Merrill's Marauders: WWII jungle fighting unit approved for congressional medal

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

WWII jungle fighting unit approved for congressional medal

By RUSS BYNUM
October 13, 2020

The soldiers spent months behind enemy lines, marching hundreds of miles through the tangled jungles and steep mountains of Burma as they battled hunger and disease between firefights with Japanese forces during their secret mission.

In February 1944, the American jungle fighting unit nicknamed Merrill’s Marauders set out to capture a Japanese-held airfield and open an Allied supply route between India and China. Starting with 3,000 soldiers, the Marauders completed their mission five months later with barely 200 men still in the fight.

The journey of roughly 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) on foot was so grueling that fighting “was the easy part,” said Robert Passanisi, who at age 96 is among just nine known Marauders still known to be alive.

Now the Marauders, officially designated by the Army as the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), have been approved by Congress to be awarded its highest honor: the Congressional Gold Medal.

Passanisi enlisted his fellow surviving Marauders and the families of many who have died to begin lobbying for the honor four years ago. A final bill approved in September was sent Oct. 6 to the White House, where it awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/india-archive-946e49d270ca3485dc5a33bd83d8b477


FILE - This Aug. 2, 1944 photo, courtesy of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, shows members of the famed WWII Army unit Merrill's Marauders less than 75 yards from enemy positions, on display during a gathering of remaining members, family and history buffs, in New Orleans. The unit that spent months marching and fighting behind enemy lines in Burma has been approved to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress' highest honor. Nearly 3,000 soldiers began the unit's secret mission in Japanese occupied Burma in 1944. Barely 200 remained in the fight when their mission was completed five months later. (U.S. Army Signal Corps via AP, File)

[Chainfire]

1. These guys didn't get much press during the cold war

Some thought that there was a little much "Red" in "Red Mike Edson's troopers.

I am glad to see that, now that they are all, or about all dead, they finally get some recognition.

[murielm99]

2. My dad was one of them.

He died in 2013.

My dad trained as a cavalryman, with an actual horse. My mother has a picture of him somewhere with his horse, wearing his uniform with jodhpurs.

He and his unit were shipped overseas as replacement troops for the Marauders. That was the last they saw of their horses. They suffered horrific casualties from combat and disease. For some reason, there was a glitch in their supplies, and they were not getting enough to eat.

My dad spoke very little of those times, even when we were older. My brother had to practically grill him to get any details. He spoke more of the culture in India and Burma, of the times he was able to go on leave.

My dad, a sturdy farm boy, became quite thin as they marched across Burma and fought the enemy from the rear. He was nineteen years old.

He finished out his time in the military as an MP in China. He caught hepatitis, and came home weighing ninety-five pounds. He was always thin after that.

I will have to find out if my mother knows about the medal. She is ninety-one, and still living.

Merrill's Marauders are considered the first Army Rangers.

[flotsam]

3. Very Controversial

" Of the 2,750 to enter Burma, only two were left alive who had never been hospitalized with wounds or major
illness. None of the horses and only 41 mules survived."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrill%27s_Marauders

Now imagine being sent to a unit with a casualty rate exceeding 99%...