Description

United States. Air Force. Fighter Squadron, 391stThe interview is available online at Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/milcolloh567mercer. James Edward Mercer was born on March 10, 1944, in Rocky Mount, N.C., to Frank and Marie Mercer. In 1962, Mercer graduated from Swift Creek High School, a segregated African-American school in Whitakers, N.C. He joined the U.S. Air Force in early 1964. Mercer completed his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He finished aircraft mechanic training at Amarillo Air Force Base, Texas. Upon the completion of his training, Mercer was stationed at Holloman Air Force Base in Otero County, New Mexico. In January 1966, Mercer deployed to Vietnam for the Vietnam War. He served as an aircraft mechanic in the 391st Fighter Squadron, stationed at Cam Ranh Air Base in Khánh Hòa Province, South Vietnam. He returned to the United States in January 1967. Mercer was stationed at George Air Force Base in Victorville, California, for the remainder of his military service. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force in the spring of 1968, having reached the rank of Staf

Record Contributed By

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

Record Harvested From

North Carolina Digital Heritage Center