F/O Richard G Mercer T-60767 was born on the 27th of December 1920 in Paris, Lamar County Texas but spent his youth living in Wichita Falls, Texas. On the 20th of December 1941 he married Norma Jo Pierce in Muskogee, Oklahoma and having just celebrated his 21st birthday a week after his marriage, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps on the 30th of December 1941 at Sheppard Field, Wichita Falls, Texas.
During his time as an enlisted man going through basic training, Mercer's serial number would be 18065939. It is unclear what Mercer's profession was after he had completed basic training. Was his desire to become a pilot or aircrew? However, the Air Corps was at this time throughout 1942 were trawling for volunteers for their Glider programme. Mercer was one of these volunteers and enrolled to become a Glider Pilot. He began his advanced training at Stuttgart Army Airfield, Arkansas in February 1943 enrolling in class 43-3.
After qualifying as a Glider Pilot he was transferred to the 86th Troop Carrier Squadron, 437th Troop Carrier Group. Throughout 1943, Mercer would continuously fly the CG-4A Glider, under increasingly more difficult scenarios especially night manoeuvres with a fully loaded glider. The 437th Troop Carrier Group knew that their time in the USA was coming to an end when more and more briefings about Europe and specifically England were given to the men. On the 25th of December 1943, the 437th was notified that all personnel would be restricted to base at Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina and on the 30th of December 1943, all Glider Pilots and ground staff bade farewell to Pope and embarked by train to Baer Field, Indiana. Baer Field was a processing centre for the Air Corps and this was the final place where all necessary administration, clothing and briefings were given before departing for the ETO.
Whilst the air echelon departed for England in their C-47's travelling the southern route, the ground echelon including the Glider Pilots departed Baer Field for Camp Shanks, NY and on the 29th of January 1944, Mercer, his fellow Glider Pilots and the rest of the ground staff boarded the RMS Mauretania at Piermont, NY. The RMS Mauretania set sail down the Hudson River passing the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan and giving everybody onboard their last view of America before entering the Atlantic Ocean. Ten days later the shores of England could be seen and they finally docked at Liverpool Harbour. There was no time to stop as an immediate train journey would take them all on a three hour train ride during the night to their final destination of Hungerford, a small town in the county of Berkshire. Trucks were awaiting them and took Mercer and the entire staff three miles into the county of Wiltshire and to their 'home' of Ramsbury Airfield.
CG-4A gliders had already been assembled at the airfield and training commenced as soon as the camp was established. However, the British were flying a larger type of glider known as the Airspeed Horsa. Each squadron of the 437th were assigned several Horsas and all Glider Pilots were checked out on this wooden wonder. Although not as manoeuvrable or popular as the CG-4A, the Horsa was felt to be a capable glider under the right circumstances. Training intensified for the 437th and large Group glider formations was flown day and night culminating in Exercise Eagle on the 20th of May 1944. It was becoming apparent that the 437th was going to be one of the primary Groups assigned the Glider role during the upcoming invasion of Europe.
On the 1st of June 1944, Ramsbury Airfield was sealed off and then began the briefings to the combat crews of their destination for the invasion of Europe. D-Day as it would be known and the location would be Normandy. The 437th would fly three serials of gliders – Serial 28 Mission Detroit, Serial 30 Mission Elmira and Serial 34 Mission Galveston. F/O Richard Mercer was assigned to be pilot of Horsa Glider serial LJ135 with 2nd Lt George Parker as Co-Pilot in Serial 34, scheduled to fly 24 hours after the invasion. Due to the postponement of the invasion due to weather, the invasion began in the early hours of the 6th of June 1944 with the paradrops of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions by other Troop Carrier Groups although C-47's and crews from the 85th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 437th Troop Carrier Group were assigned to the 436th Troop Carrier Group for the paradrop. The first of the glider serials (Serial 28) departed Ramsbury Airfield at around 2am on the 6th of June.
In the early hours of the 7th of June 1944, it was time to prepare for the third glider serial for the 437th. Serial 34 of Mission Galveston involved 17 Horsa and 32 CG-4A Waco gliders from the 437th TCG and would carry 717 glider infantrymen from 1st Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and engineers from A Company, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. Serial 34 would also carry 17 jeeps, 9 field artillery pieces and close to 20,000 lbs of ammunition and equipment. Mercer and Parker's Horsa, serial LJ135 would carry 28 men from A Company, 325th GIR and their Commanding Officer, 1st Lt Jim A Gayley. A copy of the original Mission Order #3 shows that Mercer and Parker had the honour of being in glider position 1 in Serial 34 of Mission Galveston, with the Commanding Officer of the 437th TCG, Col Cedric E Hudgens flying the C-47 tow plane.
Their destination was supposed to be Landing Zone 'W' in an area just east of Chef du Pont, however reports returning from Serial 30 of Mission Elmira which had landed at 2110 on the 6th of June, indicated that there was heavy ground fire in the vicinity of LZ 'W' therefore permission was obtained from the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing to change the route and landing zone for Mission Galveston. The new landing zone was located about a mile west of St. Marie du Mont and fringed the eastern edge of Landing Zone 'E'.
Serial 34 with Col Hudgens in C-47 43-15160 leading the mission with Horsa LJ135 in tow took off from Ramsbury Airfield at 0439 with the entire formation taking 35 minutes to take to the air. The weather conditions over England were quite poor with low visibility, rain and gusty winds. Not ideal for a large glider tow mission to formate onto each other. One Horsa had to abort whilst on the ground due to exceeding its maximum weight of 8,000 lbs and another Horsa was accidentally released over the airfield.
The formation followed the navigational beacons of FLATBUSH and GALLUP where the further south they flew, the weather began improving. The low cloud began breaking and the rain stopped, giving good visibility. Upon reaching GALLUP the formation turned left and the remainder of the route was flown by pilotage and dead reckoning. The sun had risen by then and the Normandy coastline was plainly visible as well as the allied naval armada which was present around Utah beach.
Serial 34 arrived over the LZ area at 0655, some 5 minutes ahead of schedule. The formation came in low at an altitude of between 300 to 200 feet and released the gliders at that height. At this extremely low height, it gave the Glider Pilots only some half a mile of gliding in their loaded gliders or approximately 30 seconds to identify a good location for landing, make the turn and get the glider configured for landing.
Horsa LJ135 with Mercer and Parker at the controls was released between St. Marie du Mont and the hamlet of le Holdy. The field that they selected was approximately 200m in length and 160m in width with what appears to be a shallow stream at one end. Three sides of the field were surrounded by tall trees. Some 200m from the field lay a German Artillery position with four 105mm cannons positioned to fire on Utah Beach and exit causeway No. 1 which ran inland towards Pouppeville. Luckily the position had been captured by the 101st Airborne on the 6th of June.
The glider catastrophically impacted the field, slid some 20 metres breaking up in the process and ended up on its back killing F/O Richard Mercer and 14 passengers.
It is believed that Mercer's body was initially buried a mile from the crash site at the temporary cemetery at Château de Colombières in Hiesville before being interred and re-buried at Blosville cemetery near Les Forges. Mercer's family wanted to bring their son home and began the process of repatriating his body back to his home town of Wichita Falls. He was then buried at the Crestview Memorial Park cemetery where his grave remains.
Whilst researching the famous photograph of Horsa Glider serial LJ135 it was apparent that there was a poignant human element to the photograph which is abundantly clear from the row of bodies in front of the glider. The search to find out more about F/O Richard Mercer gathered apace and one thing that eluded me was a photograph of him. I was desperate to put a face to the name and through the help of some great researchers in the US, we were able to track down his daughter. What followed was a series of photographs of her father before he departed for England and one photograph of his grave marker at the Blosville Cemetery.
I travel to Normandy every year for the D-Day commemorations and on the morning of the 7th of June, I will visit the scene of the crash site and say a little prayer to him.
I must thank the following people for their assistance during my research:-
The family of Richard Mercer
National WWII Glider Pilots Association
Katey Mishler
Brian Siddall
Neil Stevens
Pat Curran/Whitebeam Battlefield Research Forum
Mark Bando
Philippe Esvelin
Patrick Elie
Larry Thompson
Source: Honouring IX Troop Carrier Command via Facebook.
During his time as an enlisted man going through basic training, Mercer's serial number would be 18065939. It is unclear what Mercer's profession was after he had completed basic training. Was his desire to become a pilot or aircrew? However, the Air Corps was at this time throughout 1942 were trawling for volunteers for their Glider programme. Mercer was one of these volunteers and enrolled to become a Glider Pilot. He began his advanced training at Stuttgart Army Airfield, Arkansas in February 1943 enrolling in class 43-3.
After qualifying as a Glider Pilot he was transferred to the 86th Troop Carrier Squadron, 437th Troop Carrier Group. Throughout 1943, Mercer would continuously fly the CG-4A Glider, under increasingly more difficult scenarios especially night manoeuvres with a fully loaded glider. The 437th Troop Carrier Group knew that their time in the USA was coming to an end when more and more briefings about Europe and specifically England were given to the men. On the 25th of December 1943, the 437th was notified that all personnel would be restricted to base at Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina and on the 30th of December 1943, all Glider Pilots and ground staff bade farewell to Pope and embarked by train to Baer Field, Indiana. Baer Field was a processing centre for the Air Corps and this was the final place where all necessary administration, clothing and briefings were given before departing for the ETO.
Whilst the air echelon departed for England in their C-47's travelling the southern route, the ground echelon including the Glider Pilots departed Baer Field for Camp Shanks, NY and on the 29th of January 1944, Mercer, his fellow Glider Pilots and the rest of the ground staff boarded the RMS Mauretania at Piermont, NY. The RMS Mauretania set sail down the Hudson River passing the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan and giving everybody onboard their last view of America before entering the Atlantic Ocean. Ten days later the shores of England could be seen and they finally docked at Liverpool Harbour. There was no time to stop as an immediate train journey would take them all on a three hour train ride during the night to their final destination of Hungerford, a small town in the county of Berkshire. Trucks were awaiting them and took Mercer and the entire staff three miles into the county of Wiltshire and to their 'home' of Ramsbury Airfield.
CG-4A gliders had already been assembled at the airfield and training commenced as soon as the camp was established. However, the British were flying a larger type of glider known as the Airspeed Horsa. Each squadron of the 437th were assigned several Horsas and all Glider Pilots were checked out on this wooden wonder. Although not as manoeuvrable or popular as the CG-4A, the Horsa was felt to be a capable glider under the right circumstances. Training intensified for the 437th and large Group glider formations was flown day and night culminating in Exercise Eagle on the 20th of May 1944. It was becoming apparent that the 437th was going to be one of the primary Groups assigned the Glider role during the upcoming invasion of Europe.
On the 1st of June 1944, Ramsbury Airfield was sealed off and then began the briefings to the combat crews of their destination for the invasion of Europe. D-Day as it would be known and the location would be Normandy. The 437th would fly three serials of gliders – Serial 28 Mission Detroit, Serial 30 Mission Elmira and Serial 34 Mission Galveston. F/O Richard Mercer was assigned to be pilot of Horsa Glider serial LJ135 with 2nd Lt George Parker as Co-Pilot in Serial 34, scheduled to fly 24 hours after the invasion. Due to the postponement of the invasion due to weather, the invasion began in the early hours of the 6th of June 1944 with the paradrops of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions by other Troop Carrier Groups although C-47's and crews from the 85th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 437th Troop Carrier Group were assigned to the 436th Troop Carrier Group for the paradrop. The first of the glider serials (Serial 28) departed Ramsbury Airfield at around 2am on the 6th of June.
In the early hours of the 7th of June 1944, it was time to prepare for the third glider serial for the 437th. Serial 34 of Mission Galveston involved 17 Horsa and 32 CG-4A Waco gliders from the 437th TCG and would carry 717 glider infantrymen from 1st Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and engineers from A Company, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. Serial 34 would also carry 17 jeeps, 9 field artillery pieces and close to 20,000 lbs of ammunition and equipment. Mercer and Parker's Horsa, serial LJ135 would carry 28 men from A Company, 325th GIR and their Commanding Officer, 1st Lt Jim A Gayley. A copy of the original Mission Order #3 shows that Mercer and Parker had the honour of being in glider position 1 in Serial 34 of Mission Galveston, with the Commanding Officer of the 437th TCG, Col Cedric E Hudgens flying the C-47 tow plane.
Their destination was supposed to be Landing Zone 'W' in an area just east of Chef du Pont, however reports returning from Serial 30 of Mission Elmira which had landed at 2110 on the 6th of June, indicated that there was heavy ground fire in the vicinity of LZ 'W' therefore permission was obtained from the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing to change the route and landing zone for Mission Galveston. The new landing zone was located about a mile west of St. Marie du Mont and fringed the eastern edge of Landing Zone 'E'.
Serial 34 with Col Hudgens in C-47 43-15160 leading the mission with Horsa LJ135 in tow took off from Ramsbury Airfield at 0439 with the entire formation taking 35 minutes to take to the air. The weather conditions over England were quite poor with low visibility, rain and gusty winds. Not ideal for a large glider tow mission to formate onto each other. One Horsa had to abort whilst on the ground due to exceeding its maximum weight of 8,000 lbs and another Horsa was accidentally released over the airfield.
The formation followed the navigational beacons of FLATBUSH and GALLUP where the further south they flew, the weather began improving. The low cloud began breaking and the rain stopped, giving good visibility. Upon reaching GALLUP the formation turned left and the remainder of the route was flown by pilotage and dead reckoning. The sun had risen by then and the Normandy coastline was plainly visible as well as the allied naval armada which was present around Utah beach.
Serial 34 arrived over the LZ area at 0655, some 5 minutes ahead of schedule. The formation came in low at an altitude of between 300 to 200 feet and released the gliders at that height. At this extremely low height, it gave the Glider Pilots only some half a mile of gliding in their loaded gliders or approximately 30 seconds to identify a good location for landing, make the turn and get the glider configured for landing.
Horsa LJ135 with Mercer and Parker at the controls was released between St. Marie du Mont and the hamlet of le Holdy. The field that they selected was approximately 200m in length and 160m in width with what appears to be a shallow stream at one end. Three sides of the field were surrounded by tall trees. Some 200m from the field lay a German Artillery position with four 105mm cannons positioned to fire on Utah Beach and exit causeway No. 1 which ran inland towards Pouppeville. Luckily the position had been captured by the 101st Airborne on the 6th of June.
The glider catastrophically impacted the field, slid some 20 metres breaking up in the process and ended up on its back killing F/O Richard Mercer and 14 passengers.
It is believed that Mercer's body was initially buried a mile from the crash site at the temporary cemetery at Château de Colombières in Hiesville before being interred and re-buried at Blosville cemetery near Les Forges. Mercer's family wanted to bring their son home and began the process of repatriating his body back to his home town of Wichita Falls. He was then buried at the Crestview Memorial Park cemetery where his grave remains.
Whilst researching the famous photograph of Horsa Glider serial LJ135 it was apparent that there was a poignant human element to the photograph which is abundantly clear from the row of bodies in front of the glider. The search to find out more about F/O Richard Mercer gathered apace and one thing that eluded me was a photograph of him. I was desperate to put a face to the name and through the help of some great researchers in the US, we were able to track down his daughter. What followed was a series of photographs of her father before he departed for England and one photograph of his grave marker at the Blosville Cemetery.
I travel to Normandy every year for the D-Day commemorations and on the morning of the 7th of June, I will visit the scene of the crash site and say a little prayer to him.
I must thank the following people for their assistance during my research:-
The family of Richard Mercer
National WWII Glider Pilots Association
Katey Mishler
Brian Siddall
Neil Stevens
Pat Curran/Whitebeam Battlefield Research Forum
Mark Bando
Philippe Esvelin
Patrick Elie
Larry Thompson
Source: Honouring IX Troop Carrier Command via Facebook.
F/O Richard G Mercer T-60767 was born on the 27th of December 1920 in Paris, Lamar County Texas but spent his youth living in Wichita Falls, Texas. On the 20th of December 1941 he married Norma Jo Pierce in Muskogee, Oklahoma and having just celebrated his 21st birthday a week after his marriage, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps on the 30th of December 1941 at Sheppard Field, Wichita Falls, Texas.
During his time as an enlisted man going through basic training, Mercer's serial number would be 18065939. It is unclear what Mercer's profession was after he had completed basic training. Was his desire to become a pilot or aircrew? However, the Air Corps was at this time throughout 1942 were trawling for volunteers for their Glider programme. Mercer was one of these volunteers and enrolled to become a Glider Pilot. He began his advanced training at Stuttgart Army Airfield, Arkansas in February 1943 enrolling in class 43-3.
After qualifying as a Glider Pilot he was transferred to the 86th Troop Carrier Squadron, 437th Troop Carrier Group. Throughout 1943, Mercer would continuously fly the CG-4A Glider, under increasingly more difficult scenarios especially night manoeuvres with a fully loaded glider. The 437th Troop Carrier Group knew that their time in the USA was coming to an end when more and more briefings about Europe and specifically England were given to the men. On the 25th of December 1943, the 437th was notified that all personnel would be restricted to base at Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina and on the 30th of December 1943, all Glider Pilots and ground staff bade farewell to Pope and embarked by train to Baer Field, Indiana. Baer Field was a processing centre for the Air Corps and this was the final place where all necessary administration, clothing and briefings were given before departing for the ETO.
Whilst the air echelon departed for England in their C-47's travelling the southern route, the ground echelon including the Glider Pilots departed Baer Field for Camp Shanks, NY and on the 29th of January 1944, Mercer, his fellow Glider Pilots and the rest of the ground staff boarded the RMS Mauretania at Piermont, NY. The RMS Mauretania set sail down the Hudson River passing the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan and giving everybody onboard their last view of America before entering the Atlantic Ocean. Ten days later the shores of England could be seen and they finally docked at Liverpool Harbour. There was no time to stop as an immediate train journey would take them all on a three hour train ride during the night to their final destination of Hungerford, a small town in the county of Berkshire. Trucks were awaiting them and took Mercer and the entire staff three miles into the county of Wiltshire and to their 'home' of Ramsbury Airfield.
CG-4A gliders had already been assembled at the airfield and training commenced as soon as the camp was established. However, the British were flying a larger type of glider known as the Airspeed Horsa. Each squadron of the 437th were assigned several Horsas and all Glider Pilots were checked out on this wooden wonder. Although not as manoeuvrable or popular as the CG-4A, the Horsa was felt to be a capable glider under the right circumstances. Training intensified for the 437th and large Group glider formations was flown day and night culminating in Exercise Eagle on the 20th of May 1944. It was becoming apparent that the 437th was going to be one of the primary Groups assigned the Glider role during the upcoming invasion of Europe.
On the 1st of June 1944, Ramsbury Airfield was sealed off and then began the briefings to the combat crews of their destination for the invasion of Europe. D-Day as it would be known and the location would be Normandy. The 437th would fly three serials of gliders – Serial 28 Mission Detroit, Serial 30 Mission Elmira and Serial 34 Mission Galveston. F/O Richard Mercer was assigned to be pilot of Horsa Glider serial LJ135 with 2nd Lt George Parker as Co-Pilot in Serial 34, scheduled to fly 24 hours after the invasion. Due to the postponement of the invasion due to weather, the invasion began in the early hours of the 6th of June 1944 with the paradrops of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions by other Troop Carrier Groups although C-47's and crews from the 85th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 437th Troop Carrier Group were assigned to the 436th Troop Carrier Group for the paradrop. The first of the glider serials (Serial 28) departed Ramsbury Airfield at around 2am on the 6th of June.
In the early hours of the 7th of June 1944, it was time to prepare for the third glider serial for the 437th. Serial 34 of Mission Galveston involved 17 Horsa and 32 CG-4A Waco gliders from the 437th TCG and would carry 717 glider infantrymen from 1st Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and engineers from A Company, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. Serial 34 would also carry 17 jeeps, 9 field artillery pieces and close to 20,000 lbs of ammunition and equipment. Mercer and Parker's Horsa, serial LJ135 would carry 28 men from A Company, 325th GIR and their Commanding Officer, 1st Lt Jim A Gayley. A copy of the original Mission Order #3 shows that Mercer and Parker had the honour of being in glider position 1 in Serial 34 of Mission Galveston, with the Commanding Officer of the 437th TCG, Col Cedric E Hudgens flying the C-47 tow plane.
Their destination was supposed to be Landing Zone 'W' in an area just east of Chef du Pont, however reports returning from Serial 30 of Mission Elmira which had landed at 2110 on the 6th of June, indicated that there was heavy ground fire in the vicinity of LZ 'W' therefore permission was obtained from the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing to change the route and landing zone for Mission Galveston. The new landing zone was located about a mile west of St. Marie du Mont and fringed the eastern edge of Landing Zone 'E'.
Serial 34 with Col Hudgens in C-47 43-15160 leading the mission with Horsa LJ135 in tow took off from Ramsbury Airfield at 0439 with the entire formation taking 35 minutes to take to the air. The weather conditions over England were quite poor with low visibility, rain and gusty winds. Not ideal for a large glider tow mission to formate onto each other. One Horsa had to abort whilst on the ground due to exceeding its maximum weight of 8,000 lbs and another Horsa was accidentally released over the airfield.
The formation followed the navigational beacons of FLATBUSH and GALLUP where the further south they flew, the weather began improving. The low cloud began breaking and the rain stopped, giving good visibility. Upon reaching GALLUP the formation turned left and the remainder of the route was flown by pilotage and dead reckoning. The sun had risen by then and the Normandy coastline was plainly visible as well as the allied naval armada which was present around Utah beach.
Serial 34 arrived over the LZ area at 0655, some 5 minutes ahead of schedule. The formation came in low at an altitude of between 300 to 200 feet and released the gliders at that height. At this extremely low height, it gave the Glider Pilots only some half a mile of gliding in their loaded gliders or approximately 30 seconds to identify a good location for landing, make the turn and get the glider configured for landing.
Horsa LJ135 with Mercer and Parker at the controls was released between St. Marie du Mont and the hamlet of le Holdy. The field that they selected was approximately 200m in length and 160m in width with what appears to be a shallow stream at one end. Three sides of the field were surrounded by tall trees. Some 200m from the field lay a German Artillery position with four 105mm cannons positioned to fire on Utah Beach and exit causeway No. 1 which ran inland towards Pouppeville. Luckily the position had been captured by the 101st Airborne on the 6th of June.
The glider catastrophically impacted the field, slid some 20 metres breaking up in the process and ended up on its back killing F/O Richard Mercer and 14 passengers.
It is believed that Mercer's body was initially buried a mile from the crash site at the temporary cemetery at Château de Colombières in Hiesville before being interred and re-buried at Blosville cemetery near Les Forges. Mercer's family wanted to bring their son home and began the process of repatriating his body back to his home town of Wichita Falls. He was then buried at the Crestview Memorial Park cemetery where his grave remains.
Whilst researching the famous photograph of Horsa Glider serial LJ135 it was apparent that there was a poignant human element to the photograph which is abundantly clear from the row of bodies in front of the glider. The search to find out more about F/O Richard Mercer gathered apace and one thing that eluded me was a photograph of him. I was desperate to put a face to the name and through the help of some great researchers in the US, we were able to track down his daughter. What followed was a series of photographs of her father before he departed for England and one photograph of his grave marker at the Blosville Cemetery.
I travel to Normandy every year for the D-Day commemorations and on the morning of the 7th of June, I will visit the scene of the crash site and say a little prayer to him.
I must thank the following people for their assistance during my research:-
The family of Richard Mercer
National WWII Glider Pilots Association
Katey Mishler
Brian Siddall
Neil Stevens
Pat Curran/Whitebeam Battlefield Research Forum
Mark Bando
Philippe Esvelin
Patrick Elie
Larry Thompson
Source: Honouring IX Troop Carrier Command via Facebook.
During his time as an enlisted man going through basic training, Mercer's serial number would be 18065939. It is unclear what Mercer's profession was after he had completed basic training. Was his desire to become a pilot or aircrew? However, the Air Corps was at this time throughout 1942 were trawling for volunteers for their Glider programme. Mercer was one of these volunteers and enrolled to become a Glider Pilot. He began his advanced training at Stuttgart Army Airfield, Arkansas in February 1943 enrolling in class 43-3.
After qualifying as a Glider Pilot he was transferred to the 86th Troop Carrier Squadron, 437th Troop Carrier Group. Throughout 1943, Mercer would continuously fly the CG-4A Glider, under increasingly more difficult scenarios especially night manoeuvres with a fully loaded glider. The 437th Troop Carrier Group knew that their time in the USA was coming to an end when more and more briefings about Europe and specifically England were given to the men. On the 25th of December 1943, the 437th was notified that all personnel would be restricted to base at Pope Army Airfield, North Carolina and on the 30th of December 1943, all Glider Pilots and ground staff bade farewell to Pope and embarked by train to Baer Field, Indiana. Baer Field was a processing centre for the Air Corps and this was the final place where all necessary administration, clothing and briefings were given before departing for the ETO.
Whilst the air echelon departed for England in their C-47's travelling the southern route, the ground echelon including the Glider Pilots departed Baer Field for Camp Shanks, NY and on the 29th of January 1944, Mercer, his fellow Glider Pilots and the rest of the ground staff boarded the RMS Mauretania at Piermont, NY. The RMS Mauretania set sail down the Hudson River passing the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan and giving everybody onboard their last view of America before entering the Atlantic Ocean. Ten days later the shores of England could be seen and they finally docked at Liverpool Harbour. There was no time to stop as an immediate train journey would take them all on a three hour train ride during the night to their final destination of Hungerford, a small town in the county of Berkshire. Trucks were awaiting them and took Mercer and the entire staff three miles into the county of Wiltshire and to their 'home' of Ramsbury Airfield.
CG-4A gliders had already been assembled at the airfield and training commenced as soon as the camp was established. However, the British were flying a larger type of glider known as the Airspeed Horsa. Each squadron of the 437th were assigned several Horsas and all Glider Pilots were checked out on this wooden wonder. Although not as manoeuvrable or popular as the CG-4A, the Horsa was felt to be a capable glider under the right circumstances. Training intensified for the 437th and large Group glider formations was flown day and night culminating in Exercise Eagle on the 20th of May 1944. It was becoming apparent that the 437th was going to be one of the primary Groups assigned the Glider role during the upcoming invasion of Europe.
On the 1st of June 1944, Ramsbury Airfield was sealed off and then began the briefings to the combat crews of their destination for the invasion of Europe. D-Day as it would be known and the location would be Normandy. The 437th would fly three serials of gliders – Serial 28 Mission Detroit, Serial 30 Mission Elmira and Serial 34 Mission Galveston. F/O Richard Mercer was assigned to be pilot of Horsa Glider serial LJ135 with 2nd Lt George Parker as Co-Pilot in Serial 34, scheduled to fly 24 hours after the invasion. Due to the postponement of the invasion due to weather, the invasion began in the early hours of the 6th of June 1944 with the paradrops of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions by other Troop Carrier Groups although C-47's and crews from the 85th Troop Carrier Squadron of the 437th Troop Carrier Group were assigned to the 436th Troop Carrier Group for the paradrop. The first of the glider serials (Serial 28) departed Ramsbury Airfield at around 2am on the 6th of June.
In the early hours of the 7th of June 1944, it was time to prepare for the third glider serial for the 437th. Serial 34 of Mission Galveston involved 17 Horsa and 32 CG-4A Waco gliders from the 437th TCG and would carry 717 glider infantrymen from 1st Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and engineers from A Company, 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. Serial 34 would also carry 17 jeeps, 9 field artillery pieces and close to 20,000 lbs of ammunition and equipment. Mercer and Parker's Horsa, serial LJ135 would carry 28 men from A Company, 325th GIR and their Commanding Officer, 1st Lt Jim A Gayley. A copy of the original Mission Order #3 shows that Mercer and Parker had the honour of being in glider position 1 in Serial 34 of Mission Galveston, with the Commanding Officer of the 437th TCG, Col Cedric E Hudgens flying the C-47 tow plane.
Their destination was supposed to be Landing Zone 'W' in an area just east of Chef du Pont, however reports returning from Serial 30 of Mission Elmira which had landed at 2110 on the 6th of June, indicated that there was heavy ground fire in the vicinity of LZ 'W' therefore permission was obtained from the 53rd Troop Carrier Wing to change the route and landing zone for Mission Galveston. The new landing zone was located about a mile west of St. Marie du Mont and fringed the eastern edge of Landing Zone 'E'.
Serial 34 with Col Hudgens in C-47 43-15160 leading the mission with Horsa LJ135 in tow took off from Ramsbury Airfield at 0439 with the entire formation taking 35 minutes to take to the air. The weather conditions over England were quite poor with low visibility, rain and gusty winds. Not ideal for a large glider tow mission to formate onto each other. One Horsa had to abort whilst on the ground due to exceeding its maximum weight of 8,000 lbs and another Horsa was accidentally released over the airfield.
The formation followed the navigational beacons of FLATBUSH and GALLUP where the further south they flew, the weather began improving. The low cloud began breaking and the rain stopped, giving good visibility. Upon reaching GALLUP the formation turned left and the remainder of the route was flown by pilotage and dead reckoning. The sun had risen by then and the Normandy coastline was plainly visible as well as the allied naval armada which was present around Utah beach.
Serial 34 arrived over the LZ area at 0655, some 5 minutes ahead of schedule. The formation came in low at an altitude of between 300 to 200 feet and released the gliders at that height. At this extremely low height, it gave the Glider Pilots only some half a mile of gliding in their loaded gliders or approximately 30 seconds to identify a good location for landing, make the turn and get the glider configured for landing.
Horsa LJ135 with Mercer and Parker at the controls was released between St. Marie du Mont and the hamlet of le Holdy. The field that they selected was approximately 200m in length and 160m in width with what appears to be a shallow stream at one end. Three sides of the field were surrounded by tall trees. Some 200m from the field lay a German Artillery position with four 105mm cannons positioned to fire on Utah Beach and exit causeway No. 1 which ran inland towards Pouppeville. Luckily the position had been captured by the 101st Airborne on the 6th of June.
The glider catastrophically impacted the field, slid some 20 metres breaking up in the process and ended up on its back killing F/O Richard Mercer and 14 passengers.
It is believed that Mercer's body was initially buried a mile from the crash site at the temporary cemetery at Château de Colombières in Hiesville before being interred and re-buried at Blosville cemetery near Les Forges. Mercer's family wanted to bring their son home and began the process of repatriating his body back to his home town of Wichita Falls. He was then buried at the Crestview Memorial Park cemetery where his grave remains.
Whilst researching the famous photograph of Horsa Glider serial LJ135 it was apparent that there was a poignant human element to the photograph which is abundantly clear from the row of bodies in front of the glider. The search to find out more about F/O Richard Mercer gathered apace and one thing that eluded me was a photograph of him. I was desperate to put a face to the name and through the help of some great researchers in the US, we were able to track down his daughter. What followed was a series of photographs of her father before he departed for England and one photograph of his grave marker at the Blosville Cemetery.
I travel to Normandy every year for the D-Day commemorations and on the morning of the 7th of June, I will visit the scene of the crash site and say a little prayer to him.
I must thank the following people for their assistance during my research:-
The family of Richard Mercer
National WWII Glider Pilots Association
Katey Mishler
Brian Siddall
Neil Stevens
Pat Curran/Whitebeam Battlefield Research Forum
Mark Bando
Philippe Esvelin
Patrick Elie
Larry Thompson
Source: Honouring IX Troop Carrier Command via Facebook.
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