Battle of Bulge vet dies in fire

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Vets recall Battle of the Bulge

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World War II veteran Clifford Merrick died in an early morning fire Saturday that destroyed the home he shared with his wife, Sally, in Kingsley. Record-Eagle/James Russell
Merrick Record-Eagle file photo/Keith King

January 31, 2012

BY JAMES RUSSELL jrussell@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Tue Jan 31, 2012, 07:24 AM EST

KINGSLEY — Clifford Merrick's family and friends gathered last month for a raucous celebration of his 90th birthday.

The party spilled over five days because there was much to celebrate. The Kingsley man fought at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, opened one of the first golf courses in Grand Traverse County, and operated his own insurance agency for nearly 50 years.

But now they're grieving after Merrick died in a weekend fire at the home he shared with his wife, Sally, and a disabled woman who stayed with the couple.

"It's just a tragedy," said Sally's brother, David Rancour, as he scanned the charred remains of the home on Jackson Road. "We just can't bring him back, and that's the hell of it."

Fire broke out early Saturday. Family friend Rick Conley said Sally Merrick awoke to screams around 4 a.m. and found the disabled woman on fire on the home's lower level. Sally was able to drag her to safety and call 911, but flames prevented her from reaching Clifford on the second floor when she went back inside. The house, in Sally's family since the 1940s, was destroyed.

Grand Traverse County Rural and Metro fire departments responded and found the structure fully engulfed when they arrived. Rural Fire Department Chief Bill Sedlacek said they are still trying to determine a cause.

Sally Merrick is being treated at Munson Medical Center after she suffered a heart attack during the ordeal, and the disabled woman is at a burn unit in Grand Rapids.

Jim Merrick said his father "was one of the most kind-hearted people."

"He always had a kind word to say to people. He was always concerned about other people," Jim Merrick said. "He had a long life, and he did a lot of things."

In an interview with the Record-Eagle last month, Clifford Merrick shared his experiences during WWII and the Battle of the Bulge. He was drafted in 1942, and over four years, his tour of duty carried him through northern Africa, Sicily, Rome and France. Merrick also helped to liberate the Dachau concentration camp, which he described as "the worst thing in his whole service."

"You wouldn't believe one human would treat another like they did there," he said in the December interview. "You just wouldn't believe it."

His son said his father maintained a big heart, despite those horrific experiences in Europe.

"He saw some horrible things, and he was still the kind of person he was — kind, considerate, friendly," Jim Merrick said. "I don't think you'd find too many people who would turn out that way."

After the war, Clifford Merrick settled in northern Michigan. In the 1960s, he opened a nine-hole golf course in Acme at the current site of the Grand Traverse Resort where U.S. 31 intersects with M-72. He also owned and operated an insurance agency for nearly 50 years before retiring in 1995.

Rick Conley knew Cliff for almost 30 years, and recently began meeting with him every week to record his war stories. Conley credited him and Sally with pulling him out of a difficult time in his life; they helped him move north after he lost his home to foreclosure in 2007.

"They brought me out of what was a very depressing atmosphere and helped me heal. I will never forget that," Conley said. "They were just like friends and parents at the same time."