Large red Nazi garrison swastika banner signed by soldiers of the 80th Infantry

Paul Lowery Mercer was born on April 1, 1926, in Nashua, New Hampshire, to Ottis and Sarah Morgan Mercer. Ottis was born on January 31, 1888, in Warren, Ohio. Sarah was born on January 6, 1890, in Nashua. On June 12, 1922, Ottis and Sarah married and settled in Nashua, where Ottis owned and managed an automotive garage. The couple’s first son, Robert, was born in 1925, in Nashua. On December 7, 1941, the United States entered World War II. In spring 1944, Paul completed high school and became a garage attendant. On September 28, he enlisted in the US Army. Private Mercer was assigned to B Company, 318th Machine Gun Squad, 80th Infantry Division, Third Army. He deployed and joined the 80th, also known as the Blue Ridge Division, already in combat in France. In late December, the Division was part of the force defending Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge. From January to early April 1945, the 80th advanced through southern Germany. On April 4, after a fierce four day battle, Paul’s unit captured the city of Kassel, location of a still operating Tiger Tank factory. Prior to the ceremonial surrender of the garrison by General Major Erxleben, Paul slipped behind the troops and took the company banner. His unit then pushed ahead to Weimar. On April 11, 1945, troops from the 6th Armored Division entered Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar. Paul’s unit was sent to relieve them the next day, April 12. Paul later described what he saw: “a gruesome scene… men, women, and children behind barbed wire dressed in rags …many lay in piles, grotesque and askew.” Paul was one of the soldiers that liberated the children’s block, Kinderblock 66, a barracks set apart by the underground communist movement at the camp for children and teenagers, whom they felt needed to be protected and kept separate from the rest of the camp. The Division continued to advance through the region until April 21, when it was placed on occupation duty in southeastern Germany. On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered. The 80th remained on occupational duty in Germany until December 1945 and was deactivated after their return to the US in early January 1946. Paul received eleven awards and medals for his service, including the Bronze Star with “V” for valor, a Presidential Unit Citation, a Combat Infantry Badge with star, a WWII Victory medal, and a US Army Commendation. Paul returned to Nashua and became a law enforcement officer. He married Bonnie and the couple had four children. In April 2010, Paul returned to Buchenwald to participate in ceremonies celebrating the 65th anniversary of the camp’s liberation. He met several of the children whom he had liberated in April 1945 and was interviewed for a documentary about the children of Kinderblock 66. Paul felt that the real heroes were those who gave their all and cannot speak for themselves. Regarding his own service, Paul said he just did his duty. Paul, age 84, died on January 2, 2011, in Jacksonville, Florida.

The banner was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2012 by Ilana Weltman, on behalf of Paul L. Mercer.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Ilana Weltman

Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.