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James M. Mertz was born in Connecticut in 1911. In Rye his family lived at 27 Mohawk Street. James served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
 James M. Mertz_underway_at_sea,.jpg)
Lcdr. James M. Mertz served in the U. S. Navy 1939-1947.
Commanded Destroyer Escort USS Sturtevant DE 239 12 Nov. 1943 - 11 Sep. 1945 . World War II North Atlantic OperationsAfter shakedown in the vicinity of Bermuda and training off the Rhode Island coast, Sturtevant began 21 months of convoy escort duty in the Atlantic. On 24 September, she got underway to screen her first convoy to Casablanca and Gibraltar.
The commissioning executive officer, LCDR James M. Mertz, USNR, assumed command in November 1943 and remained in command through the end of the war. After two more such Atlantic crossings, she was assigned to Derry-bound convoys and made five voyages to that Northern Ireland port.
Sturtevant rounded out her Atlantic service with two convoys each to Liverpool, England, and Cardiff, Wales, and one to Southampton, England. Between crossings, the destroyer escort was repaired and overhauled at the New York Navy Yard and trained at Casco Bay, Maine, and at Montauk Point, Long Island. In all, Sturtevant made 13 successful round-trip voyages across the Atlantic and back.
James McClenahan Mertz of Rye, NY, died January 25, 2006.
He was born October 28, 1911 to the late Jane McClenahan Mertz and Louis Wiegand Mertz. Predeceased by his wife, Allegra Knapp Brickell Mertz. Survived by daughter, Allegra Mertz Torrey, Norwalk, CT; stepson, James B. Brickell, Jr., Sykesville, MD; granddaughters Kimberly Brickell Frank, Merdith Knapp Brickell and Diana Mertz Hsieh.
Graduate of Yale University 1933. Served in the U.S. Navy 1939-1947. Commanded a DE in WWII. Rising & Nelson Slate Co., West Pawlet, VT. Member of American Yacht Club, New York Yacht Club, Cruising Club of America, Storm Trysail Club, Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, and Fort Worth Boat Club. Holds the record for number of races sailed (30) in biennial Newport-Bermuda Race.
Past Commodore of American Yacht Club, past Chairman of New York Yacht Club Race Committee, past President of Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound, and past President of International 210 Class. Funeral Services Saturday, January 28 at 11:00 AM Christ's Church, Rye, NY.
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