Merriell Allesandro "Snafu" Shelton was a United States Marine who served in the Pacific theater during World War II.
14 Facts About Merriell Shelton
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Merriell Shelton is depicted in the 1981 memoir With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge which chronicled their combat experiences.
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Merriell Shelton was depicted in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, in which he was portrayed by Rami Malek.
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Merriell Shelton served in the Civilian Conservation Corps in his youth.
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Merriell Shelton enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942 and completed boot camp in San Diego.
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Merriell Shelton was assigned to K Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division and served as a mortar man.
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Merriell Shelton participated in the Battle of Cape Gloucester alongside Romus Burgin.
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Merriell Shelton would argue about anything at the slightest opportunity, and when he was agitated or inebriated, all those tendencies grew more pronounced.
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Sloan describes how Merriell Shelton gained his nickname of "Snafu" after a fellow Marine asked him how much money he had while they were on a train in Melbourne:.
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Merriell Shelton met replacement Eugene Sledge on Pavuvu; and the two saw action under the command of Andrew Haldane during the Battle of Peleliu.
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Merriell Shelton was discharged from the Marine Corps in 1946 with the rank of corporal.
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Merriell Shelton returned to Louisiana after the war and worked as an air conditioner repairman and in the lumber industry.
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Merriell Shelton was married to Gladys Bowman-Shelton until his death and they had two sons, Allen and Floyd; the latter of which died before his father, in 1990.
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Merriell Shelton is buried at the Bowman-Dedon Cemetery, in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana alongside his wife.