TOP SECRET typist
Oklahoman worked alongside top military leaders in World War II
Harvey Mercer never picked up a gun, never fired a shell and never went through basic training, but his war years were spent on the front row of the war in the Pacific, rubbing elbows with some of the most storied names in U.S. Naval history.
Mercer, 94, grew up in Mustang on the family’s 160-acre farm harvesting wheat, butchering a few hogs every year along with canning beets and other vegetables. The Depression was rough on a lot of Oklahomans, but the Mercers never went hungry.
He milked cows at 3 a.m. and again at 3 in the afternoon. In between Mercer went to school in Mustang. Farming and typing might seem to be from different worlds, but Mercer also attended Hills Business College in Oklahoma City and discovered a knack for typing.
When Mercer joined the Navy in 1942, he reported to the Naval Air Training Technical Center in Norman. While other new enlistees faced the unpleasantness of boot camp, Mercer didn’t. And all because he could type.
“I reported down there and asked where am I going for boot camp,” he said. “They said we need you to work. One week of
indoctrination and we’ll worry about boot later.”
Later never came. For nearly two years he worked stateside whittling down a massive backlog of documents. Eventually the war would get a little more interesting.
“They decided every Okie was going to sea, so they shipped us all out,” Mercer said.
Yeoman Mercer didn’t know it at the time, but he was slated for a top-secret clearance and work in a logistics division at Pacific Fleet Headquarters at Pearl Harbor. Logistics staff were responsible for cobbling together plans for major operations, including invasions. For Mercer, that meant a lot of time in front of a keyboard though the material was usually pretty interesting.
“I remember the first time they showed me a top-secret document, I asked am I authorized to see this,” Mercer said. “They said if you weren’t, you wouldn’t be sitting here. We know more about you than you do.”
In the presence of greatness
While at Pacific Fleet headquarters, Mercer worked alongside Admirals Chester Nimitz, William “Bull” Halsey and Raymond Spruance, all of whom were instrumental in winning the war in the Pacific.
Nimitz helped to develop the United States’ island-hopping strategy to defeat the Japanese. He signed for the U.S. at the surrender ceremony on the U.S.S. Missouri in 1945, and today has a class of aircraft carriers named after him.
Halsey was one of the most aggressive and combat-experienced officers in the Navy. He led several hit-and-run attacks on the Japanese during the early days of the war in the Pacific, including the famed Doolitle Raid on Tokyo.
Spruance commanded forces at the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea, both of which were turning points in the war.
Not long after he arrived, the young farmer from Mustang was summoned to Nimitz’ office.
“He was very calm,” Mercer said. “He just told me to be at ease. To relax. He just wanted to shoot the breeze. But standing over to his left was Admiral Spruance. He was a different character. He stands real rigid with these eyes that bored into you. But he never caused any problems when I was around him.”
Halsey was a little rougher around the edges.
“He told one of his guys to do something and this guy turned to him and said, ‘Your slightest wish is my command,’” Mercer said. “Halsey said you’re damn right it is and don’t you forget it.”
Mercer regularly came into contact with other notable people.
Chicago Bears coach George Halas also worked in Pacific Fleet HQ. Heavyweight boxing champion James Braddock also passed through, as did actor Eddie Albert. But his day-to-day work was tedious even if much of what he was handling was often classified.
“Back then, typing was a little different than computers,” Mercer said. “You had to make 10 or 12 copies of everything. I put the paper in and rolled it up, and then you started putting the carbon in. Every document has to have a number.”
When big operations were underway, their work was more or less around the clock.
“Whenever one was coming up, it got really busy,” he said. “We’d go to the office at 8 a.m. and we’d take a quick break for lunch and diner and we’d usually work until midnight or 2 a.m. We went back to the barracks, slept for a while and did it all over again.”