Merrill "Mike" L. Walrath, class of 1941, served in the Army during World War II. He was inducted in March 1942, and became a Second Lieutenant after he completed Officer Candidate School on May 25, 1943. He was assigned to the 351st Infantry Regiment, 88th Division, and sent to Europe. He was captured by the Germans on October 25, 1944 and held as a prisoner of war until his escape on January 23, 1945. With the German army in retreat, the camp where he had been held was broken up and the inmates forced to march back to Germany. He took advantage of the opportunity to escape and moved east through Poland and Russia until he reached Odessa. From there, a British troop ship transported him to Port Said, Egypt, and finally back to Italy. He returned to the US on the first boat of released POWs on April 9, 1945, and was discharged in September.

Read more about Walrath in the Louis C. Jones Letters:

Letter of October 9, 1943
Letter of February 11, 1944
More from February 11, 1944
Letter of April 28, 1944
More from April 28, 1944
Letter of March 14, 1945