The FReeper Foxhole Revisits Merrill's Marauders - March 25th, 2005

www.marauder.org ^

[snippy_about_it]

Mornin' PE.

[snippy_about_it]

Caught up with the rest of the world, I see.

What? :-)

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks tomball.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC. No rain this morning!

[snippy_about_it]

LOL. You're right about those hick country boys. My dad was raised up in West Virginia and Southern Ohio. Used to tell stories about shooting cans off each others heads across the creek. He joined up early like most of the boys back then. They did know how to shoot.

[shezza]

North Burma ____ February - March, 1944
1st Lt. Logan E. Weston of Youngstown, Ohio, was called the “Fightin’ Preacher” by the Marauders because he had broken off studying for the ministry to join the Army and go into combat. Weston enlisted in the 37th Division, was graduated from officer training school in Fiji, fought on New Georgia, then volunteered far the Marauders, winding up as leader of an intelligence and reconnaissance platoon that played a key role in Marauder actions from Walawbum on. Here he cleans his carbine ammunition and magazines between patrols.

Behind Japanese Lines In Northern Burma
Yank The Army Weekly-June 09 1944-Vol. 2 No 51 By Sgt. Dave Richardson Yank Staff Correspondent

The crackle of a couple of Nambu light machine guns and the whipsnap of Ariska rifles stopped the single-file column of Merrill's Marauders and sent the men scrambling for cover on both sides of the narrow jungle trail.

They had trudged nearly 250 miles in the last four weeks. After marching up 116 miles of the Ledo Road, they had swung wide around the Jap positions that were holding up the Chinese drive in the Hukawng Valley of Northern Burma. They had followed narrow native paths and elephant trails through dense undergrowth and high elephant grass and across dozens of rivers and streams.

This was to be the first of their missions as a volunteer raiding outfit behind Jap lines--attacking the enemy rear supply base of Walawbum to force a Jap withdrawal 30 miles northward so the Chinese could push through. The Marauders led by Brig. Gen. Frank D Merrill, who had walked out of Burma with Stilwell two years before, were this afternoon only three miles from their goal.

The CO of the unit that had bumped into Jap resistance sent for 1st Lt. Logan E Weston of Youngstown, Ohio. A slim, quet pokerfaced young officer, Weston edged his way through the bush to the CO's side.

"Weston," said the CO, "take your intelligence and reconnaissance platoon across the river and move south to a position near the river bank that will cover us from the Walawbum area when we drive through this village of Langag Ga. on the east bank."

(read more from Yank, the Army Weekly)

I had the great honor and privilege of getting to know Colonel Weston some years ago when we published his book, The Fightin' Preacher. The tales he had to tell were both harrowing and uplifting. What an ordeal these men went through! Col. Weston was one of the most heavily decorated soldiers, with over 200 medals and awards to his credit, and fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. My husband and I went to the Merrill's Marauders Reunion about 10 years ago and met the most fantastic group of gentlemen. I'm thrilled that you're doing this theme today in the Foxhole!

(If anyone wants to borrow a copy of his autobiography, FReepmail me!)

[SAMWolf]

The ammo bearer got that job in my squad.

[SAMWolf]

LOL!

[SAMWolf]

Date is now 2005 and not 2003 ;-)

[SAMWolf]

Morning shezza.

great honor and privilege

You're right it always is an honor and privilege to meet the men who lived what we only read about. I'm always in awe of them.

[Darksheare]

Morning!
Nothing much going on today at my end of things.

[Darksheare]

LOL!
Ouch.

[Professional Engineer]

1928 James A Lovell Jr Cleveland OH, USN/astronaut (Gemini 7, 12, Apollo 8, 13)

[Professional Engineer]

1911 146 die in a fire at Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York NY

Ever wonder why there is a standard door right next to a revolving door?

[Professional Engineer]

Hiya Sam

[GailA]

Dennis said he only told them when half crocked. Drinking muddy water, bloody water, disentary, the gore and other horrors. The heat and smells.

Merrill's Marauders Last Stand

At Myitkynia today they lie at rest,
They were soldiers all, and gave their best.
They fought and died in days of rain,
And prayed for a sun that never came.

Through mud they crawled to find their foe,
They cursed and bitched, but on they'd go.
As the days went by, and the nights fell,
They all slept on walls of hell.

Artillery shells with their melody of death,
Whistled by with each drawn---in breath.
As dawn came to light the earth,
Amid sniper fire, through filth,
In falling rain, they fought on.
Hope to live by then had gone. Myitkyina has fallen at last,
They would be glad to know of the finished task,
But the trails are filled with Yankee blood,
Of gallant men who fought and died in Burma mud.
Brave men, these, they fought---and fell.
Bless them all, God---treat them well.

This poem was sent to Ralph's brother Albert Keasling by PFC. Ralph L. Keasling from Burma in 1944.

[Professional Engineer]

ROFLMAO! I've just e-mailed this to my dad, the avid flyfisherman.

[Professional Engineer]

Howdy ma'am

[Samwise]

LOL

[alfa6]

Sorry do not have any before pics.

HOWEVER,ow bout some in progress pics taken this AM, sorry about the quality but it is the best my poor camera can do

First pic War Zone1 aka Mrs alfa6's sewing room

The sewing room is an "L" shaped room, if it was a rectangle it would be about 10'x12' because of the stairs to the second floor it is missing about a 4'x6' piece. Some year ago we broke out the wall over the stairs and made it into a closet which helped quite a bit. This time I have made a bookcase in the wall dividing the 2 rooms to free up some space, the bookcase is about 7' wide by almost 2'deep. This should be a good place for the Mrs. to store a lot of her goodies. I also put in a pocket door, you can see the frame in the 2nd pic, in the sewing room at the request of Mrs alfa6 as she thought it would free up some more room for her???

The next two pics are of War Zone 2 aka the Master Bedroom.

The master bedroom is about 13'x13' with a small closet on one side. In the second picture you can see the "bookcase" for the sewing room, as a bonus I get a small bookcase in the Master Bedroom as well. One of the things we did was to put in a new door to the closet as the existing door was only about 6' tall and 24" wide it made the closet somewhat impractical.

As of this posting time I have about 2/3rds of the insulboard up in the sewing room and about a third of it up in the bedroom. As the bedroom is only about 25' from the street that is why I am putting up the insulboard and the 5/8s sheetrock in the hope to provide some measure of soundproofing.