Our Cousin: Marine Sgt. Merritt C. Walton, b. 18 Dec 1916, KIA 7 Aug 1942 in the Solomon Islands

A Walton Story

Marine Sgt. Merritt C. Walton was the grandson of Merritt Walton (1841-1913), Rhoda's brother. The younger Merritt Walton was killed on Gavutu Island in the Solomon Islands on August 7, 1942 in the first year of World War II.

Marine Sgt. Merritt C. Walton (1916-1942)

I was writing biographies of WWII casualties for our Sutton Historical Society when I discovered a local newspaper account that claimed Sgt. Walton as Sutton's first casualty of the war. I'd not associated this cousin with Sutton although I knew his grandfather had a farm several miles southwest of Sutton in the Edgar area. This farm was one of the four where James D. & Rhoda Rowlison lived during their stay in the area around 1880.

My article on this Walton cousin can be found at:  http://suttonhistoricalsociety.blogspot.com/2011/11/suttons-first-wwii-casualty-marine-sgt.html




Here is where Merritt C. Walton fits in our family tree - Rhoda's grand nephew.

This entry appeared in the Nebraska section of the book "World War II Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard Casualties, 1941-1945."  Merritt's mother was Clara Olive Haugen (1888-1980). She divorced Cecil Cullen Walton and was remarried to Severt S. Olson probably not long after Merritt was born.