John Cox Merson was born in Washington, D.C. in 1944. He grew up chiefly in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and graduated from the Kent School, Connecticut, in 1962. As an undergraduate at Amherst he majored in Political Science, was President of Student Council in his Junior year (1965) and participated in wrestling, crew, and cross country. In 1965 after his Junior year, Merson withdrew from Amherst without receiving a degree. He enlisted in the Marine Corps, undergoing basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina, and Camp Pendleton, California. In May 1966 he shipped out for a tour of duty in Vietnam as part of the 7th Marine Regiment, 3rd Battallion, K Company, 3rd Platoon. After a year of combat duty, Merson returned to the U.S. in May 1967. Upon leaving the military, Merson enrolled at the University of North Carolina; he later earned an MBA degree at Harvard Business School. He has worked as an administrator at Lenoir Rhyne College, Hickory, North Carolina, under the auspices of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. In the 1970s Merson entered the field of management consulting in New York, working actively with educational institutions.

The bulk of the papers consist of Merson's letters written home to family members during Marine Corps basic training and combat duty in Vietnam, 1965-1968, in which he describes conditions in that country, his thoughts about the war and his plans for his life after the military. Also included are a journal kept by Merson during his undergraduate days at Amherst and an undated notebook, written sometime after his military service, that records changes in Merson's views on the Vietnam War. Although his letters home do not reveal many of his personal views about the politics of the war, the later notebook clearly indicates his weakening support for it.

This collection is organized into four series:

• 1. Amherst College, 1962-1965
• 2. Correspondence, 1960-1968
• 3. Notes on Vietnam War, [1968?]
• 4. Personal Affairs and Miscellaneous, ca. 1961-1968