Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: Ko Merritt te rangatira kaitirotiro i tana urunga atu ki te Michigan National Guard i te tau 1910. I te tau 1913 i whakatairangahia a Merritt ki te corporal. I whakawhiwhia a Merritt hei tuarua tuarua i te marama o Mei 1914. I mahi a Merritt i te rohe o Texas-Mexico i te wā o te haerenga whiu a Pershing ki
Ko Pancho Villa, ā, i āwhina ia ki te whakatū i te patationa puhipuhi motopaika tuatahi. I a ia e noho ana i Texas, ka whakatūria e ia te rōpū Kaitiaki Tuatahi.