WWI Profile: Dorman L. Mercer 1894-1996

Dorman L. Mercer
Bolivia, Brunswick County, NC
National Guard
Wagoner

Served:
July 24, 1917 – May 12, 1919
Overseas:
October 18, 1917 – April 24, 1919
Wounded: July 27, 1918
Gassed

Reprinted with permission from The Brunswick Beacon

Note: Dorman Mercer was the first Brunswick County WWI Profile published in the blog. Because the profiles following his became more detailed, his profile has been rewritten. Read the new post here.

On Veterans Day 1987, 93-year old Dorman L Mercer of Bolivia, NC, was interviewed by The Brunswick Beacon.

“I was a wagoner, and I drove trucks and mules in wagon trains. Our work was to haul ammunition to the front, and picks, shovels, and barbed wire for the engineers to use.”

Stationed about 10 miles from the heavy fighting, Mercer and his fellow wagoners were called on to deliver ammunition and supplies to the front lines at all hours of the day or night, and he had several “close calls.”

The roads he traveled were the most dangerous because “that’s what the Germans were shelling,” he said.

Once while retreating from the front, a German shell hit the roof of a nearby house and showered Mercer with shrapnel and debris.

Less than two weeks later, he was gassed in an engagement and required medical treatment, although he said his injuries “didn’t amount to much.”

He said some of his experiences in the war would be better off forgotten.

Read the entire article in the DigitalNC Newspaper Archives: The Brunswick Beacon; Nov 12, 1987; Section B

Dorman L. Mercer was laid to rest on December 6, 1996, at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Bolivia, NC. He was 102.


If you would like to help us honor Dorman L Mercer or another Brunswick County WWI veteran, please use the following links:

Click here for the announcement: Announcement: Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran
Click here for directions to donate and honor a veteran: How to Honor a Brunswick County World War I Veteran

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