passion in the Navy was to sail a ship. Derscheid served in the Navy from 1937-1941 and had gotten out of the Navy six weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked. He then got married on November 30, 1941, six days before Pearl Harbor to his wife, whom he was married to for 72 years. After Pearl Harbor, two and a half years later, he then signed up for the Merchant Marines, which took fuel and aid to the men fighting.
He attended the Maritime Academy and in the Merchant Marines, Derscheid became a navigational officer and the 2nd mate of the ship. The job of a navigational officer consisted of finding the longitude and latitude, citing the sun at 12 noon, and lining the chronometers (clock). As a navigational officer, Derscheid did not have a lot of time off however he was able to eat with the captain, which is considered an honor. Derscheid was also the second mate in which he was in charge of the navigation, was the one to set the location, and be able to get to the charted location.
With more jobs created in the Navy, they were able to increase the speed of manufacturing ship. They were able to build a ship in a span of one day. With theses advancements people in the Navy, such as Merle Derscheid, were promoted to higher positions. Not only was Derscheid a navigational officer and the 2nd mate, he also had the opportunity to learn medicine because there was not a doctor on board. He was able give treatment to injured soldiers, such as one soldier who had swelling and eventually cured him.
During this time, Derscheid was a Merchant Marine, which meant that he wasn’t able to shoot or fight. Their job was to take fuel and aid to the men fighting. They were able to travel around the world to drop off military supplies to the soldiers. Derscheid also made many close friendships. All his friends were very close to him, so close that they were able to take a shower together. They played games and also experienced the bitter parts of the war together.
Today Merle Derscheid is 97 years old. He is an active singer, writer and storyteller. He wrote a book called “I Walked This Way: The Merle Derscheid Story” in 2012. He has four grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and four great great grandchildren. He says that he wants to bring joy to people and he says we should do it by being ourselves.