He joined the Navy in 1942 because the United States was in war with Germany and Japan. It was during the service for the US government that Ferryle met Merial when he was posted in San Francisco. Aunt Merial said it was her patriotic duty to help support the dances for the servicemen where they met. They were married in Oakland 1943, and sealed in the Idaho Falls temple a year later. After the war, they returned to Palo Alto, California.