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

www.marauder.org ^

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

MERRILL'S MARAUDERS
Code Name: "GALAHAD"

In August 1943 at the "Quebec Conference", President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and other allied leaders decided that an American Long Range Penetration Mission behind the Japanese Lines in Burma was needed to destroy the Japanese supply lines and communications and to play havoc with the enemy forces while an attempt was made to reopen the much needed Burma Road.

Brig. Gen. Frank D. Merrill
Commanding General, 5307th Composite Unit(Provisional)

President Roosevelt issued a Presidential call for volunteers for "A Dangerous and Hazardous Mission". The call was answered by approximately 3,000 American soldiers. The volunteers came from State side units, from the jungles of Panama and Trinidad they came, from the campaigns of Guadalcanal, New Guinea, New Georgia they came, to answer the call, some battle scarred, some new to the ways of war, each different but with one thing in common.
They Answered The Call.

The Unit was officially designated as the "5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)" Code Name: "GALAHAD", later it became popularly known as "MERRILL'S MARAUDERS" named after its leader, Brigadier General Frank Merrill. Formed into six combat teams (400 per team),color-coded Red, White, Blue, Green, Orange and Khaki, two teams to a Battalion, the rest formed the H.Q. and Air Transport Commands.

After preliminary training operations were undertaken in great secrecy in the jungles of Central India, the Marauders began the long march up the Ledo Road and over the outlying ranges of the Himalayan Mountains into Burma. The Marauders with no tanks or heavy artillery to support them, walked over 1,000 miles through extremely dense and almost impenetrable jungles and came out with glory.



In Five major (WALAWBUM, SHADUZUP, INKANGAHTAWNG, NHPUM GA, & MYITKYINA)and thirty minor engagements, they defeated the veteran soldiers of the Japanese 18th Division (Conquerors of Singapore and Malaya) who vastly outnumbered the Marauders. Always moving to the rear of the main forces of the Japanese the Marauders completely disrupted the enemy supply and communication lines, and climaxed their behind the lines operations with the capture of Myitkyina Airfield, the only all-weather airfield in Northern Burma.

The attack on Myitkyina was the climax to four months of marching and combat in the Burma jungles. No other American force except the First Marine Division, which took and held Guadalcanal for four months, has had as much uninterrupted jungle fighting service as Merrill's Marauders.

But no other American force anywhere had marched as far, fought as continuously or had to display such endurance, as the swift-moving, hard-hitting foot soldiers, of Merrill's Marauders


Men and animals of Merrill’s Marauders— predecessors to today’s U.S. Army Rangers—cross the Tanai River on a bamboo bridge built by Kachin tribesmen, 1944.

When the Marauders attacked Myitkyina they had behind them over 800 miles of marching over jungle and mountain roads and tracks. They had to carry all their equipment and supplies on their backs and on the backs of pack mules. Re-supplied by air drops the Marauders often had to make a clearing in the thick jungle to receive the supplies.

Every wounded Marauder was evacuated, an extraordinary feat in itself. Each wounded Marauder had to be carried on a makeshift stretcher (usually made from bamboo and field jackets or shirts) by his comrades until an evacuation point was reached. These evacuation points where mostly small jungle village's, where the Marauders would then have to hack out a landing strip for the small Piper Cub Evac. Planes. The brave sergeant-pilots of the air-rescue unit would then land and take off in these very hazardous conditions, removing every seriously wounded Marauder one at a time. The small planes, stripped of all equipment except a compass, had room for the pilot and one stretcher.



At the end of their campaign all remaining Marauders still in action were evacuated to hospitals suffering from tropical diseases, exhaustion, and malnutrition or as the tags on their battered uniforms said "A.O.E."(accumulation of everything).

For their accomplishments in Burma the Marauders were awarded the "DISTINGUISHED UNIT CITATION" in July, 1944. However in 1966 this award was redesignated as the "PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION" which is awarded by the President in the name of Congress. The Marauders also have the extremely rare distinction of having every member of the unit receive the "BRONZE STAR".


Walawbum, Burma
Early March, 1944
Group of Marauders after Battle of Walawbum.
Kneeling, L to R, Wilbur Smalley, "Murphy" Wonsowicz, Johnny Allen.
Standings 2nd from left; Bernard Martin, extreme right; Herby Miyazak

The unit was consolidated with the 475th Infantry on August 10, 1944. On June 21, 1954, the 475th was redesignated the 75th Infantry. It is from the redesignation of Merrill's Marauders into the 75th Infantry Regiment that the modern-day 75th Ranger Regiment traces its current unit designation.

I'd like to thank Marauder.Org for their generous permission to use their graphics on today's thread

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[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.