Col. James L. Merchant III, died after parachute accident

Parachutist was a distinguished soldier
Tampabay.com - St. Petersburg,FL,USA
Curtis Krueger, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, January 31, 2009


TAMPA — The Army colonel who died in a parachute accident this week was a career soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and earned the Bronze Star.

Beyond being a fighter, Col. James L. Merchant III also was an intellectual who puzzled out how to communicate advantageously with foreign enemies.

"It required much intellectual energy and rigor," said his friend and colleague at Special Operations Command, Col. John Leonard. Merchant succeeded with "his ability to think through some of the most difficult problems that we deal with in the command here."

Merchant, 46, was from South Carolina and joined the military in 1984 through a program at the Citadel, where he graduated. His career took him to Korea, Italy, Croatia, Qatar and the Air War College, which emphasizes use of air and space power in joint and multinational fighting.

Witnesses said one parachutists seem to veer far from the group, and dropped into a lake outside of MacDill Air Force Base. He separated from his parachute and began swimming, but for unknown reasons he went under the water. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
click link for more