GERALD F. (JERRY) MERNA
FIRST LIEUTENANT, U.S. MARINE
CORPS (RET.)
Marine Officer, Postal Service
Officer, Association Executive
Jerry Merna was born in New York
City, and at a very early age, together with his six brothers and one sister
was raised by Dominican Nuns in two different Catholic Homes, St. Dominic’s Convent in Blauvelt, NY
and St. Agnes Home in Sparkill,
NY. He dropped out of high school after
his second year to enlist in the United States Marine Corps on his 17th
birthday in April 1947.
Following boot camp training at
Parris Island, S.C. he served in all enlisted grades from Private (E-1) to
Master Gunnery Sergeant (E-9). In 1966 with 18 years of enlisted service
he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant under the Marine Corps’ Outstanding
Leadership Program, and only one year later, while serving in Vietnam, was
promoted to First Lieutenant. (Marine officers who come up from the ranks
are referred to as “Mustangs.”)
During his 22 years as a Marine
Jerry Merna served in a variety of administrative, legal and infantry
positions and is a graduate of numerous military schools, including
Advanced Combat Training, Instructor Orientation School, and Naval Justice
Courses in San Diego, CA., and Newport, RI.
During 13 months of combat
service in Korea (1952 - 1953) he was an anti-tank assault (ATA) infantry unit
leader with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion 5th
Marines, and later was a platoon sergeant with Easy Company, 2nd
Battalion, 5th Marines on Outpost “Vegas,“ one of the
bloodiest engagements in Western Korea.
14 years after serving in Korea,
in 1966 Jerry served as a 36-year old Second Lt. for 13 months in Vietnam with
the 3rd Marine Division. Upon his return to the U.S. he
served as the Adjutant and Casualty
Notification Officer for Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia
while stationed at the Marine Air Reserve Training Detachment, Andrews Air
Force Base, Maryland, until his retirement in 1968.
Jerry’s numerous military
decorations and awards include two Navy Commendation Medals with Combat “V,”
the Combat Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Navy Unit
Citation, the Korean Service Medal with 3 bronze stars, the Korean Presidential
Unit Citation, the Vietnam Service Medal with 2 bronze stars, an individual award
of the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Bronze Star and unit award of the
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm. He also has seven awards of the Rifle
Expert and Pistol Sharpshooter badges.
After
retiring from the Marine Corps Jerry served for the next 18 years as a Senior Executive Service official with
the United States Postal Service. He was appointed Executive Assistant to the Postmaster General at Postal Service
Headquarters in Washington, D.C., one
of only 34 Officers of the 850,000 member U. S. Postal Service. Following an assignment as the Acting
Postmaster of Lynchburg, VA, Jerry was appointed Postmaster for the entire
Northern Virginia region, one
of the fastest growing areas in the United States. For six years he
directed postal operations at one of the largest and most complex Postal
Service field units that served two million customers with over 5,000
employees, 1,200 vehicles, and 155 post offices stretching from Arlington and
Alexandria to Front Royal and Winchester. This field office was also used
as a model for demonstrating postal procedures and mail processing systems for
industry, congressional and
international visitors.
After retiring from the Postal Service in 1987 for the next six years
Jerry implemented worldwide advertising, public relations and marketing
activities as Director of Advertising for SIGNAL Magazine, the official journal
of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) in
Fairfax, VA.
He then was appointed a Vice President and Associate Publisher of
National DEFENSE magazine, journal of the Arlington-based National Defense
Industrial Association (NDIA), a major defense industry association with 28,000
individual members, and some 900 companies dealing with national security.
While in the Marine Corps Jerry
successfully completed all academic requirements for and graduated from the
school he dropped out of, Tappan Zee High School, Piermont, New York. Not satisfied with that, after years of
night school, he went on to obtain degrees of Bachelor of Science in
Administration and Master of Science in Personnel Management, at ages 43 and 47
respectively, from The George Washington University, Washington, DC. He
also completed Advanced Management Programs
at the University of Southern California and the University of Virginia.
He served on the Boards of Directors for the National League of Postmasters of
the United States, the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics
Association (AFCEA), and The George Washington University General Alumni
Association.
Jerry has been married to the
former Dorothy M. Sedlack, his classmate at TZ High School of Piermont, New
York, for over 53 years. The Merna’s
have two children: Linda M. Figura of Alexandria, and Gerald T. Merna, of
Sterling, VA., and two grandchildren.
Dot and Jerry reside in The Cascades, Potomac Falls, VA., where Jerry
formerly served as Chairman of his homeowner’s
Covenants Committee.
St. Agnes Alumni Biographies
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