Lamar County GaArchives Obituaries.....Sappington, Merrill Arthur March 12, 1980
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Elaine Turk Nell http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00017.html#0004116 January 11, 2006, 11:52 pm

clipping from unnamed, undated newspaper
Close Ties In Barnesville

Commander Succumbs To Cancer

     Leiutenant Commander Merrill Arthur Sappington, U. S. Navy (Ret.), 36, 
died of cancer at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, 
March 12.  Commander Sappington was born in Annapolis, Maryland, and received 
a B. S. in Industrial Management from Georgia Institute of Technology.  Upon 
graduation, he was commissioned an ensign in the U. S. Navy, being sworn in by 
his father.
     Commander Sappington had served continuously in the Navy until his 
retirement, because of disability, in September, 1979.  He attended CIC 
School, the Navy Destroyer School, and was a student at the Naval War College 
at the time he became ill.  He had served as executive officer and department 
head in destryoers and amphibious ships, including the USS Wallace L. Lind (DD 
703), USS Noa (DD 841), USS Lorain County (LST 1177), and USS Dubuque (LPD 8).
     He served in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, D. C., from 1972-
1976, and also on the staff of Commander coastal Surveillance Force in Cam 
Rahn Bay, South Vietnam, from December, 1967, through December, 1968.
     His decorations include the Navy Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit 
Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, Vietname Gallantry Cross with Palm, and the 
Vietnam Civil Action Color wth [sic] Palm, and other service medals.
     Commander Sappington is survived by his wife, the former Donna McPike; 
two daughters, Teresa, [age], and Kristina, [age], all of Vienna, Virginia; 
his parents Rear Admiral Merrill H. Sappington, U. S. Navy (Ret.) and Mrs. 
Sappington of McLean, Virginia; one sister, Kerry, of Denver, Colorado; two 
brothers, John and Jay, both of Ann Arbor, Michigan; and his paternal 
grandparents, Brig. Gen. Homer A. Sappington, A. U. S. (Ret.) and Mrs. 
Sappington of Barnesville.
     Arthur had spent many vacations in Barnesville with his grandparents, and 
the summer before he entered Georgia Tech, he worked at the Smith Furniture 
Company.  The last time he was in Barnesville was in November, 1979, when he 
and his family visited General and Mrs. Sappington enroute to Newport, Rhode 
Island, for duty there.
     
     

Additional Comments:
His picture appears with the article.  Underneath it reads, "Lt. Commander 
Merrill Arthur Sappington died recently of bone cancer.  He had several 
relatives in Barnesville and often visited the area."

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