William Mershon Terry

William Mershon Terry
Personal details
Birth name	William Mershon Terry II
Born	29 December 1920 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	1973 Fairfax County, Virginia
Nativity	United States
Religion	Protestant
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	01825893
Rank	Captain
Rank at Ritchie	Second Lieutenant
Camp Ritchie	Class 20 (19 June – 16 August 1944)
Section	6B

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William Mershon Terry II (29 December 1920 – 1973) was a United States Army officer who trained and taught at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, in Class 20, and later became a leading U.S. fisheries official.

Biography

William Mershon Terry II was born on 29 December 1920 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, son of Paul Herbst and Elinor Weston Terry. Raised in New Castle and Wilmington, Delaware, he earned a B.A. from the University of Delaware in 1942.

Terry enlisted as a private in the Army Air Forces in 1942, attended technical schools at Chanute Field, Illinois, and was commissioned a second lieutenant after Tank Destroyer OCS at Camp Hood, Texas. In 1944 he transferred to military intelligence, took a photo-intelligence course at Camp Ritchie (Class 20), and instructed in terrain intelligence, tactics, and intelligence technique there in 1944–1945. Later in 1945 he joined the G-2 section of General Headquarters, U.S. Army Forces Pacific, in the Philippines and Tokyo.

Discharged as a captain in 1947, Terry stayed in Japan with SCAP’s Natural Resources Section on postwar Japanese whaling and fisheries work, then built a long civilian career culminating as director of international affairs for NOAA. He died in 1973.

Research notes

• Also SGTC 14 PI
• PI 206
• Folder title “Terry William Terry” matches William Mershon Terry II / Terry, William M. (01825893)—not Terry, Ben.

Gallery

• 
  William Mershon Terry II portrait (National Cyclopedia; RB Archive)
• 
  William Mershon Terry II biographical entry page mentioning Camp Ritchie (RB Archive)

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	53
Class_ASN	1825893
Class_Name	TERRY, William
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 29 December 1920 — Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1942 — B.A., University of Delaware; enlisted in Army Air Forces.
• 1943–1944 — Tank Destroyer OCS, Camp Hood; commissioned 2nd lieutenant.
• 1944 — Photo-intelligence course at Camp Ritchie (Class 20); later instructor there.
• 1945 — G-2, GHQ AFPAC (Philippines; Tokyo).
• 1947 — Discharged as captain; continued SCAP fisheries work in Japan.
• 1951–1973 — U.S. Fish and Wildlife / NOAA international fisheries career.
• 1973 — Died.

Sources

• William Mershon Terry II biographical entry page mentioning Camp Ritchie (RB Archive)
• William Mershon Terry II portrait (National Cyclopedia; RB Archive)
• RB Archive Terry packet images (terry 01–06; portrait)
• RB Archive National Cyclopedia / biographical PDF on William Mershon Terry II
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-02-23 (1 post)