Isaac Mercer was drafted and inducted into the Army in early 1952. He arrived in Korea in February 1953. His unit served on the front lines near Heartbreak Ridge. In June 1953, Mercer earned the Bronze Star for valor.
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Caption
Isaac Mercer posing, in the middle, with some buddies at the AAA Baseball Camp in Roberts, California in 1952.
Where:
Camp in Roberts, California
When:
1952
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Isaac Mercer (left) writes home at the end of July, 1953, following the cease-fire in Korea. They called their temporary home the ‘Conrad Hilton.’
Where:
Unknown
When:
July, 1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Isaac Mercer (left) with a buddy photographed behind the lines in July 1953, following the ceasefire.
Where:
Unknown
When:
July 1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Photographed at the unit’s base camp in late July 1953, Isaac Mercer (in the center) receives U.S. Korean Service Medal.
Where:
Unknown
When:
late July, 1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
In August 1953, Isaac Mercer is awarded the Good Conduct Medal at the unit’s camp, south of Seoul.
Where:
south of Seoul
When:
August, 1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Isaac Mercer sits down to pen a letter home in the unit’s Quonset hut in early August 1953. Pictured with him are several of the unit’s NCOs.
Where:
Unknown
When:
early August, 1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Isaac Mercer (on the left) in the CQ quarters in 1953.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
“At last,” Mercer remarked, they had “sleeping tents instead of fox holes and trenches; our Conrad Hilton.”
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Isaac Mercer, on the right, writes home from his Quonset hut dining room after the ceasefire in July, 1953.
Where:
Unknown
When:
July, 1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Keeping in touch with his family, Isaac Mercer writes home while at the unit’s base camp south of Seoul, in August, 1953. Mail call was an important event for the troops.
Where:
south of Seoul
When:
August, 1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
In August 1953, Isaac Mercer received the Korean Presidential Unit Citation Medal.
Where:
Unknown
When:
August, 1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Isaac Mercer received the Bronze Star Medal for valor, in Sep 1953. Mercer displayed courage and heroism on July 16, 1953, as his unit defended an outpost during a mortar and artillery barrage against enemy troops who had infiltrated the trenches.
Where:
Unknown
When:
September, 1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bronze Star Medal for heroic achievement in connection with military operations against armed enemy. Instrumental in saving the lives of several of his comrades.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
On November 18, 1953, the night before Isaac shipped out of Korea, he attended a party given in his honor. Included in the photo are Lieutenants Kelly and Gerke, to Kelly’s left. Mercer is in the front, left.
Where:
Unknown
When:
November 18, 1953
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Isaac Mercer is pictured with his wife, Earlene Mercer in 2008 while they attended a service at the Macedonia Baptist Church in Rockford, officiated by their son Michael. The two were married on July 19, 1951.
Where:
Macedonia Baptist Church in Rockford, Illinois
When:
2008
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo