Merlin Carl Otto was born May 28, 1938, the son of Henry and Viola (Stuhr) Otto…grandparents - Henry & Anna (Hansen) Stuhr, and Carl & Tena (Hass) Otto. Merlin was born near Botna, where he attended rural school. The family moved to Manning, where he attended high school graduating with the class of 1957. Merlin passed away December 28, 2012, in Ames.
Merlin entered Navy service December 28, 1957, when he went to boot camp in San Diego, California. He returned home in the spring of 1958.
Then he was stationed at Norman, Oklahoma, for training, and from there he was stationed at Jacksonville, Florida. In December 1959 Merlin was stationed at the
Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida, where he was an aviation store keeper 3rd Class Petty Officer. He was in charge of ordering supplies for the base
and the U.S.S. Antietam which was stationed in the gulf.
In May 1960 Merlin returned home and married Phyllis Riley in his uniform on May 27, 1960, at Zion Lutheran Church in Denison. They have two children: Michael Otto and Marcy Wienert.
In December 1961 Merlin's four-year service was to end but he found out in November that it was to be extended six months because of the 1961 Berlin Crisis. He then took a test to advance to 2nd Class and achieved that rank in May 1962. Merlin was honorably discharged in June 1962.