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==Background==

==Background==

Merideth was born at home in Swiftwater in Washington County, Mississippi, to Horace Lavelle "Red" Merideth (1911-1986), a native of Doddsville in Sunflower County, Mississippi, and the former Cassel Elizabeth Merideth, subsequently after the parent's divorced, Cassel Pitman (1915-1994). He was reared in James, Mississippi, at which he worked as a boy in father's country store. He graduated in 1948 from Riverside Consolidated High School in Washington County and in 1952  received his undergraduate degree in [[accounting]] from Mississippi State University in Starkville. He was commissioned a second lieutenant under the ROTC program in the [[United States Air Force]]. He served in the [[Korean War]] and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the [[United Nations]] Service Medal, and the Korean Service Medal. He was stationed at Itazuke Air Force Base near Fukuoka, [[Japan]], when his older son, David, was born in 1955. After his military service, Merideth moved in 1956 with his family to Oxford, Mississippi, to enroll at the [[University of Mississippi]] School of Law. He graduated in 1958 and opened a solo law practice in Greenville and later formed a partnership with attorney James Robertshaw.<ref name=findagrave/>

Merideth was born at home in Swiftwater in Washington County, Mississippi, to Horace Lavelle "Red" Merideth (1911-1986), a native of Doddsville in Sunflower County, Mississippi, and the former Cassel Elizabeth Merideth, subsequently after the parent's divorced, Cassel Pitman (1915-1994). He was reared in James, Mississippi, at which he worked as a boy in father's country store. He graduated in 1948 from Riverside Consolidated High School in Washington County and in 1952  received his undergraduate degree in [[accounting]] from Mississippi State University in Starkville.<ref name=findagrave/>

 

He was commissioned a second lieutenant under the ROTC program in the [[United States Air Force]]. He served in the [[Korean War]] and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, the [[United Nations]] Service Medal, and the Korean Service Medal. He was stationed at Itazuke Air Force Base near Fukuoka, [[Japan]], when his older son, David, was born in 1955. After his military service, Merideth moved in 1956 with his family to Oxford, Mississippi, to enroll at the [[University of Mississippi]] School of Law. He graduated in 1958 and opened a solo law practice in Greenville and later formed a partnership with attorney James Robertshaw.<ref name=findagrave/>

==Political career==

==Political career==

U.S. District Judge Mike Mills, who from 1894 to 1992 served with Merideth in the House, recalled his friend: "Strikingly memorable eyes. Voice of an angel. Even his faults were bottomed on virtue. Sonny bought his own whiskey and could not be influenced by special interests. He was kind to naïfs; ladies loved him, and governors feared him. Sonny Merideth was the most splendid lawmaker of his century."<ref name=findagrave/>

U.S. District Judge Mike Mills, who from 1894 to 1992 served with Merideth in the House, recalled his friend: "Strikingly memorable eyes. Voice of an angel. Even his faults were bottomed on virtue. Sonny bought his own whiskey and could not be influenced by special interests. He was kind to naïfs; ladies loved him, and governors feared him. Sonny Merideth was the most splendid lawmaker of his century."<ref name=findagrave/>

 

 

==References==

==References==

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