Veteran Profile: Eva Merritt, Two Sides to Military Service

As a child growing up in Poplar Bluff, MO, Eva Merritt never dreamed she’d travel all over the country and even across the ocean. Coming up on her high school graduation, she wanted to become a teacher and learned that she could access college opportunities through serving with the US armed forces. So began a multi-decade adventure—first, as a servicemember of the Air Force, and then, as a member of the “WAF” community (wives of the Air Force).

She joined the Air Force in 1952, roughly halfway through the Korean War. After basic training in San Antonio, TX, she was deployed to Denver, CO, for her teacher training, and then to Biloxi, MS for the remainder of her service. More than her administrative workload, it’s the people she remembers from Biloxi. It was there that she met her husband, a fellow Air Force servicemember, as well as many friends with whom she enjoyed sneaking off the base. “We went skiing, once. Five girls, five boys. We had a great time. Another time we went down to Pensacola to the beach—beautiful. I got badly sunburned.”

Upon getting married and becoming pregnant with their first child, Eva was discharged after two years of service and began her life as a mother and WAF. “I loved the Air Force, and I loved being married and having a family.” In an early move, her husband was deployed to France, which was a thrill for the girl from Poplar Bluff who never imagined she would go to Europe. Their third child, Laura, was born on the base in France, and due to the limited medical personnel at the time, she was delivered by an orthopedic surgeon. Eva still chuckles at the memory.

She remembers the Air Force community as being very warm and supportive, in a unique position to understand the sacrifices made by military families. While her husband did three tours in Vietnam, Eva “kept the home fires burning” and cared for their children. Subsequent moves took the family to Nevada, Washington, and Massachusetts before they finally settled in Texas (Eva’s home state thereafter). While she never got around to a teaching career, she does not regret the years of exploring new places and dedicating her energies to her family. “I raised three wonderful children, and they are all successful.”

Now 90 years old, Eva lives independently in a retirement community, where she enjoys participating in their annual Veterans Day festivities. When she began to need some help with everyday activities at home, Laura found her an in-home caregiver. Laura then came upon a brochure at the retirement community that led to learning about the Aid and Attendance benefit and VetAssist. “They were a huge help,” Laura says of VetAssist. When they could not find Eva’s discharge papers to submit with her VA application, “[VetAssist] even sent out to the National Archives. Finally, [staff member] Jessica asked if she could come over. She sat on my mom’s floor and went through all these papers,” eventually finding everything that was needed for Eva’s application.

In addition, VetAssist onboarded Eva’s existing caregiver so the Aid and Attendance pension could be applied to her costs, avoiding the need to change caregivers. She visits three times per week, four hours at a time, to assist Eva. “I just can’t tell you what a blessing it has been to have this help,” says Laura.

Eva enjoys spending time with her family, which now includes great-grandchildren. She is proud to tell her story and intends to one day be buried in a National Cemetery to celebrate her identity as both a US veteran and a military spouse. On behalf of VetAssist, we thank Eva for her service as an active duty member of the US armed forces and for her grace and resilience as part of the often unsung heroes of the military, the active duty family.