Posted on 02/24/2017 3:33:32 AM PST by Bull Snipe
Brigadier General Frank Merrill's 5307th Composite Unit (aka Merrill's Marauders) began their historic march into Burma.
One of my dads buddies had the Raider insignia tattooed on his ankle. He was in their Burma campaign
Incredible what they did
The father of a friend of my older brother was one of Merrill’s Marauders. One story of his was that has always stuck with me was surviving the day in a village overrun by the Japanese by hiding behind a dead and bloated mule, till dark when he was able to sneak away. He ended his war evacuated and in a hospital bed suffering from dysentery and malaria. These guys fought behind the lines, always outnumbered and basically surrounded.
My dad was a Hump pilot in the China-Burma-India Campaign.
A couple months ago, I interviewed a 96 year old guy who helped build the gasoline pipeline from China, through Burma and into India. This was a 4 inch pipe with breakout tanks along the line.
My dad’s C-46 fueled up on this gasoline for the return trip from China...
From what my dad’s friend told us, most of the surviving men in the Marauders were medically unfit for further service and discharged from the army once they were well enough to be discharged. He said some of his buddies in the outfit had contracted diseases that no Army doctors had ever seen before. He suffered from malaria for the rest of his life, every 3 or 4 years it would flare up and off to the VA hospital for several days to get it under control. He drew a partial VA disability for the problem.
I have a very interesting book on the Marauders written by one of the young officers.
It is very interesting as it focuses less on strategy and battle and more on the characters who made up the Marauders and the hardships they endured.
One such hardship was having a large number of pack mules and only one man who had any experience with mules.
These men were the red headed step children of the armed forces.
My dad’s friend told us that when the got the mules, an Army veterinarian cut the mule’s vocal cords, so that they could not make noise that may give their position away to the Japanese.
My dad’s friend told us that when the got the mules, an Army veterinarian cut the mule’s vocal cords, so that they could not make noise that may give their position away to the Japanese.
I hadn’t heard that but I can see that they might. The only thing louder than a mule with a stubborn streak going is probably a po’d bull elephant.
On a side note: when I was a kid we had a team of work horses and a mule.
One day, right in the middle of the field, the mule decided he had worked enough and refused to move.
My uncle tried everything he could think of to get the mule going again with no luck.
He even tried unhooking the plow and taking the mule towards the house. Mule wouldn’t move.
My uncle told me to find a corn cob while he went to the barn.
He took that corn cob, put it right at the base of the mules tail between the tail and rump. He held that mules tail down and sawed away with that cob until that mule was nice and raw.
He stood to the side, held the tail up and threw a pint can of turpentine on that raw spot.
That mule lit out across the field like it had been shot out of a cannon!
It took us two days to find that mule.
After that anytime the mule stopped my uncle would show that mule a corn cob and the mule would be the perfect worker the rest of the day.
My uncle was a kind caring man who took better care of his livestock than He did himself, that mule just danced on his last nerve that day.
Thanks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.