John Merson speaks on the subject of war at universities, churches, and veterans groups. His topics include the effects of war on foot soldiers and civilians in war zones, war crimes, and ways to prevent war.John was born in Washington, DC in 1944 and grew up in Washington and Pennsylvania. He attended boarding school beginning at age 14 after his mother's death. At Amherst College he was active in student government and helped organize teach-ins on the Vietnam War. He joined the Marines in 1965 and volunteered for Vietnam after infantry training. He arrived in Vietnam in April 1966 and spent the next 13 months as a scout, radioman, interpreter and team leader in an infantry platoon. He finished his enlistment as a military policeman at Camp Pendleton, California and was honorably discharged in 1968. John graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1969 and Harvard Business School in 1971. Watching the campus upheavals of the 1960's inspired him to attend business school with the idea of working in the field of education. While at Harvard he took additional courses at the Graduate Schools of Education and City Planning. After graduating from business school, he worked for Lenoir-Rhyne College in North Carolina as Woodrow Wilson Foundation Administrative Intern and consulted to universities, school systems, and government agencies on education policy and practices. His interest in technology eventually led him into the computer industry where he worked for nearly a dozen companies, from new startups to IBM, as either an executive or consultant from 1981 to 1997.The purchase of a run-down vacation home on Nantucket in 1994 inspired his current career. After restoring and selling this property in 1997, he bought and restored nearly a dozen more properties over the next ten years.His first marriage to Anne Merson ended in divorce. Since 1981 he has been married to Carol Bunevich. He has one son, Tyler Merson, and one grandson.John is an advisor to the Appalachian Mountain Club and has been a board member for his local Jewish congregation. He is a member of the Military Order of the World Wars, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.All royalties from "War Lessons" are donated to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and are used to help clear unexploded ordnance in Vietnam.