Aaron Stanton Merrill

One of the most outstanding American Naval Officers in World War II was Admiral Aaron (Tip) Stanton Merrill, a Natchez native.

During the war, he won several honors for many of the naval battles he was engaged in. He also is credited with being the first admiral to successfully direct the firing on and sinking of an enemy vessel with just radar for guidance.

Merrill was born on March 26, 1890, at Brandon Hall in Stanton. He received his early education at the Natchez Institute and attended the Navy Preparatory School before entering the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1908.

During his years at the academy, he was a member of the boxing, wrestling and gym teams. He graduated on June 7, 1912, and received his ensign commission the following day. During World War I he served aboard the destroyer USS Roe and later aboard the USS Conyngham.

For a time he trained officers for duty on destroyers, but the last few months of the war he served aboard the USS Aylwin.

He remained in the navy after the war, and in early 1941 he was assigned by the navy to teach Naval Science and Tactics at Tulane University in New Orleans. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941 and the U.S. entered into World War II, Merrill was relieved of his duties at Tulane and appointed commander of the USS Battleship Indiana in April 1942.

By November, he and his ship were with the U.S. fleet in the South Pacific to fight the Japanese. In February 1943, he was promoted to rear admiral and given command of Task Force 36.2. This task force guarded the Solomon Island area for the following year.

It was on the night of March 4, 1943, that he won fame for his use of radar. On that night, he was leading a cruiser-destroyer task force off the Kula Gulf in the Solomon Islands, when radar detected the presence of two enemy warships. Not waiting for an actual sighting, he ordered his ships to open fire, and both enemy vessels were sunk.

This was the first recorded case of radar being used to detect and direct fire to sink an enemy vessel without a visual sighting.

During the war, Merrill was decorated several times for his successes in battle. He earned the Legion of Merit, the Gold Star in lieu of Second Legion of Merit, the Navy Cross, and the Distinguished Service Medal, among others. From June 1944 to April 1945, he served as the director of Navy public relations. On Jan. 3, 1946 he commanded the Eighth Naval District in New Orleans, and in June his command was extended to include command of the Gulf Coast Frontier.

He retired from the navy in November 1947 with the honorary rank of Vice Admiral.

His retirement at the age of only 57 may have come about because of a speech he gave in 1946, criticizing President Harry S Truman's plan to unify the armed services, when Merrill stated that this would weaken the Navy. Truman ordered that this "lobbying" against his plan by the navy be stopped, and a year later Merrill retired from active service.

He retired to Natchez, and he again achieved national attention by his support of Jefferson Military College, after the school's rejection of a local oil man's offer of a large endowment that came with the stipulations that "Negroes and Jews" be excluded from the school.
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For whatever the amount, Merrill led a fundraising drive that raised $6,500 to repay a loan that Armstrong had already advanced the school, and Merrill later became president of Jefferson Military College.
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For whatever the amount, Merrill led a fundraising drive that raised $6,500 to repay a loan that Armstrong had already advanced the school, and Merrill later became president of Jefferson Military College.
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A nice article, but no mention that the USS Merrill (DD-976), was named for Rear Admiral Aaron Stanton Merrill.

The USS Merrill was a Spruance-class destroyer laid down June 16, 1975 by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Division of Litton Industries at Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was launched September 1, 1976 and commissioned March 11, 1978. Merrill was decommissioned and stricken 26 March 1998 awaiting disposal at Pearl Harbor Naval Intermediate Ship Maintenance Facility. On 1 August 2003 she was sunk as a target northwest of Hawaii.

Aaron S. 'Tip' Merrill
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Rear Admiral Merrill was famous during WWII as commander of Task Force 39, leading American Naval Forces during the Soloman Islands Campaign.

Task Force 39 was comprised of Crusier Division 12 (CRUDIV 12) and Destroyer Squadron 23 - (The Little Beavers). The task force was know for their hard-driving nature, their precise use of artillery, and their overall success in the Pacific Theater.

Among many other achievements, during a night engagement against the Imperial Japanese Navy, Admiral Merrill was noted as the first US Navy officer to use radar in wartime.

Aaron S. 'Tip' Merrill
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Rear Admiral Merrill was famous during WWII as commander of Task Force 39, leading American Naval Forces during the Soloman Islands Campaign.

Task Force 39 was comprised of Crusier Division 12 (CRUDIV 12) and Destroyer Squadron 23 - (The Little Beavers). The task force was know for their hard-driving nature, their precise use of artillery, and their overall success in the Pacific Theater.

Among many other achievements, during a night engagement against the Imperial Japanese Navy, Admiral Merrill was noted as the first US Navy officer to use radar in wartime.

Phoenix teacher Aaron Merrill, who coordinated Gilley's visit, said Phoenix House will gather a student committee to prepare schoolwide activities to observe Peace Day on Sept. 21.

Later, Admiral "Bull" Halsey visited the Montpelier and commended Admiral Merrill and the crew for a brave job well done.
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Rear Admiral Aaron Stanton Merrill would be transferred to the states for reassignment. Since January 1943, Admiral Merrill was aboard Montpelier as his flagship where all battles were commanded.
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"Sunday, March 26, 1944: ... At 10:30 A.M. all hands assembled aft on the fantail to see Rear Admiral Aaron Stanton Merrill for the last time.