About
World War II (1939-1945)
Merritt Ernest Larkins was born in Schenectady, New York, on February 7, 1920. He grew up in the city of Schenectady on Albany Street, attended Central Park Middle School, and graduated from Mont Pleasant High School. Before enlisting in the military, he worked for General Electric.
On August 7, 1942, Merritt enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He was a corporal serving with the 447th Bomber Squadron, 708th Bomber Group. Merritt and fourteen other airmen were killed when their B-17G Flying Fortress crashed into the Arkansas River near Ponca, Oklahoma, on October 22, 1943. He is buried in Park View Cemetery in Schenectady, New York.
Sources: The Schenectady Gazette, Find A Grave. Ancestry
