Born on the Fourth of July

A veteran of three wars, Lathrop’s Merle Green will celebrate his 100th birthday on Independence Day

Both previously widowed, Merle and Millie Green hoped when they were married in 1984 they would get
10 good years together. They’ve been blessed with nearly four decades of marriage.

By Brett Adkison, Leader Editor 

In August of 1945, Merle Green stood on his family’s Winston, Mo., farm, a pitchfork in hand, as they began their annual harvest. The workers implored the 24-year-old sergeant to slow down because of the heat, but he hadn’t noticed – he was on 30 days rest leave, and after serving in the South Pacific, Northwest Missouri didn’t seem as hot as it once did.

Merle’s mother came from the house with her hands over her head:

The war is over! The war is over!

Throughout the world, people found themselves celebrating the end of the war in the Pacific, and finally, the last chapter of World War II. But here in Missouri, so far from the action, Merle felt another emotion.

“After the day was over and we had nothing to do, I got to the house and I had an awful feeling of being lonesome,” Merle says on the porch of his Lathrop home, nearly 76 years later. “All the friends I had and the hardships we went through. I just walked around the house and felt so lonesome. I couldn’t be with my friends and celebrate what we had accomplished.”

Being lonesome isn’t a problem Merle suffers from today, not with his wife, Millie, by his side, along with their expansive family and numerous friends and neighbors. And as this week goes on and the nation celebrates its independence, Merle will have plenty of people to keep him company.

After serving in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, Merle Green and his family will be celebrating his 100th birthday on Sunday, July 4 – Independence Day.

​“One of his granddaughters, when she was little, she thought it was neat that we always had a big party on the Fourth of July for grandpa,” Millie said. “But she didn’t realize that the Fourth of July was the nation’s anniversary, too. She thought it was really neat they had fireworks and everything for grandpa’s birthday.”

I want to tell the world that war is hell. But, if you’re in it, you’ve got to pick up and go. You have to have that determination and strength and love of country.

Merle Green in Guadalcanal in 1943

Merle thanks God for his health and appreciates the time that is has afforded him. Both previously widowed, Merle and Millie married in 1984 and combined their families. At the time, they hoped for 10 good years together before they slowed down.

That was nearly four decades ago.

​​“You can’t survive by yourself,” said Merle, a lesson he learned flying during World War II. “You have to have help. I appreciate my family. They’ve been a lot of support to me. I want to tell the world that war is hell. But, if you’re in it, you’ve got to pick up and go. You have to have that determination and strength and love of country.”

Merle enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in the summer of 1942. After training, he was sent to the 64th Troop Carrier Squadron as an aircraft mechanic. Over the course of World War II, he flew for 1,500 hours, including time over the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

He flew over the North Pole on three occasions. “It’s no big deal as long as the plane keeps running,” he joked.

He recalls one flight trip in the South Pacific when he and his crew-mates were testing out a new pilot. He was smart, but a bit of a hot shot. When the pilot declined to go around an ominous storm, Merle asked his crew pilot if he was going to let the rookie take such a big chance. The veteran responded it was best that the rookie learn a lesson about going around storms.

They immediately hit a down draft and the plane fell from the sky. Merle shifted the plane down a gear as the two pilots pulled as hard as they could on the sticks. Suddenly, the plane was going upward with the same intensity.

They had flown into a typhoon.

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Those who want to wish Merle a happy 100th birthday can do so on Sunday. He and Millie will be sitting outside of their home at 621 Valley Street in Lathrop from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. so that friends can drive-by, wave, honk, and drop off cards. There will be a large drive-by celebration at 12:15 p.m. (meet at the elementary parking lot).