USAFA Class Heritage

Upon graduation with the Class of 1963 of the United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Merkle was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. He attended undergraduate pilot training (UPT) at Vance AFB, Oklahoma where he graduated at the top of the flying training class in 1964.

After graduation from pilot training, he served as a T-38 flight instructor. While there, he was instrumental in developing an automated scheduling system that is used to monitor and manage the many training requirements specified in the UPT syllabus of instruction. In 1968, enroute to Vietnam, Capt Merkle completed fighter qualification at Clovis AFB, NM and the Air Ground Operations School at Hurlburt Field, Florida. During 1969 - 70 Capt Merkle logged over 450 combat hours in the OV-10 aircraft in Southeast Asia.

After receiving a Masters Degree in Systems Engineering from Southern Methodist University in 1971, Capt Merkle was assigned to the Pacific Command joint staff at Camp Smith, Hawaii. After completing the joint command tour, he was reassigned to the Air Training Command. Lt Col Merkle served as a flight training Squadron Operations Officer and Commander. He retired from the US Air Force in 1982 (Lt Col Merkle was enlisted for about 18 months prior to entering the Academy).

After leaving the Air Force, Mr. Merkle joined the United Services Automobile Association (USAA). He served in the Information Technology Division and was later promoted to Asst Vice President of Information Systems in the newly formed USAA Federal Savings Bank. He later became the Asst Vice President for Advanced Technology at USAA where he led a group that evaluated emerging technology for possible use in the corporation. In 1997, he joined Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, Texas as the Chief Information Systems Officer. While at TLU, he built a modern automated computing environment and led an effort that made TLU one of the first Universities in the US to implement a campus wide wireless network using the newly defined 802.11 wireless communication standard. In 2008, Mr Merkle joined the Math and Computer Science faculty at Texas Lutheran University.

He retired from active teaching in 2009 and continues to work as a consultant for Texas Lutheran University where he has converted the University administrative computing systems to a new computing environment. Over the past 15 years, Mr. Merkle has served 3 terms on the City Council and served four terms as Mayor of the village of New Berlin, Texas. Additionally, he has served as treasurer and vestry member of his church as well as a member of the Diocesan Executive Board in the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas.

Gil's wife Susan died in 2014 and was interred in the USAFA Cemetery.

Later, Gil met JoEllen Taylor, widow of classmate Dan Taylor, at the 55th class reunion in 2018.  Gil and JoEllen subsequently married and spend their time in New Berlin, Texas and Provo, Utah.

The Class Heritage Project

In 2010, Gil began working with classmates John Borling and Lou Matjasko, under the direction of the Class of 1963 Gift Committee chaired by Mick Roth, to define and build a histories database as the class's 50th anniversary gift to the United States Air Force Academy. Over the following three years, the team traveled to Colorado Springs multiple times to meet with the Academy and the Association of Graduates, and worked with Engine Studios of Chicago on video production.

To capture graduate stories, the project distributed video cameras to volunteer producers across the country � classmates who contacted living graduates, arranged meetings, and recorded personal video accounts of their Academy years, military careers, and lives since graduation. Gil personally recorded 20 to 25 classmates in the San Antonio, Austin, and Houston areas. By the 50th reunion in October 2013, the project had captured video stories from more than 200 living graduates, along with biographical data, photographs, and memorial records for the class.

The Class Heritage database and website were presented as the class gift at the 50th reunion and gifted to the Association of Graduates for permanent stewardship. Gil has continued to develop and maintain the system, including classes 1959 through 2011 and serving as its primary developer and administrator. The system houses graduate biographies, photos, videos, memorial records, and class history documents for classes 1959, 1960, and 1963.  It is maintained online at usafach.org.