Editing Ray Mercer (section)

==Early life==
Mercer, being the son of retired [[Non-commissioned officer|Army NCO]] Raymond Mercer Sr., grew up as a [[military brat (U.S. subculture)|military brat]] in [[Fort Benning, Georgia]], and later in [[Hanau, Germany|Hanau, West Germany]]. He later recalled:
{{Cquote|As a kid I was a little hardheaded. I had a tough time in school until my father, Raymond, he was a mechanic in the military, got me straight. When he was in the field, whether at [[Fort Benning, Georgia]], or in Germany, I'd take advantage of my mother and act up. My father tried to get me to play some kind of sports. I was negative. Team sports wasn't in my blood. I'd come home and play [[Go-Karts]] or shoot [[BB gun]]s or ride choppers. With my father, I was fishing by the age of nine and hunting by fourteen. We'd go for deer, rabbit, and squirrel at Fort Benning. My father had a good life in the military. I figured I'd do the same. I wanted to go back to Germany. I liked it over there.|source=—Ray Mercer on his childhood.<ref name="Berger1991">{{cite news |last= Berger|first= Phil|date= October 17, 1991|title= Neither Mercer Nor Morrison Set Out to Make His Living in the Ring|url= https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/17/sports/boxing-neither-mercer-nor-morrison-set-out-to-make-his-living-in-the-ring.html|work= The New York Times|page= 14|access-date= 2019-06-18}}</ref>}}
Mercer played [[linebacker]] at high school in [[Hanau, Germany|Hanau]], didn't plan to go for a college education. After graduating from [[Richmond County Military Academy]] in [[Augusta, Georgia]], he coasted for a year before enlisting in the Army.<ref name="Berger1991" />