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John G. Merriman
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'''John Gaither Merriman''' (21 October 1929 - 20 August 1964) was a [[Central Intelligence Agency]] pilot who died of injuries sustained when his plane was shot down while flying for the Agency in 1964 in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]]. He was serving in [[Africa]] as an instructor for [[Intermountain Aviation]], a CIA front company, training Cuban exile pilots to fly armed [[North American T-28 Trojan|T-28 Trojan]] piston aircraft against communist-backed [[Simba rebellion|Simba rebels]]. Prior to serving in the [[CIA]], Merriman had served in the [[82nd Airborne Division]].<ref name="Find A Grave Memorial"></ref> In 1964, against Agency orders, Merriman flew a [[strafing]] mission against a Simba convoy. His T-28 aircraft was hit by ground fire and he managed to reach an airfield before crashing. He was recovered the following morning and taken back to base where he died of his injuries several weeks later.<ref name="Peebles2013"></ref>
Medical evacuation of the wounded Merriman was not considered a priority for the U.S. embassy, who were seeking to conceal [[CIA]] involvement in combat operations in the region. As a result, reports indicated that the crashed pilot was actually a Cuban and he was checked into a local hospital under the name 'Mario Carlos'. Inattention and lack of medicine contributed to his detertoraiting condition, eventually dying of a [[lung embolism]] aboard a [[U.S. Air Force]] transport plane as he left the country on 20 August 1964.<ref name="Peebles2013"></ref><ref name="Gup 2010">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref><ref name="Gleijeses2011"></ref>
Upon his death, Merriman's wife was told that her husband had died in a hospital in [[Puerto Rico]] as a result of a car accident. Merriman was posthumously awarded the [[Intelligence Star]] in a closed ceremony at the [[George Bush Center for Intelligence|Agency's headquarters]].<ref name="Peebles2013"></ref><ref name="CBS News 2000">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
==See also==
* [[James B. McGovern Jr.]]
* [[Ksawery Wyrożemski]]
* [[Douglas Mackiernan]]
* [[Chiyoki Ikeda]]
* [[CIA Memorial Wall]]
* [[CIA activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
==References==
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:1964 deaths]]
[[Category:People of the Central Intelligence Agency]]
Medical evacuation of the wounded Merriman was not considered a priority for the U.S. embassy, who were seeking to conceal [[CIA]] involvement in combat operations in the region. As a result, reports indicated that the crashed pilot was actually a Cuban and he was checked into a local hospital under the name 'Mario Carlos'. Inattention and lack of medicine contributed to his detertoraiting condition, eventually dying of a [[lung embolism]] aboard a [[U.S. Air Force]] transport plane as he left the country on 20 August 1964.<ref name="Peebles2013"></ref><ref name="Gup 2010">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref><ref name="Gleijeses2011"></ref>
Upon his death, Merriman's wife was told that her husband had died in a hospital in [[Puerto Rico]] as a result of a car accident. Merriman was posthumously awarded the [[Intelligence Star]] in a closed ceremony at the [[George Bush Center for Intelligence|Agency's headquarters]].<ref name="Peebles2013"></ref><ref name="CBS News 2000">Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref>
==See also==
* [[James B. McGovern Jr.]]
* [[Ksawery Wyrożemski]]
* [[Douglas Mackiernan]]
* [[Chiyoki Ikeda]]
* [[CIA Memorial Wall]]
* [[CIA activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
==References==
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:1964 deaths]]
[[Category:People of the Central Intelligence Agency]]
February 07, 2018 at 10:38AM
