B135536 Rifleman Mervyn Herbert Young was born on 20 February 1923 in McCool, Ontario, the 6th of 10 children (6 brothers and 3 sisters) to Thomas Erwin Young and Susan “Verda” Armitage. The family moved to Kirkland Lake in 1926 where Mervyn attended elementary school, then 3 years of high school at Kirkland Lake Collegiate and Vocational Institute.

Young had worked as a truck driver and munitions worker when he enlisted on 3 November 1942 for active service at No. 2 Depot in Toronto He arrived in the United Kingdom on 4 Apr 1943 and was posted to The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada on 10 June 1943.

Rifleman Young landed with D Company on the Normandy beaches on D-Day 6 June 1944. Five days later, he was killed in action on 11 June during the battle for the village of Le Mesnil Patry.

He is one of two soldiers killed that day who is buried in Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery (south of Caen), grave reference XVI. A. 1.

The inscription on his grave marker reads:

TO THE WORLD HE WAS ONLY ONE
TO US HE WAS ALL THE WORLD
MOTHER
BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Like many other young soldiers, he left his estate to his mother which included a $500 life insurance policy.