Finding Aid for the J. Merle Adler Korean War correspondence 2022.119.w.r
Frank J. López-Huerta
Center for American War Letters Archives
04/07/2022
Leatherby Libraries
Chapman University
Orange, CA 92866
speccoll@chapman.edu
Contributing Institution:
Center for American War Letters Archives
Title: J. Merle Adler Korean War correspondence
source:
Andler-Goisser, Wendy Loree
Creator:
Adler, Junior Merle, First Lieutenant, 1925-1951
Identifier/Call Number: 2022.119.w.r
Physical Description:
.01 Linear Feet
(1 folder)
Date (inclusive): 1951 March 12 - 1954 February 4
Abstract: This collection contains one letter written by Lt. J. Merle Adler, USAAF to his family during the Korean War, as well as other
materials.
Language of Material:
English
.
Container: Korea 8
Container: 8
Container: 1
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Wendy Loree Adler-Goiseer
This collection is arranged chronologically.
First Lieutenant Junior Merle Adler, United States Army Air Force (8/13/1925 - 1951) was born in Bismark, North Dakota to
Merle Rupert Adler and Bertha Adler. He graduated in 1943 from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Washington and began
studying chemistry at the University of Washington, Seattle. He was married to Beverly Ann Adler née Butchart, with whom he
had two sons, Merle Lee Adler and Daryl Robert Adler.
Lt. Adler served with the 345th Bomber Squadron, 98th Bomber Wing as one of thirteen crew members of the B-29 Superfortress
Bomber nicknamed Shady Lady, tail number 44-86371. He was listed missing in action after conducting a bombing mission over
Pyongyang, North Korea on May 7, 1951. During the bombing mission anti-air artillery struck one of the recently deployed bomds
causing an explosion serverely damaging the B-29. Four crew members were able to escape the aircraft before it crased. All
four were captured as prisoners of war but only three returned during Operation Big Switch, while the fourth died as a prisoner
of war. Lt. Adler was presumed dead on January 31, 1954. He was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, the Korean Service
Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.
[Item title / description; Box "n" / Folder "n"], J. Merle Adler Korean War correspondence (2022.119.w.r), Center for American
War Letters Archives, Chapman University, CA.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
This collection contains one letter from Lt. J. Merle Adler, USAAF to his brother and their family during the Korean War.
His brother, Captain Wayne Guy Adler, United States Army Air Force also served overseas. Also included are one clipping, one
birthday card, and one printout of Lt. Adler's Korean War Veterans Honor Roll.
Lt. Adler wrote March 12, 1951, about the similarities in the weather in Korea and Washington state. He also briefly mentioned
a trip to Japan he took the day before writing the letter.
The birthday card was a Western Union card from Adler to his wife, Beverly Ann Adler née Butchart dated May 5, 1951, two-days
before "he was shot down" and pronounced missing in action.
The clipping was part of the Seattle Times and updates Adler's status from MIA to presumed dead. A note from the donor states
that this this article was published "Thurs. Feb. 4, 1954." The clipping contains a photograph of Lt. Adler's four- and five-year
old sons Daryl and Merle as both gaze upon a photograph of their father.
There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Korean War, 1950-1953.
Korean War -- (1950-1953) -- Correspondence
Missing in action
Andler-Goisser, Wendy Loree