Robert G. Merritt Jr.

Uncle Bob lived a very full life. It was not, however, an easy life. He was a diminutive fellow who was the target of bullies as a child, and who barely met the Naval Academy's minimum weight requirement. However, though he was not physically large, he displayed the heart of a lion by graduating from Annapolis as a Naval officer and commanding several vessels during and after World War II. As a child, I remember seeing him respendent in his white uniform, and being so proud that he was my...