164 68 24MB
English Pages 337 [376]
EVANS CARLSON. BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
HIS 06487 343
“One
4
WWII
RAIDERS. AND AMERICA’S FIRST SPECIAL FORCES MISSION
of the preeminent chroniclers of the Pacific War.”
The Fighting
First:
—
Flint Whitlock,
Author of
The Untold Story of the Big Red One on D-Day
WUKOVITS JOHN One Author of
Square Mile of Hell
U.S. $25.95
Can. $32.50
Before the Green Berets... Before the Navy SEALs... Before the
Army
Rangers...
There was the Long Patrol. n November 1942, a battle for supremacy the Southwest Pacific
was
this contest
was
in
Nowhere
raging.
more bloody than
in the
steamy jungles of Guadalcanal. Outnumbered
and undersupplied, American forces fought
for
every foot of ground against a solidly determined
Japanese resistance.
was
It
in this hellish
man would make
zone that one
combat
history.
Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson was anything
Long considered
but a by-the-book Marine. a
maverick by many of
his
considered a traitor by some
comrades
— Carlson spent
years observing guerrilla tactics world.
He knew
effectively
prove
— and
over the
all
that those tactics could be used
by the Marines.
And
he was going to
it.
Carlson and an
elite
Raider Battalion
fighting force
— embarked
day mission behind enemy
— the 2d
upon
lines,
a thirty-
where they
disrupted Japanese supplies, inflicted a string of defeats on the
enemy
in
open combat, and
gathered invaluable intelligence on Japanese operations in Guadalcanal.
And
in the
process
they helped lay the foundation for Special Forces in the
modern
Here, for the of one
that
first
military.
time,
is
a riveting
account
man, one battalion, and one mission
would resonate through the annals
military history.
of
Digitized by the Internet Archive in
2016
https://archive.org/details/americancommandoOOwuko
AMERICAN
COMMANDO
AMERICAN
COMMANDO Evans Carlson, His WWII Marine Raiders, and America’s
First
Special Forces Mission
JOHN WUKOVITS
NAL
CALIBER
NAL Caliber Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Croup (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Croup (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand. London 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), enr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany,
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Ltd.)
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England published by
First
NAL Caliber,
a division of Penguin
First Printing,
June 2009
987654
10
an imprint of
Group (USA)
3
New American
Library,
Inc.
21
©
Copyright John Wukovits, 2009 Maps by Jeffrey L. Ward All rights reserved
NAL CALIBER
and the “C” logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA)
Inc.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGINC.-IN-PUBLICATION DATA: F., 1944— American commando
Wukovits, John
:
Evans Carlson,
his
WWII
Marine
raiders,
and America’s
first
Special Forces mission/
John Wukovits. cm. p. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-451-22692-1 World War, 1939-1945 Campaigns— Solomon Islands. 2. World War, 1939-1945 Commando 4. Guadalcanal, Battle of, Solomon operations Pacific Area. 3. Makin Atoll, Raid on, Kiribati, 1942. 6. United States. Marine Corps Biography. Islands, 1942-1943. 5. Carlson, Evans Fordyce, 1896-1947. 7. Generals United States Biography. 8. United States. Marine Corps. Marine Raider Battalion, 2nd. 1.
9.
—
—
— —
—
—
Special forces (Military science)
— History—20th
century.
I.
Title.
D767.98.W85 2009 940.54'265933092
— dc22
2008055329
Set in Fairfield
Designed by Ginger Legato Printed in the United States of America rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may he reproduced, stored introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
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ot publication, neither the publisher nor the author
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appreciated.
is illegal
To
who
my daughter, Julie,
always makes
me proud
Contents
PREFACE
1
:
ix
Reaching
for the Stars, but
Never Touching Them
1
2:
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
19
3:
We
42
4:
We Were
5:
It
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme
6:
It
Will
7:
A Poor
8:
We Rode to the Sound
9:
The Law
Could Have Taken on John Dillinger
68
Itching for a Fight
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare Fit
with the
Map of the
89
120 146
Guns
174
203
of the Jungle
10:
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been
232
1 1
Once Walked
257
:
I
with Giants
ENDNOTES
279
BIBLIOGRAPHY
305
INDEX
329
vii
Preface
s
A
a Pacific
War
historian,
I
have long known that the
name Guadalcanal
evokes memories of gallant clashes and valorous deeds by Army, Navy,
and Marine personnel.
Raider Battalion
s
role
ment explaining how
I
was unaware, however, of the Second Marine
on that island
a thirty-day patrol
views toward the enemy. The
he
patrol
felt
until
man
coming across an
behind Japanese
officer’s state-
lines altered his
stated that whereas at the start of the
compassion, hatred subsequently took over as the dominant
emotion.
That led nals.
me
to investigate this
Long
Patrol, as
rested with the few celebrated missions behind
Japan and emerged as a precursor
enemy
Marine an-
lines in the
Evans
F.
1
be-
commanding
Carlson, to the Roosevelt family, to the indomitable Trans-
Maghakian and the other Marine Raiders.
I
learned that before their
actions in Guadalcanal, the battalion executed one of the war’s
operations with
war against
to today s special forces operations.
familiar with fascinating individuals, from the battalion’s
officer,
port
called in
discovered that, far from being a routine assignment, the Long Patrol
1
came
is
it
its
first
covert
July 1942 raid at Makin.
Despite the personalities and events, historians have largely overlooked the Second Marine Raider Battalion.
One hook exists
and a 1947 biography of Carlson brought attention other than a few sparse chapters
in
Makin,
about
its
to the
commander, but
raid at
war summaries, no books have appeared
either detailing the exploits of Carlson’s Raiders in the
the events of the battalion’s yearlong existence.
Solomons
or relating
x
Two years Barr)'
Zerhy and the archivists
tration
helped immensely
Hanson
Hyde
of research for this at
Preface
book took me
the National Archives and Record Adminis-
in locating official
and
Park,
New York,
who
Roosevelt, James Roosevelt’s widow. Mary,
ta’s
of the able
staff,
made my time
staff at the Library of
at
me
contact with
in
offered insightful
Mary
comments
proved most helpful. Tony Magnot-
role with the Marines,
Marine Corps Research Center
aid at the
Museums
provided voluminous correspondence between Evans
Carlson and the Roosevelt family, as well as placed
on her husband’s
Matthew
unofficial accounts.
the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and
at
As always,
to diverse centers.
at
Quantico, as well as the
rest
productive at that beautiful center, as did the
Congress.
Carmen
Miller Michael
made
available an
illuminating collection of letters to and from her brother, Lt. Jack Miller, that currently reside at the
DeGolyer Library and Special Collections
Methodist University. The collection’s
Southern
at
director, Russell L. Martin, offered
my visits to the library. aided my research. Michael
valuable assistance during
Other individuals
J.
Zak shared an
insightful
and
collection of materials, including papers he wrote at Harvard University
and correspondence
transcripts of interviews
w'ith
Two
prominent Raiders.
Raiders, Dr. Ervin Kaplan and Frank Kurland, arranged access to past issues
of the Raider Patch the United States Marine Raider Association’s newsletter, ,
and John McCarthy and others
my
at the
Raider Association kindly responded to
inquiries.
Above
all,
I
want
to offer a special
thanks to the
many Marine
Raiders
w ho took
time, either in person or by telephone, to share their reminiscences
with me.
The
story
men who were
the
would have been incomplete without the recollections of there.
I
have
listed in the book’s bibliography the
names
of each person interviewed as well as the interview dates.
This book would not have been possible without the assistance of agent, Jim Flornfischer. literary agent,
He
plement the
polished World
text,
Ward
Buell,
and Mark Chait
at
als
historian as well as a superb
New American The examples
my Notre Dame history me on the proper path.
and of
nard Norling, keep I
II
again designed the outstanding
the rough edges from the manuscript.
Thomas
War
Jim understands the needs and demands placed on
tops. Jeffrey
is
A
my
maps
a writer.
that help
com-
Library helped remove of
my
writing mentor,
professor and adviser. Dr. Ber-
have also been fortunate to enjoy the encouragement of other individu-
who
Karen
exist outside the literary' realm.
— lend support with
their
My three
words while
I
daughters
—Amy,
am writing and
Julie,
and
with their deeds
Preface at all times.
They make me proud
Matthew, Megan Grace,
when calls
they
know
Kaitlyn
their grandfather
I
most needed
comments, made
skills.
She scrutinized
offered a cheery
and
Emma, and
be a
in
is
father.
My
—
four grandchildren
offer love
and smiles, especially
his "writing cave,” as
Matthew
it.
When sive
to
xi
am
I
a
all
mental boost, Terri
Faitel
was there with her
inci-
the wiser by her vast researching and educational
my manuscript
her typically meticulous
in
manner and
word when needed. She helped me more than she
realizes,
not only thankful for her aid but proud of the work she has accom-
plished in her
own
field.
my thanks go to four people, only one of whom is still with me. My parents, Tom and Grace, and my two brothers, Tom and Fred, never hope always to make them proud of failed to lend support to my endeavors. Mostly,
I
whatever 1
achieve.
I
would
like to
mention how
so on) used for each Raider
Raiders rals,
in
forth.
most important
mentioned
in the
hook.
I
To eliminate confusion, except
officers (Carlson, Roosevelt,
(private, corporal,
Many
in a
and
started with the first class,
corpo-
few cases involving the
Washburn, and
Peatross, for
used the highest rank attained by the individual during the scope
of the book. For instance, Ray
but had become a private
first
thus referred to as Pfc. Ray I
determined the rank
February 1942 as privates, then became privates
and so
example),
I
refer to Ft. Richard
later to reflect his
Bauml began class by the
as a private in February 1942,
Fong
Patrol in
Bauml throughout the book.
Washburn
promotion.
in
November. He
On
is
the other hand,
the beginning, but Captain
Washburn
AMERICAN
COMMANDO
1
Reaching for the Stars, but Never Touching Them
M
arine Lt. Col. Evans
the
F.
Carlson, battling
and
his small
group of Raiders
now
the
Makin
much
raid.
by the Japanese as by nature
enemy on
land, Carlson
struggled through heavy surf to reach the
submarines waiting beyond the reef
own rubber
in
He bad
shock the Japanese with an unexpected
Already fatigued from a long day of fighting the
His
his direst crisis.
brought his Marine Raiders to Butaritari, a small island
had, instead, been stunned, not so
itself.
spray as he squinted into
ocean wind and brutal breakers, faced
stiff
Atoll in the central Pacific, to
He
salt
them
to take
safely
back
to Flawaii.
boat had been no match for the waves, which tossed boat
and occupants toward shore with alarming ease. Carlson now slumped on the beach, exhausted and wet, and watched the breakers do the rest of their dirty work.
One
after the other the angry
waves flipped rubber boats upside down,
slapping exhausted Raiders into the water and swallowing their equipment.
Carlson wondered
He had machine
any of his
if
men would
faith in his Raiders,
called
them
reach their destination.
no doubt about
that.
“experts in death, demolition
The Marine
publicity
and destruction.” The
amphibious commander, Maj. Gen. Holland M. Smith, wrote that the Raiders
were "the
elite of
toughness”
combat; they could out-read
and out-swim a
fish .”
who
“were taught
a jungle-tracker,
all
the tricks of undercover
climb mountains
like billy goats,
1
Carlson had long had a dream
—
to train
men
in his
unique system, one
based upon fairness and equality, one centered on devotion to the democratic principles that
underpinned the nation. For
1
his labors,
he had received
AMERICAN COMMANDO
2
bitter criticism,
much
of
it
from fellow Marine
officers,
and been labeled
a
troublemaker.
He had no idea how many Japanese remained on the island. He knew most of his men had lost their weapons in the surf and, with them, the ability to defend themselves. He knew that, even if they had rifles, his fatigued men could barely lift them. Now,
in this his first test, a
debacle loomed.
Surrender, considered anathema to every Marine, suddenly was a frightening possibility.
As nightmarish weary
men
happened
Would
as that was, Carlson faced a
worse specter.
One
of those
beside him on that forlorn beach, the battalion’s executive
to
officer,
be the president’s oldest son.
his
dream
of fashioning a pioneering battalion
end here, on the
shores of this tiny Pacific outpost?
“His Spirit
Is
Restless”
To comprehend the uniqueness of the Second Marine Raider
must understand the man behind
it
man who
a
pacity to
intellectual
who quoted Emerson;
a thin, almost fragile-looking
relished fifty-mile hikes; an officer in a military organization
touted equality kill;
among
officers
and
the product of small
in the vast reaches of the world; a
fairness, but
New
England towns who sought adventure
man who
T. E.
and hatred and antipathy. Lawrence, a contemporary
fashioned a career from adventure, combat, and
asceticism. At various times of his
Don Quixote chasing an
believed in decency and love and
bitterness
Carlson was the American version of
who
life,
Carlson exhibited the tendencies of
elusive dream, a cutthroat worthy of
making
pirates
blush, an intellectual on a par with astute minds, an adventurer in the
of
Lawrence of Arabia,
who
enlisted; a kindly individual with the ca-
whose actions generated
from Great Britain
one
— Evans Fordyce Carlson. Rarely has who loved combat; —an
person combined such diverse qualities a high school dropout
Battalion,
a patriot,
an Elmer Gantry-style preacher, or
mold
a naive
optimist.
Born on February 26, 1896, such
traits, as
in Sidney,
New York,
Carlson could hardly escape
the lust for adventure had long fueled the Carlson clan. His
grandfather panned for gold in the mountains of California, while an uncle
Reaching
for the Stars, but
maintained law and order
Never Touching Them
Alaska as a United States marshal.
in the wilds of
Thomas, had been born
Carlson’s father,
3
rude shack
in a
in a
mining town
in
the California High Sierras.
During settlers
his
and
ploits of
roamed
New
England youth, Carlson
thrilled to the stories of colonial
their struggles against the Native
Americans.
He
read of the ex-
Maj. Robert Rogers and his Rangers, a special colonial militia that
New
England’s wilderness during the French and Indian
War
during
the mid-eighteenth century and gained a reputation for courage and cunning
with their missions deep into
enemy
territory.
Carlson early developed affection for great literature. classics boys his age read, soldiers,
He
such as James Fenimore Cooper’s
read most of the
tales of colonists,
and Native Americans, but unlike most boys, Carlson
also
plunged
deep philosophical volumes, especially the essays of Ralph Waldo
into
New
Emerson. The
England philosopher challenged Carlson’s mind with
such thoughts as “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is
he
no path and leave is
a trail
;
“A hero
braver five minutes longer”; and
thing excellent or
which
is
no braver than an ordinary man, but
is
“None
of us will ever accomplish any-
commanding except when he
listens
heard by him alone.” 2 For the remainder of his
march with Chinese
his lengthy
to life,
this
whisper
even during
military units in the 1930s or the daring mis-
worn volume of Emerson was
sion with his Raiders in 1942, his
a constant
companion. At the same time he inherited Irom his gationalist minister, a Christlike
Thomas
father, a
New
England Congre-
code based on decency and
a respect lor
all.
believed that one not only read and studied the lessons of Christ, but
that a person lived
hood driven by
it
in his daily life.
a longing to explore
aries that restricted his world, yet
Though he classroom.
more primitive
new
lure of those forests
tastes,
combined with
Carlson grew to early man-
a result,
things, to
guided by his
loved to read, Carlson
The
As
felt
smash through the bound-
father’s spiritual dictates.
constricted by the confines of a tiny
and woods where he could indulge a strong
his
independent streak, pulled him
from the textbooks and chalkboards. After running away from
permanently
left in
home
1910, which
for three
some
weeks
at
age twelve, Carlson
attributed, in part, to a clash with his
mother’s aristocratic attitudes. His parents stepped aside, realizing they could not prevent their son from departing, even though he old.
When Joetta
ing,
he instructed her not to blame herself.
was only fourteen years
Carlson told her husband that their son was intent on leav“It’s
no one’s
fault.
Evans
is
a
good
AMERICAN COMMANDO
4
The
boy.
But
him
or for us until he breaks awav.’ j
his spirit
restless.’
is
father added, “There won’t be peace for M
After working on a farm and for the Rutland Railroad for two years, in
1912 Carlson joined the United States Army. An Emerson-quoting teenager hardly
fit
Army
the recruiting poster stereotype for a raw private, but the
New England and ancestors. On November 6,
of-
fered Carlson a chance to see the world beyond
to experi-
ence the adventure that had driven
1912, the
his
sixteen-year-old Carlson lied to evade the Army’s
minimum
age regulation of
twenty-one and entered as a private.
Within three months Carlson stood
the Philippines, where he helped
in
emplace guns on the island of Corregidor. For three years he labored
in vari-
ous Pacific posts, including Hawaii, showing sufficient talent that he received
speedy promotions
to sergeant major.
conflict in April 1917, the
and assigned him
to
When
the nation entered the European
Army commissioned Carlson
a
second lieutenant
duty with the Thirteenth Field Artillery Regiment.
Carlson was not your typical
wrote that officers and
men
officer. In
an essay about military ethics, he
should work for the good of society, not for what
benefited them. In a letter to his father, he explained the principles of leader-
commanding
ship he tried to follow in
my men
love
“I
must see
led.
ask a
But
man
I’ll
.
.
.
the downfall of
them
some
recreation.
and shelter wherever get
him where
But
I
many
men.
must keep them working.
do something
to
men.
of the
I
that they have
sufficient food
he
but
his
I
it is
1
1
will lead a
even
I
have
he’s got to go,
won’t do myself.
officers.
and
amount
An
officer
later
loyalty.
of diplomacy.
The young officer had would
must always see
.
.
if
.
work
over,
is
man,
to drive
he
if
him.
I
will
never
This inspires the confidence
who can mix with
It is
I
that they have
must never become too intimate with the men. That
their respect
requires a great
the
possible.
that he does not feel above them, hut
ways holds
When
still
his
is
men and show
keeps a certain reserve,
al-
the great secret of leadership and
4
already formulated
some
of the guiding tenets that
appear with the Raiders, as well as exhibited tendencies that
distanced him from other officers. In an early efficiency report, his superior officer referred to Carlson’s philosophy of
managing men
as odd, but praised
Carlson as a person of character.
He
lived
up
to his reputation.
Within
a year
he had risen to captain
334th Regiment, a unit headed overseas. Carlson looked forward
manding men
in battle,
terminated the war.
to
in
the
com-
hut before he. reached the front lines the armistice
Reaching
Never Touching Them
for the Stars, but
Carlson resigned from the
Army
in
1919
to take a job
Packing Company, but he never found his niche
opted to return to service, hut
when
the
in the
Army
5
with the California
commercial world.
declined to take him back
unless he accepted a reduced rank, Carlson turned to the United States rines. In April 1922,
Carlson enlisted as a private
—
"Well, I’m back
I’m so
happy I’m almost moved I
Captain
He
must
of industry."
stay.’’
in
the Marines.
to his father.
to tears. Lord, I’ve
Ma-
"And believe me,
fought off the desire to
d rather be a buck private in the Marines than a
get back into harness but [sic]
he wrote
in the service,"
He
added,
“My
heart
in
is
the service
—and here
I
5
The Marines made to corporal within
things easier for their
new
enlistee by promoting
him
twenty days. Carlson showed such promise that before the
year was out, he proudly wore the trappings of a second lieutenant.
Carlson demanded
He prodded
much
men and officers, but more from himself. the men fairly and to live to the highest
of his
his officers to treat
standards. “Are you honest with yourselves at
adhere as
observation?
times?" he asked.
“Do you
code when you are alone as when you are under
rigidly to the ”
all
6
man to watch. Brig. Gen. Smedley a legend in the Marine Corps who commanded Carlson on the West told a newspaper reporter in answer to the question as to why the
Superiors soon marked Carlson as a Butler,
Coast,
Marines were so popular [got] a lot of officers like
In 1927, the
in
the nation during the 1920s,
Carlson
who
Marines sent Carlson
that nation over the next twelve years. rines in February 1927,
and
history.
The
philosophy of
allure
because we’ve
take care of the men." to
China, the
He
first
of three sojourns in
arrived with twelve
hundred Ma-
and quickly became fascinated with Chinese culture
would strengthen
in later years
and help mold
his
command.
Before that, though, three years tionary ideas and military tactics.
China, they fashioned the officer ing the
"It’s
in
Nicaragua exposed Carlson to revolu-
Combined with
who
his later experiences in
played such a pivotal role
in establish-
Marine Raiders.
The Nicaragua Classroom In
May
to
maintain peace and
1930, Carlson landed
in
Nicaragua as part of the United States’ effort
stability in the politically
unstable nation. Carlson
AMERICAN COMMANDO
6
would
and lead
advise,
train,
Guardia
a native military force called the
Nacional.
Sometimes
violent clashes
among competing
American country. The rebel leader Augusto
volatile situation in the Central
Cesar Sandino, who commanded a powerful led guerrilla attacks against
and feeding
his
political factions created a
militia in northern Nicaragua,
government forces and pillaged towns housing
opponents. The U.S. government ordered Marines into the
American
areas to protect
interests as well as shore
up the Nicaraguan
government.
men he
Carlson had to be wary of the
had already
killed
led.
seven Marine officers
where Carlson would be posted
—
Mutinying Nicaraguan troops
— mostly
because the
largely
remote outposts
in the
officers either treated
the Nicaraguans with disdain or refused to understand the native ways. Carl-
and he learned
son, however, studied Nicaraguan culture,
so he could issue orders to the
each
directly to
man
men
in their
speak Spanish
to
own language and communicate
without using an interpreter, whose
reliability
could be
in question.
When
Carlson arrived
command
to rely
on
his
Griffith, a
my own that
I
had
leadership
ground
World War
for
worked
skills
in
II,
I
said of the
was my own
Nicaragua
—
I
American
meager protection. to Carlson’s
advantage by forcing
and judgment. Nicaragua thus proved
Carlson and other young Marine
a lot of responsibility,
district,
was
barriers offered
contemporary of Carlson’s who
Battalion in I
own
posts that dominated the
slabs barricaded the front door to the single
isolated, the situation
a fertile training
officer,
Wooden
and rudimentary
Though
Army
time to the
in
frontier in the 1880s.
building,
the tiny post at Jalapa in northern Nicaragua to
group of forty Guardia Nacional, he must have thought he had
a
stepped backward
him
at
I
I
to
do things on
think
I
learned a hell of a
Samuel
with the First Raider
later served
South American post,
had
boss.
officers.
“I
was
a
my own, had I
young to
run
learned more in the 14 months lot,
about
men and
animals and
the country.” 8
On
July 9, 1930,
one hundred rebels plundered
gion. Carlson gathered sixteen
such a
large foe
a village in Carlson’s re-
men, unfazed by the prospects of taking on
with a diminutive force, and rode out
in pursuit.
Early the next morning Carlson spotted the rebel band.
men
to
dismount, then led them across a
opportune time Carlson opened
fire
river
on the
and through
He
ordered his
a pasture.
rebels. In a furious
At the
ten-minute
Reaching
for the Stars, but
exchange, Carlson’s hardy band killed
Never Touching Them
five rebels
and forced the
7
rest to retreat
into a forest sanctuary.
For his courage under
Carlson earned a Navy Cross and the acclaim
fire,
of his Nicaraguan soldiers. For the remainder of his tenure in Jalapa, Carl-
guidance so kept the violence
son’s steady
Gen. Calvin
officer,
from banditry.
sance mission against the controlled territory near the
keeping his
district
when he
guerrillas,
Honduran
on
set out alone
a reconnais-
twenty-mile ride through rebel-
a
border. Carlson traveled to the border
Thompson submachine gun under his serape, knowing any moment fall into the hands of bloodthirsty opponents.
and back, shielding
a
”
“How’s that
for
that his superior
y
Carlson added to his reputation
that he could at
minimum
Mathews, commended him
B.
”
“singularly free
to a
for guts,
10
exclaimed an admiring Samuel Griffith of his fellow
officer.
Carlson returned to the United States
when malignant
malaria
made
it
impossible for him to continue his duties, but not before absorbing lessons
from the
guerrilla warfare in
Nicaragua that he would
later utilize in the
Pacific.
In a
1937
five points.
time
article describing his
The
first
in
Nicaragua, Carlson focused on
concerned the proper use of small-unit
tactics.
Like
other Marine officers with service in the country, Carlson recognized the futility
of large-unit maneuvers in the wilds of Nicaragua. To fight bands of
guerrillas,
who
side, smaller
favored speedy strikes before disappearing into the country-
groups of
men worked
better in the jungles
“The only successful offensive operations,” stated been by small, very mobile patrols capable of
a
and streams.
Guardia
enemy
the second tactic
as quickly as possible
he advocated
later
—concentrate
as
11
much
—Carlson had the foundations
with his Raiders. In the jungles and
success often depended upon establishing superiority this end,
most patrols employed
Thompson submachine
a
country and of
living off the
following the bandits wherever they have been able to go.
Combined with
firepower on the for
Browning Automatic
men
in
Rifle
the front half of his
down
of what
of Nicaragua,
hills
in firepower.
lished a base of fire while the grenade launcher pinned
To achieve
(BAR)
When
column
or
Carl-
estab-
the rebel forces
so they could not escape. In the meantime, the rear half of the to the side to
much
gun, as well as a rifle-grenade launcher.
son encountered the enemy, the
"have
officer,
column swung
outmaneuver the opposition and attack from the
flank.
8
AMERICAN COMMANDO
Adaptation and the use of cers like Carlson
and
dently,
had
trust their
hand and
formed the
on
to think quickly
third lesson. Junior offi-
be able to act indepen-
their feet,
judgment. They could not worry that their actions
might subsequently be subject at
initiative
trust that action
Constant movement
to censure; they
was preferable
had
to react to the situation
to inaction.
to achieve surprise constituted
another lesson. Carl-
son preferred mobility and flanking attacks to combat
A
where he could be pinned down. the enemy,
speedy, hard-hitting attack demoralized
who had expected Carlson
action. “You don’t stand
emphasized Samuel
and slug
at a fixed position,
it
to wait until
being
hit
before taking
out, not in guerrilla warfare anyway,”
12
Griffith.
Carlson took his leadership beyond battlefield
He
though.
tactics,
be-
lieved that his predecessors failed, in part, because of their ignorance about
the Nicaraguan people and their culture. "If the leader took an unusual inter-
Carlson wrote of commanding the Guardia, “and had
est in their welfare,"
proved himself to he valiant ”
ering devotion.
tempt;
it
1
From
*
in battle, his
place
follow
created unity.
—the
rest
first
would be added
in
military classroom.
China
— but
his
paign in Guadalcanal would reflect what he learned
The 1930s were
He
only had pieces
acclaimed 1942 cam-
in
“He’s Something You Don’t See Every Day
Central America.
in
the Marines”
crucial to Carlson’s formation. Besides his time in Nicara-
monumental
gua, he encountered
who
him with unwav-
Carlson’s perspective, familiarity did not breed con-
Nicaragua served as Carlson’s in
men would
influenced the
figures in the
way he viewed
United States and China
not only the military but society as a
whole. Surprisingly, Carlson developed a friendship with President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. Starting in 1935 and lasting until Roosevelt’s death ten years
the two maintained a vast correspondence,
stuff
young Marine.
for the
In
w hich must have been heady
later,
1935, then Captain Carlson received orders posting him to
Springs, Georgia,
w here he served
protective detachment.
The
as the
second
in
command
Warm
of Roosevelt’s
president often traveled to the resort, where he
believed the heated spring waters benefited his crippled legs.
The
affable president took a liking to the introspective Carlson.
By
early
Reaching
Never Touching Them
for the Stars, but
1936 they had become friendly enough that the president and nor, invited
how
at
the president overcame his paralyzing polio to reach the highest office in
the land. By the latter half of 1936 an "I
his wife, Elea-
Warm Springs. Carlson responded New Deal policies, and he admired
Carlson and his wife to lunch
humanitarianism of Roosevelt’s
to the
9
enamored Carlson wrote
his parents,
believe that Roosevelt will prove by virtue of his second administration to
be one of the greatest of
all
understanding of Lincoln.
Overwhelmed
Carlson wished to
has the heart and sympathetic
14
Carlson’s admiration for Roosevelt
ence.
He
our presidents.
deepened the more he was
even be sharing confidences with a
to
him
assist
in
man
in his pres-
so powerful,
any way he could. In one of the
first letters
Carlson sent to the president, addressed to his personal secretary, Missy
LeHand, Carlson wrote of ily.
"If
that
I
can he of any service
guarded.’’
He added
nature for the
later,
members
never hesitate to
will
to the President in
should be happy to do
I
both the president and his fam-
his desire to help
so,
and that
“Incidentally,
his
if
any way he can confidence
assured
be carefully
can do anything of a personal
I
of his family, or for you, while
call
will
rest
am
I
there
I
hope you
on me.” h
Roosevelt accepted his offer in 1937, after Carlson had received orders to
China.
When
Carlson met with Roosevelt on July
Carlson to write him about developments
was engaged
tary
in a brutal
in
15, the president
China, where the Chinese
war with the Japanese. An
isolationist
constricted Roosevelt’s ability to act in foreign matters, but he able pair of eyes in
China could
felt
mili-
Congress
that a
reli-
relay information
he might otherwise not
One way
that Roosevelt, the cagy
receive from normal diplomatic sources. politician, kept a step
asked
ahead of opponents was
to benefit
from diverse streams
of information. Carlson could be one of those by quietly sending reports to
Roosevelt through Missy LeHand.
me
—
now and then direct to the White House,” Roosevelt told Carlson. "Let me know how you’re doing. Fell me what’s going on. suspect there’s going to be a great deal going on this summer in China. "I
want you
drop
to
a line
1
I’d like to
hear what you have to say about
Roosevelt added, "Shall of us? Shall we?”
we keep
it.”
When
Carlson readily agreed,
these letters a secret? Just between the two
16
Years later an officer
who
served for Carlson wrote, “Carlson was prouder
of his relationship with President Roosevelt than of anything else that had
ever happened to him.”
1
Phis
bond would both help Carlson achieve success
with the Raiders and earn the censure of fellow officers.
AMERICAN COMMANDO
10
Volatile political
and military
strife
Mao
Communists
Tse-tung’s
the Japanese. Since 1931, the nations had
which by 1937 saw the Japanese most of her important
and
cities
1930s. Within the
in the
Chiang Kai-shek had temporarily
country, the Nationalist forces of their squabbles with
marked China
waged
ports,
on repelling
a bitter battle for China,
much
in control of
to focus
set aside
of northeast
China and
such as Shanghai and Peiping.
Carlson made an immediate impression on fellow Marines and American
He
civilians residing in that nation. at
command
took
of a
Marine detachment
Peiping that had amassed an unenviable record of disciplinary actions, and
concluded they engaged
in
frequent drunken brawls because they lacked an
why they were in China. Carlson organized a series of classes to instruct the men in Chinese history and customs and to explain to them why they were posted to the country. A dramatic decline in the number understanding for
of infractions quickly ensued.
China and
Carlson’s desire to learn about
his natural intellectual curiosity
brought him into contact with a collection of writers
who
The group conducted weekly meetings, during which in lively discussions
on philosophy and world
politics
traveled the nation.
the
members engaged
and debated ways
to
promote tolerance and justice throughout the world. Carlson flourished amidst the free exchange of ideas. Edgar Snow, a noted author from the United States
educated automatons, told
who
dismissed most military officers as unj
thing you don’t see every day in the Marines.
Many
in
meeting Carlson, "He’s some-
his wife after first
18
the military would be naturally suspicious of people like Snow,
especially
when
Tse-tung’s
Communists. Carlson’s association with the
him
as a
they touted what they claimed were the benefits of
maverick and gained him the distrust of some fellow
Misgivings increased
when Carlson
and forged friendships with top
beliefs,
guerrilla warfare to
combat the Japanese.
military strategist
Sun Tzu and
employment of speedy
studied the Chinese
officers.
Communists
Mao
Tse-
which focused on the use of
A devotee of the
his book,
strikes
influential
Chinese
The Art of War Mao promoted ,
by highly maneuverable forces against the
points of weakest resistance. Mao’s beliefs were
Enemy Enemy
group marked
leaders. In lengthy discussions,
tung explained to Carlson his military
the
writers’
Mao
advances, halts,
we
we
summed
retreat.
harass.
in
the quote
Reaching
Enemy Enemy
Mao
showed Carlson
also
in regards to
Never Touching Them
for the Stars, but
tires,
we
attack.
we
retreats,
11
pursue.
19
that while the United States
was then neutral
the Sino-Japanese conflict, the U.S. government and American
Japanese by shipping vast amounts of war
industrialists actually aided the
supplies to that country. Mao’s arguments strongly influenced Carlson,
embarked on an extensive study
Chu Teh, one
of the situation.
of Mao’s top military aides, imparted to Carlson the founda-
tions of his tactics against the militarily superior Japanese. lish close ties to
possible,
the Chinese people, he fought behind
and he employed speed and mobility
Chu
Carlson later wrote that
Teh,
who
with his troops and was “loved by every
“If
of a U. S. Grant,”
a
20
man
To help Carlson obtain erations,
Teh arranged
communist
Legs,
enemy
tried to estab-
lines
whenever
to avoid a large fixed battle.
in his army,’’
Abraham
exuded the
“kindli-
Lincoln, and the tenac-
had long admired.
qualities Carlson
Man Has Only
He
shared the rigors of every campaign
ness of a Robert E. Lee, the humanity of an ity
who
He Gets
Tired”
deeper understanding about Chinese military op-
a
him
for
to
force, into the field.
accompany the Eighth Route Army, an
There he could observe the
fighting, talk
elite
with
the soldiers, and experience their daily regimen.
Carlson explained his thinking dent Roosevelt. Reading reports observers, "Rut practise
[sic].
organizing the
No
1
I
must
see
at
civil
populace. that
1
Christmas Eve 1937
letter to Presi-
headquarters might suit some military
these ideas and theories actually work out in
must see the Partisans
knowledge can equal
The day
how
in a
at
work.
1
must see the actual work of
must see the army on the march and which
is
in action.
derived from personal observation.
after Christmas, carrying a
21
volume of Emerson’s Essays and
guarded by a squad of Chinese soldiers armed with submachine guns, Carlson set out on what became an epic thousand-mile trek with the Eighth
Route Army.
An
interpreter
accompanied the
officer,
van of mules bearing medicine and other supplies
Lawrence embarking Arab
tribes,
into the deserts of the
who
traveled in a cara-
for the front. Like T. E.
Middle East and
living
among
Carlson disappeared into the wild regions of China for his
sojourn with native forces.
own
AMERICAN COMMANDO
12
Carlson fired off lengthy, perceptive missives to the White House describ-
communist
ing his observations as he traveled with the
military
and empha-
what made-the Eighth Route Army unique. He mentioned
sizing
that in the
Eighth Route Army, a leader became a leader not due to rank, but because he
had earned as their in
the
it
by performing
in
men, wore the same
combat. Officers shared the same discomforts
quality of uniform, ate the
same type of accommodations.
officers
The
when
same
food,
and
slept
Soldiers did not even have to salute
off dutv. j
most caught Carlson’s
intellectual focus, however,
conducted frequent meetings with the reasons for and
men
their
attention. Officers
during which they discussed
methods of previous and future operations. Carlson wrote
Roosevelt that “this army had developed a style of military tactics quite ferent from that
new
to foreign
employed by any other armies as well."
He
(officers) take the fighters (enlisted
explain to
them what the
Before a battle the
etc.
plained to
them
situation
men
military force in China, and, indeed,
claimed
men) is,
this
was so because "Leaders
into their confidence
why
the
are assembled
army
and constantly
taking certain action,
is
and the military situation
ex-
is
so that they go into battle with their eyes open. They are told
The
the possibilities of victory, the consequences of defeat.
bond of understanding between leaders and
He added
dif-
fighters."
result
is
a strong
22
1938 that "the Chinese are constantly studying
their
mistakes, and improvising methods to offset the Japanese superiority in
mod-
in April
ernized equipment."
He concluded
numbered Chinese
forces
that this introspection
produced
a
men,
talk to
in
common
is
practice in the
our army individual leaders get close to their
them about conduct, explain the reasons
action, hut the practise [sic]
the out-
grim determination against the
Japanese, a practice that Carlson lamented was not
United States. "Occasionally
among
for military
and ethical
not widespread." 23
As an example of how the Eighth Route Army’s methods succeeded. Carlson pointed to a wearying march up a series of slopes and
Though
difficult,
Carlson kept pace with the soldiers,
spites as they advanced. Subsisting
climbed
its
on
man
who
one wintry
When
a handful of rice, the unit
man
re-
had just fifty-
one combatant dropping out along
Carlson asked the soldier next to him
replied, "It a
day.
enjoyed few
eighth mountain in the past twenty hours and had traveled
eight miles in thirty-two hours, without
the way.
hills
has only legs he get
The response gave Carlson pause. The
[sic] tired.
soldier
if
he were weary, the
24
endured the marches and
Reaching
for the Stars, but
hardships because he understood
why he
trination infused a moral fiber in the
is,
fought. This spirit of ethical indoc-
army
that could not be
I
most
believe, the
an experience that
never forget.
shall
I
many
Carlson planned to implement
mand
He
troops in battle.
own, I’m going
how
to give
"What
have seen
is
human
a
“If
I
a revela-
is
political
communist
personnel
forces bordered
felt,
for
com-
ever have an outfit of
ethical indoctrination. I’m going to
thing. This
in the
of the ideas should he ever
what makes
my
show them is
great soldiers.”
Carlson navigated turbulent waters with these remarks. As
and
a
2S
confided to a friend,
them
I
army
they can find the will to sacrifice, and the desire to endure. This
Chinese thing but
itary
matched by
self-restrained, self-disciplined
world," said Carlson of the Eighth Route Army. tion,
13
on orders.
rule based "It
Never Touching Them
far as
not a
26
most mil-
an American soldier in the 1930s to praise
on the insane. The communists might not be the
current enemy, but they posed a significant future threat to world peace.
Besides ethical indoctrination, Carlson learned that
many
of the
worked
ciples of guerrilla warfare he practiced in Nicaragua also
Each time he interviewed
a
whom
—obtain the support of the
would come not only
as well as food
and
prin-
China.
in
Chinese communist commander, one or more of
three guiding tenets appeared
from
same
local population,
soldiers but information about the
enemy
shelter; maintain fluidity to avoid a fixed battle against the
numerically superior Japanese; and attain unpredictability, mainly by attacking the rear and flanks of the enemy, the weakest portions,
they least expect
it.
“But the 8th Route
squirms
in
compare
it
Army
swarm
pear, cut lines of
an
like
eel,"
Carlson wrote the president,
units.
Perhaps
it
would he better
The
I
can well believe the Japanese officer
8th Route
Army
gives
me
a
headache.
their courage in battle, but
lated a plan, officers blindly executed in
it,
fight
by
rote.
.
.
.
re-
initiative.
once senior commanders had formuno matter what unexpected develop-
the swirl of combat.
Japanese continue to
who
” 27
At the same time Carlson concluded that the Japanese lacked
ments occurred
to
communication, attack repeatedly during the night so that
in his diary,
He admired
"it
of hornets harassing an elephant; they strike and disap-
the opponents cannot sleep.
marked
is
and out between the Japanese to a
where and when
He
informed Roosevelt that "the
They must
fight
and maneuver accord-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
14
model
ing to the
unusual
He
in the
situations.’
book, and cannot adapt themselves to
28
held no doubts as to the ultimate intentions of those in power
The
Tokyo.
defeat of
China would merely be the
march toward world domination. “That
thesis
is
initial
is
a
step in
November
“The Heart of a Soldier and Soul
some
of his findings.
It
appears that the
On March
discussed one of Carlson’s letters with his secretary of the
who
agreed that
much
received from his sources.
some your
1938. “That
of a Saint”
Did Carlson’s passionate conclusions influence Roosevelt?
lekes,
Japanese
only be checked by a military defeat." 29
mad dog which can
president at least entertained
in
inexorable
its
a religion with the
military-naval clique,” Carlson wrote Roosevelt in
clique
new and
4,
1938, he
interior,
Harold
of what Carlson stated supported what he had
the president had not heard from Carlson in
If
LeHand to find out why. "My Chief loves December 1937. “Thank you ever so much
time, Roosevelt asked Missy
letters,”
she wrote Carlson
in
for taking the trouble to write as
you do." Five months
later,
LeHand to contact the Marine. "Please write him him how much we appreciate his letters, etc.’’ 30
structed telling
A
Carlson returned the compliment.
flattered
“I
am
Roosevelt
in-
a very nice letter
devoted to him not
only as our President, but also (and primarily) because of the things he stands for as a
man."'
1
The correspondence made Carlson could to help his
Word
commander
in chief,
of the communication leaked to
feel
more
willing to do
but the relationship
Navy and Marine
what he
came with
superiors.
a price.
They won-
why a junior officer enjoyed such a close relationship with the president and why he left the normal chain of command to send letters directly to dered
Roosevelt rather than to his superior
officer.
Other associations harmed Carlson
as well. In
mid-December 1937, he
met Agnes Smedley, an American author who traveled
communists and saw Carlson losopher. "Carlson
is
Paine, John
England
Brown
own
—with
—craggy and grim
in
a
China
to
study the
combination of warrior and phi-
one of those dangerous
He’s a throwback from our
Tom
as that rare
to
men
of lean and hungry look.
distant revolutionary past
—
touch of Lincoln. But
of
all
a mixture of
him
is
New
appearance, yet kindly and philosophical.” 32
Since Smedley worked and lived
among
the
communists and wrote of
Reaching
for the Stars, but
Never Touching Them
them with compassion, conservative U.S.
officials
and
15
military personnel sta-
tioned in China distrusted her. Carlson’s association with her gave critics one
more reason
who
to suspect Carlson,
already had raised eyebrows with the
Army
about the Eighth Route
flattering reports
that he submitted through
proper channels.
Carlson added vast
to the
amounts of
enmity by
steel, oil,
criticizing his
own government
and other crucial supplies
helped sustain that nation’s military adventure
in
for providing
to the Japanese,
China.
He
which
claimed that
Japanese dreams of Pacific conquest would one day lead to war with the
United States, and that aiding them now only put Japan
in a stronger position
while endangering the United States.
When appeared
a Carlson-authored in
1938 report on Chinese military operations
an Associated Press
story,
the
Navy reprimanded Carlson. The
Japanese government, upset with Carlson’s views, applied pressure on the
United States government superior,
appear
to stifle him.
On
September
Comdr. Harry Overesch, cautioned Carlson
in the press, severe
17, 1938, Carlson’s
that should he again
repercussions would follow.
Carlson faced a dilemma.
He
felt
he viewed as alarming developments
Marine Corps, he was duty-bound
to
compelled
in the Far East,
obey
its
country to what
to alert the
but as an officer in the
dictates. Consequently,
30, 1939, he resigned so that he could freely speak
on April
and write about subjects
as a private citizen. “I
cer,”
feel very
deeply that
I
can be more useful as a
He
he informed Roosevelt.
stated that he
than as an
civilian
would write
a
offi-
book about
his
experiences and give speeches to civic groups about the country. “As a civilian I
can help
to interpret to the
in the Far East.
As an
ment. This sounds
must follow the was
altruistic,
first
cannot do so without embarrassing the governbut
later
wrote
1
am
it,
and
I
feel that
1
well.
in his diary, “I
whims
very sincere about
Roosevelt replied that he was sorry Carlson
wished him
action to the arbitrary
be the
I
‘inner urge.’
resigning, but
Carlson
officer
American people the significance of events
am
tired of
attempting to adjust
my
of a superior officer. Self-preservation seems to
thought of an officer of the U.S.
Army or
Navy. His whole training
tends to accentuate that inclination. As a result he inevitably takes the short
view of things, considering each problem security.
He
will take
in
terms of his personal economic
no action which may jeopardize
his career.
AMERICAN COMMANDO
16 Part of the
had
room
little
command. A
doomed
Two
problem was that the Marine Corps, for a
man
who
Carlson, a reformer
like
in existence since
1775,
challenged the chain of
laboring in an autocratic organization, Carlson
radical
before he started.
Don
was
Quixotes, he would learn, work better alone.
One Chinese
observations illustrate this dichotomy in Carlson.
of-
wrote that “Carlson had the tough health of a trapper, the staunch heart
ficial
Add
of a soldier, and the pure sweet soul of a saint.
to this a
deep love
for
mankind, freedom and democracy, and a well-tempered sense of humor, and you
will
have a more or
less
complete picture of the man."'"
Agnes Smedley most accurately summed up the man, however. group of fellow authors, Smedley attempted
to a
for
how
she would
which the lead characters would be the individuals with
cast a play in
she worked
to describe
In a letter
in
China. The protagonist and the heartthrob would
fall
whom
to others,
Carlson had his role locked up.
"Then there be the fear.
man
is
Evans
—where
he? Long and lanky and lovable, he shall
is
unconsciously reaching for the stars
Yet that striving, alone,
of tragedy in
my
play.’
makes
life
— but never touching them
worthwhile.
He
shall
I
be the element
M6
Have a Hunch”
“I
Once
his resignation took effect,
United States trying
to
Carlson wasted
little
time back
in
the
convince Americans that the United States had to halt
He embarked on
the flow of supplies to the Japanese.
a
nationwide speaking
tour from 1939 to 1940, appeared on radio programs, and urged Congress to
support an embargo on products to Japan, accusing the Japanese of “sword rattling” in the Far East.
During rial
this interlude in the
he had gathered
in
China
to
United States, Carlson organized the mate-
produce two 1940 books. Both Twin Stars of
China and The Chinese Army further promoted
his views
on the Far Eastern
situation.
He
twice visited Roosevelt
a delighted
to
1
the
White House. After
his
second meeting,
Carlson was convinced that he had Roosevelt’s blessing for his
speeches and books.
what
at
He
wrote Missy
LeHand
that
"I felt
that
he approved of
have been doing, and that was particularly encouraging for
develop a line of argument
in
connection with
my talks
I
have tried
on the Far Eastern
Reaching which
situation
commit
not so
This
would lead
himself."
to action
17
which he desired, though he could
3
an attitude that had been slowly emerging
letter exemplifies
He
son.
felt
I
Never Touching Them
for the Stars, but
how
relished being part of the president’s coterie, no matter
nificant a one,
and hoped never
to disappoint
moved
him. Carlson
Carl-
in
insig-
in lofty
circles for a high school dropout.
Bolstered by the support he received at home, at his
autumn
returned to China in the visiting
Chinese
Marine
server,
and talking
factories
Lt. Col.
He
of 1940. to top
David D. Barrett, on station
with Carlson, “formerly a major
China
affairs,
the
more
officials.
in
A
military ob-
the office of the mili-
communist
officials
had met
United States Marine Corps,
in the
they consider their staunch friend.” 38 broiled in
traveled four thousand miles
Chinese
tary attache in China, wrote his superiors that
own expense Carlson
whom
The more deeply Carlson became em-
likely
he was to be labeled a communist by
other Marine officers.
During
this visit
of war as
meaning
where
1941.
in
Carlson interpreted statements from Japanese prisoners
that the Japanese
He
my
cut short
strike U.S. Pacific holdings
decided that he could no longer remain
was needed somewhere “I
would
trip
in
some-
China when he
else.
because of
hunch,” he wrote home.
a
“I
feel that
events in the international field are moving rapidly towards a point where
be necessary for America
will
prospect
my
it
behooves
me
to participate actively in the war.
to return before the
information before the authorities.
services for active duty.”
On nila;
I
must
break comes so that
his return trip in January,
MacArthur was then
Carlson visited Douglas MacArthur
a military adviser to the Filipino
commander
place
my
that the Japanese
in
Ma-
government.
would attack
MacArthur
establish a
the mountains near Manila and train his forces to wage a guerrilla
campaign against the invaders. MacArthur attempted
to tell
With events for a
may
also he in a position to offer
the Philippines sometime that year, and urged that in
I
a
39
Carlson warned the noted military
base
With such
it
to run his
former major
department, then ignored every word.
rapidly spiraling out of control in the Pacific, Carlson reapplied
commission
had already
him how
politely listened as a
left
in the
Marines, a move that outraged fellow officers.
the Corps once
—
a traitorous act to
some
He
—and he returned
18 tainted by
AMERICAN COMMANDO
communist poison. How, they wondered, could he be an
asset to
the Marines? Lt. Col. Merritt A.
rines, raised the in
Edson, commander of the
First Battalion, Fifth
most strenuous objections. Fike Carlson, Edson had served
Nicaragua and studied guerrilla operations, but he detested Carlson
sociation with the liant officer,
Ma-
had
Chinese communist military
little
Edson,
forces.
use for what he saw as Carlson’s
s
as-
a blunt, bril-
idealist, simplistic
views of society. The Marines needed energetic, vibrant commanders, not philosophers.
Despite the opposition, major.
in April
As the Marines geared up
weighed
1941 Carlson rejoined the Marines as a
for a possible war, Carlson’s talents out-
his controversial statements.
Carlson was again with the Marines, this time
phy
that he
hoped
to
implement. Fashioned by a
New
England childhood and
influenced by events in Nicaragua and China, Carlson
with which he could test his theories.
He
by a guiding philoso-
fortified
soon found
now needed it
in
a vehicle
an amazing group
of young Marines. Carlson’s Raiders were about to take the stage.
2 Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
he day started peacefully for Maj. Evans Carlson that December
T
He
drove to
Camp
Elliott
from
on routine matters, but the
order.
Assured that
Sunday,
this
uneventful Sundays
in
his
staff
La
Jolla, California,
home
duty officer told him that
December
7,
would wind up
San Diego, Carlson hopped back into
7,
1941.
to
check
all
was
in
other
like all
his car to re-
turn home.
As he drove up
to the
"All leaves canceled,
sir.
camp
gates, a sentry in crisp
The Japs attacked
uniform announced, Carlson turned
Pearl Harbor.
the automobile around and headed back to his offices. War,
it
seemed, was
upon him.
In an office
on the other side of the country,
like
thousands of sons around
the United States, James Roosevelt listened with his father to the stunning
developments unfolding
at Pearl
Harbor.
A
train of assistants
rushed
in
with
the latest bulletins, and James noticed that his parent, normally a vibrant core of energy, appeared
The
more exhausted than he could ever remember.
next day James accompanied his father to a nearby building where
his father
was
to deliver a speech.
The opening words
not only riveted the
young man’s attention but quickly reverberated about the
December
7,
1941
—
a date
which
will live in
infamy
nation. “Yesterday,
—the United
America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and
Empire of Japan.” 19
States of
air forces
of the
20
AMERICAN COMMANDO
With those words President Franklin Delano Roosevelt asked war of
who
stood behind him, but millions
Some,
like the studious, professorial
that affected not only his son James,
men and women
across the land.
for war, a
Richard Washburn of Connecticut; Jack Miller from Texas, the dashing ath-
who
lete
broke every females heart; and Chicago’s Victor Maghakian, the
second-generation Albanian-American whose courage gained admirers every-
where, would join James Roosevelt, the president’s son, outfit,
in
the
same
unit.
The
the Second Marine Raider Battalion of Evans Carlson, would gain
fame and
notoriety.
December
1941, provided the catalyst that propelled Carlson and his
7,
Raiders to success
—
as
Marines and as individuals.
“A Dash of Elizabethan Pirate” With the ashes
of Pearl Harbor
still
smoldering and with
many
in the nation
worried about a possible Japanese assault against the West Coast, the president held a late-December meeting
in
Washington with
his secretary of
the Navy, Frank Knox, and with British prime minister Winston Churchill.
Among
the items on the agenda was a
memo written
by Col. William
J.
Don-
ovan, the head of the fledgling intelligence organization the Office of the
Coordinator of Information, recommending the formation of an independent guerrilla-stvle unit, free
from the Army and Navy, which could harass the
Japanese. Roosevelt loved the idea of a special forces unit that could swiftly sneak into enemy-controlled territory, take out a target, pear.
With much of
his
Navy
resting
on Pearl Harbor’s bottom, and with the
other military forces needing time to organize, tion to strike
month
hack
at
an
enemy
Roosevelt, and the
and then as quickly disap-
it
at least
upper hand.
that held the
fallen; Singapore, the
In the war’s
opening
American public with him, watched helplessly
Japan devoured other nations' Pacific possessions.
had
handed him the op-
Dutch East
Indies,
Guam
as
and Wake Island
Hong Kong, and
the Philip-
pines appeared doomed. In a few short weeks the United States had gone
from scorning Oriental nations
like
Japan
to
absorbing a string of crushing
defeats at the hands of that Oriental nation.
Worse remained
still,
especially for people
silent.
The ominous
on the home
front,
was
that their military
feeling spread that the United States, at least
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
moment, stood
for the
21
helpless to respond. ‘‘You got the impression that
whatever the inventory of damage, the United States wasn’t going
because the United States couldn’t respondent Robert
J.
little
hack
news
cor-
after Pearl Harbor.
time being, especially
for the
to wait for the nation’s factories
and shipyards
to
in the Pacific.
produce
He
a stream of
guns, tanks, and ships before mounting a major campaign, and he
aircraft,
had
back," 2 wrote the veteran
Casey of the weeks
Roosevelt could do
had
hit
to hit
to divert
most of
his attention
and
his
rope and the task of defeating Adolf Hitler.
meager Still,
military resources to
Eu-
he and the American people
longed for something to soothe their shattered morale, and President Roosevelt
wanted the Japanese
country’s
main weapons
to realize that while they
may have shorn
Harbor, the United States
at Pearl
still
the
possessed the
capability to retaliate.
Maybe
a
needed
just
The
group of commandos could step to find the right
idea for a
commando
‘‘commando’’ had
first
fighting during the
man and
force
was
War
in
and deliver such
a
punch.
He
the right unit.
certainly not
been used by the
Boer
in
new
to history.
The word
British to describe guerrilla units
South Africa
in the late
nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries.
Forerunners to Carlson’s Raiders
Seven
Years’ War,
when
in
U.S. history appeared during the
1750s that same Robert Rogers a young Carl-
in the
son admired guided his Rangers into combat against the French and their Native American
allies in that decisive conflict.
tiersmen an offensive mobility
—
all
spirit,
the
employment
Rogers
instilled in his fron-
of surprise,
and speed and
trademarks of what would become Carlson’s Raiders. Conti-
nental Marines also conducted an amphibious raid in
American Revolution against
British
March
installations
at
1
776 during the
New
Providence,
Bahamas. In
May
1940, the
Germans had executed an audacious
seemingly impregnable Belgian bastion Fort Eben-Fmael,
strike against the
sitting atop a
ontory above the Albert Canal. Reinforced bunkers cradled inside the fort.
A
rocky
cliff
prom-
mammoth
guns
protected one side while dense minefields and
miles of barbed wire shielded the others.
Despite the hazards, gliders deposited a group of directly
on the
fort,
and
after a
quick
battle, the
elite
German
Germans grabbed
soldiers
Fort
Eben-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
22
and considered among the best the Army
Emael. The
soldiers, all volunteers
could
received specialized training for the daring mission.
offer,
With the heady success of the Germans
at Fort
Eben-Emael and through-
out Europe, Winston Churchill asked his chiefs of staff a question: easy for the to
Germans
to invade us
do anything of the same kind In response, Lt. Col.
to
.
.
why should
.
it
be
.
.
.
"If
it is
so
impossible for us
him?” 4
Dudley Clarke,
a staff officer at the
War
Office, as-
sembled notes about mounting similar missions. He studied past campaigns, such as the Spanish hit-and-run raids against the French
what the Boers had done
An prises
1808—14 and
in
to halt the British.
elated Churchill relayed Clarke’s
must be prepared with
memo
to the
War
Cabinet. "Enter-
specially trained troops of the hunter class
who
can develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast," he wrote with typical Churchillian the whole
He added
flair.
that
German-occupied
he wanted
"a ceaseless offensive against
coastline, leaving a
trail
of
German
corpses
behind.” 4
Clarke received orders to organize and train a group of
commandos
carry out Churchill’s desire. Clarke culled top soldiers from existing units
move
that angered
many commanders
endure harsher training than regular
and would learn lar soldiers.
pirate, the
—and warned them and
Clarke told associates he wanted
Chicago gangster and the
sional efficiency
proved that the
fight
men
to
would
do more,
with "a dash of Elizabethan
frontier tribesman, allied to a profes-
commandos
1
soldier.’"
in their first raid, a series of four land-
French coast. Though the mission accomplished
men
—
with less sleep than regu-
and standard of discipline of the best regular
In June, Clarke led his
ings along the
would he expected
forces,
to subsist with less food
that they
to
little
and
required further training, British citizens rejoiced over
the event.
The Marines had studied
the concept of an amphibious, raider-type force
throughout the 1930s, but considered such a unit one segment of a regular
Marine
division rather than as a separate unit.
one of the missions handed in
December 1933. Two
raider-type forces,
and
in
to the Fleet
An amphibious
Marine Force upon
years later a landing
a section
on
subsequent exercises Marines debarked from high-
recent years a provisional rubber boat Navy’s fleet exercises, massive
European and
became
establishment
manual included
speed transports and destroyers and headed ashore
its
its
role
mock
Pacific strategy
in
company had been included
training battles in
and
rubber boats. In more
tactics.
in
the
which the Navy tested
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
“Painfully Anxious ... to
23
Win His Approval”
Just as the impetus for a special raider force gathered, Carlson reunited with a
man he had
Warm
first
met during
his time with the presidential guard detail at
James Roosevelt, the
Springs.
and joined the Marines,
because of
in part,
Carlson was everything Roosevelt hoped intellectual, athlete,
admired Carlson
president’s oldest son,
to
be
his association with Carlson.
—an adventurer, world
traveler,
and ardent supporter of an idea that fueled many
in the
Roosevelt clan: that each person had dignity and value.
He
enjoyed a
father was, after
the others could never conceive. James Roosevelt’s
lifestyle
same
the president, but the two shared the
all,
emotions faced by every father and son
issues
They loved and
in the country.
and
fought,
played and worked, cried and laughed. In the end, the issue
came
to a
son yearning to gain the respect of his
father. In his autobiography, Affectionately, F.D.R.,
many
declaring his pride in Franklin Roosevelt’s
much
James does not begin by feats,
but by stating
how
he missed his father and how, while Franklin was loving and caring, he
was often an absentee
father.
"To me, he was great
—
a wonderful father, the
ing parent a son or daughter could want.
the pain
periods
is
“Sometimes
evident.
when
had no father
I
in
at all.”
most
Then,
in
looking back,
James stated
it
loyal
almost the next breath,
seems
at
all.’’
and respect
. .
if
we
there were
was
felt
a deeply
we
didn’t
make
That, in turn, led to a desire to please the father and to
him proud. “He gave us less ways, every
as
that his father
caring man, but “detached and overpowering. Sometimes
have him
and understand-
love; in
our
own
one of us adored him.
headstrong, often rebellious, thought-
We wanted
[italics
Roosevelt’s] his love
6
.
Though blessed with fame,
fortune, and a family
name
that already in-
cluded two presidents, James battled early maladies. Pneumonia and a heart
murmur steps,
so
weakened the youth
and because of
for a certain period
that his father carried
a nervous condition,
each
James had
him up and down the to lie flat
He
struggled to
floor
day.
James consequently feared disappointing Franklin and trust.
on the
match the high standard
losing his father’s
for the Roosevelt
males
set
by
Franklin and his presidential predecessor, Theodore. His undistinguished
school record caused Eleanor Roosevelt to write of her ten-year-old son’s record at
St.
Albans School
of 19 with a dreadful
in
mark
Washington, D.C., “James stands 13th in arithmetic. ...
I
think James
is
in a class
much ashamed
but
his careless
it is all
24
AMERICAN COMMANDO
way
of working
&
liking to
much
have a good time so
that he neglects his work."
James
carried that mediocrity to Groton, a Massachusetts school for boys
founded by the Rev. Endicott Peabody that Franklin had attended. James,
who
unlike his father failed his
amassed
The
initial
attempt
at
the school’s entrance exam,
a forgettable record. split
between James’s desires and
became
his father’s expectations
evident in the choice of a university. James hoped to attend Williams College,
hut Franklin, a Flarvard graduate, wanted his son to attend his alma mater. “At this point, perceiving
how
obvious
it
was
that Father really
had
his
heart set on having his oldest son follow in his footsteps at the old college,”
James wrote, so because
and win
“I
“1
gave in and said
would go
I
tried to
when
at
ty’s
Law
Franklin urged James to enter law school,
what he wanted.
School, after which he
James longed
him
of the
did, and,
my own man." ”
to go along with
many
Harvard, where he joined
do too many of the things which he [Franklin]
consequently, was not Later,
that he did
respects."
all
James continued the pattern
"1
He added
loved Pa deeply and was almost painfully anxious to please
his approval in
explained,
to Harvard.
s
He
left to
He
tried
once more
lasted only a year at Boston Universi-
enter the business world.
to please his father, yet
by being Franklin’s son.
"I
chafed
the restrictions imposed
at
searched for that perfect solution, one that would
bring self-satisfaction while gaining his father's approval.
Ironically,
an
illness
both threatened James’s world and drew him more into
that of his father’s. In
August 1921, with Franklin Roosevelt
of a promising political career, polio struck. For days the
at
the beginning
man who
attacked
every activity with vigor lay helpless as physicians attempted to determine a
remedy.
The
sight of his robust father in bed,
the thirteen-year-old James.
1921
"I
unable
island
came
down
to the
dock
York," he later related.
was going on fourteen,
“We I
kids
was
as
fend for himself, unnerved
shall never forget that
—when four men from the
stretcher to carry Father
to
watched
it
to the
day
— September
13,
house with a homemade
to start the trip
back
to
New
solemnly, and that day, though
young and scared
as
little
Johnny.
I
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
25
Franklin tried to ease his children’s fears with a cheerful smile and hearty
remarks, but
had
to rely
Jimmy could
on others
not be comforted.
for the
illness,
a political career.
somewhere on
at will
we missed him
As
com-
He
during this
tangible father, no father-in-being,
—only an
abstract symbol, a cheery
Warm
added, “Only
during that period."
his father’s outlook improved,
As oldest
a pair
hurt.
it
for a long while
a houseboat or at
himself to do what had to be done." sorely
bed or donning
searching for a cure or reconstructing
we had no
could touch and talk to
letter writer, off
so hard that
"These were the lonely years;
time of illness and recovery
whom we
lip
in
upon now
the teenage boy had to grow up without the
who was busy
panionship of his father,
father he relied
simple acts of sitting up
of pants. To avoid crying, James bit his
Because of that
The
Springs, fighting by
now do
I
how
realize
4
James enjoyed
son, he assisted his father with
some
a
new
role with Franklin.
of the things he could no
longer do himself.
The apex occurred when he helped walk 1924 Democratic National Convention York City. Roosevelt was to nominate party’s candidate,
marked
his first
at
Franklin to the
podium
Madison Square Garden
New
at the
in
New
York governor A1 Smith as the
but the speech held added significance for Franklin, as this
major appearance since polio struck. The audience, packed
with powerful political figures, would be scrutinizing Franklin to see
if
he
could endure the rigors of addressing such a vast crowd. "I
was
and
Father’s page
years later of the event.
“I
elated beyond description
care to
come along and
‘prop’ at that convention,"
was
sixteen,
when
lend
me
tall
and
strong,
James wrote proudly and
I
was excited and
Father one day asked me: Jimmy, would you
your arm?”’
His father, wearing the cumbersome steel braces that had become as
much
a part of
wardly,’’
hand.
“I
him
as his shoes, could
walk a few steps, "painfully and awk-
with a crutch under one arm and grasping James’s hand with his
had learned
to
match my
stride to his
left
slow movements and had
taught myself not to look anxious but to smile just as he did
when he
forced
himself forward.” Slowly, in
measured paces, father and son shuffled onstage.
from the podium Franklin
completed the
final
let
A
few
feet
go of James’s arm, grasped a second crutch, and
few steps
to a
thundering ovation from an appreciative
audience. Perspiration covered James’s face, both from assisting his father and from
AMERICAN COMMANDO
26
was so damned
the emotions of such a moving scene. "At that
moment,
proud of him that
kept myself from bursting
into tears.’’
it
was with
difficulty that
10
“Jimmy! What a Problem He Franklin used the the
White House.
momentum It
was
stirring
speech as
a
launching pad to
time when, as James described, "we did lose a good
a
and “when we had
to begin sharing
him with
1
James hoped his
Is”
from that
part of that personal Pa of ours’’
the world.”
I
I
to
make
his
son that people would
mark
try to
the insurance world. Franklin warned
in
use the Roosevelt
name
for their
own
pur-
poses and would seek opportunities to take advantage of him, but the words
missed their mark. James became the subject of vicious attacks, made simpler for his accusers
by his lack of business acumen and a sense of naivete. His
actions so frustrated his father that once, after learning from a government
James had
official that
down
broke
in tears.
him
tried to influence
"Jimmy!
What
a
in favor of a client,
problem he
12
is,’
Roosevelt
said a disconsolate
father.
The Saturday Evening
Post,
then one of the nation’s leading magazines,
focused more attention on James when, on July James’s dealings. Titled “Jimmy’s Got
on of
his
1938,
it
ran a story about
the article stated that, largely based
connections with government, the president’s son amassed large sums
money from insurance “jimmy
ance.
It,"
2,
He
is
sales.
a specialist in everything
mastered
it all
—
in practically
ported. "The insurance fraternity
medical fraternity would be
if
a
is
life, fire,
marine,
air
and group
insur-
no time," the writer Alva Johnston
as startled by this
youngster
who had
young meteor
as the
never attended a medical
school suddenly turned out to be America’s greatest specialist in the eye,
nose and throat,
in
abdominal and pulmonary
re-
ear,
surgery, in obstetrics, pediatrics
and chiropody.” Johnston stated that many of James’s sales were to companies with preexisting
connections with the federal government. "Some corporations which
have given Jimmy insurance have been lucky
ment
contracts];
[in
renewing or winning govern-
some corporations which have denied him insurance have
been unlucky. n ’
Other publications added
their criticisms.
The
St.
Louis Post-Dispatch's
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
July
editorial
1
handed out
on how
free advice
27
to get ahead. “To
make
a sure-
success in the insurance business, and thereby gain a competence on
fire
which
and serve your fellow men, get your father elected
to enter public life
President of the United States." 14
From
bed
his
Mayo
the
at
correct severe stomach problems,
James
printed in Collier's magazine. “Sure,
wasn’t the son of the President.
He
too."
where he had gone
Clinic,
.
.
got into places
I
it
sometime," and added,
me
“Tell
entered.”
people through the
many
In
on
I
got tossed out a lot
if
I’m screwy for having the
me
a
crook no matter
1
benefits, but
November 1936,
own
identity,
James was viewed by
of Franklin Roosevelt. Being the president’s son car-
filter
also brought
it
its perils.
President Roosevelt asked James to
a trip to Argentina as personal aide.
as a
if
'’
I’d
Try as hard as he might to create his
ried
I
was
because you’re the son of the
idea that, being the President’s son, they’d have called
what business
a rebuttal that
never would have
I
But, son or no son,
.
said that “prospects don’t wilt just
President. Try
back with
fired
for surgery to
The
president
Marine lieutenant colonel was appropriate
accompany him
felt that a
commission
for James’s duties and, al-
though he was uncomfortable with the sudden jump
to the military hierarchy,
James accepted.
mocked James’s sudden
Detractors
Roosevelt doubted the
husband
if
James was
"He wore
a
because after
The
insults
little all,
a lieutenant colonel.
did.
think
I
embarrassed by the
these were in early
as his administrative assistant.
the
Armed
trip, said
fact that this
had been given
his son to
work
his father for the almost
left
it
in the
death of his closest
Howe, Roosevelt asked
White House, hut
him
16
after the
James loved serving
sat
James’s
when James came back
Services.”
1938 when,
confidant and political adviser, Louis
in
facetiously asked her
2007, “and his father joked that he
in
mounted
two years he labored
move and
white uniform" during that
he would get shot before he
from there, he was a to him,
of such a
second lieutenant or
a very beautiful
widow, Mary Roosevelt, front seat so
wisdom
prominence. Even Eleanor
military
him vulnerable
to
more
caustic remarks in the press. Still,
the opportunity gave
he hoped not to disappoint. “I
him the chance
On
to
work with
his father,
Christmas 1937, James wrote
whom
his father that
often fear so greatly of doing something big or small which will bring
hurt to you, and
I
pray so hard that
somehow
it
may never
happen.’’
some
17
Although he performed capably, the appointment brought more abuse.
AMERICAN COMMANDO
28
The
press labeled James the
"Crown Prince” and the
and Time magazine received venomous
when
letters
February 28, 1938, cover. James claimed that he was in
county
lin
fairs that
moaned
to aide
placed James on
it
"like
its
one of those heads
people throw baseballs at whenever they pop up." Frank-
James Rowe
being the child of a president!
that
James entered the Mayo
Clinic,
"One
of the worst things in the world
a terrible life they lead!
It’s
ended James’s tenure
Illness
"Assistant President,"
in the
White House.
1
is
s
September 1938,
In
where physicians inserted
a series of rubber
tubes through his stomach to repair bleeding ulcers. Physicians told James the pressures of working in the
White House increased the
stomach problems and recommended that he
James resented the
severity of his
resign.
ridicule that turned his jobs into sideshows.
It
only
He found
fueled his determination to succeed and prove his critics wrong.
it
with the Marines.
“I
Felt
Had
I
to Fight” Marine Reserve, James performed various
a lieutenant colonel in the
Still
duties at different posts, including the testing of antiaircraft batteries, but the
high rank bothered him. In October 1939, he resigned his commission, then rejoined the next
month
as a captain.
as every' reserve officer to learn the
reserve battalion.
James explained well by the time
I
in
was
a
1979.
we were
He
participated in the
nuances of
his rank.
company commander
“We
did train, and
I
in
the reserves of battalion,
really did
called to active duty in 1940.
few hours of
sleep,
know my job
December
December
war had abated and the president could
James helped
pretty
19
else in the nation, the events of
affected James. Finally, in the early morning hours of frantic first hours of
did join an artillery
"I
”
As was true with everyone
same programs
8, after
finally
the
catch a
his father into bed.
Before leaving he told his father that he wanted a combat assignment. felt
1
had
to fight,"
he
later
wrote of the discussion.
than millions of other Americans
we
of patriotism such as
did not say bat. I’d
it
to
him,
had only the
feel fear."
I
felt
in this
7
at
the time.
country
We
“I
was being no braver
were swept up
may never know
that as the son of the president
slightest taste of
it.
I
did not yet
"I
again. I
had
in a
surge
Although
to
I
seek com-
know what
it
was
to
20
Franklin interjected a few lackluster reasons opposing the move, but
knew
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class son was
his
On
right.
send millions
the eve of his asking Congress to declare war and
other boys into battle,
of
29
how
own
could he object to his
son’s
request?
Eleanor Roosevelt assented, even though she dreaded the possible out-
come. Her other three sons had at least
one of the four would be
James headed for his
to war.
new Raider
better than to
When
Battalion,
work
killed or
explained James’s widow,
James
He
readily agreed.
felt a
could think of nothing
sense of duty, which he certainly inherited
Mary
to see Carlson’s
Roosevelt, in 2007.
them thought
was
it
right that
war while they were having cushy jobs fit
to serve.
likely that
maimed.
He had been
very
Mary Roosevelt then added
philosophy
"He wanted
son Raider. All four of the Roosevelt sons wanted to be
not
was
Carlson asked him to be the executive officer
from his parents, and because he wanted
into
it
for his father’s old friend.
“James joined because he
not think any of
and
also requested sendee,
to
utilized,’’
be a Carl-
in active service.
In the war’s
wanted
to live
home. Technically, James was
at
ill.”
that another reason existed.
“He
up
also
to his parents’ high standards.
opening months, as the Japanese pounded their way
after victory over
do
young men should be going
”
absolutely, that he
I
outmatched U.S.
felt,
21
to victory
forces, Carlson, with Roosevelt’s assis-
tance, assembled a unit that provided one of the nation’s
first
responses to
Japan, boosted home-front morale, and helped begin the long, arduous march to victory that
“I
Felt
ended
in
Tokyo Bay almost four years
later.
You Had the Key”
In the dark days after Pearl Harbor, Carlson
promote Carlson’s idea of
and Roosevelt teamed up
to
a guerrilla-style unit that could swiftly carry out
unconventional missions. Carlson had the expertise, and Roosevelt the powerful
connections that
in
the convoluted ways of Washington could push an
idea from conception through to completion. cle not only to
complement Carlson’s
He
provided the political mus-
military theories
to override the opposition in military circles Carlson’s
certain to create.
The men formed
a potent
duo
and experiences but
unorthodox ideas were
that,
throughout
1942, oversaw the creation of their Raider Battalion and led them to
much
of
some
of
the most thrilling military missions in the early stages of the Pacific War.
Roosevelt later wrote that he wanted to help Carlson
sell his
theories
30
AMERICAN COMMANDO
because he was convinced of their
validity.
He
explained that the officer had
"developed an idea for a special kind of outfit that would he trained to make
on these islands
swift, surprise attacks
before our massed might
moved
in,”
James put Carlson’s notions influential people. His
name on
22
memo
Thomas Holcomb
to the
order to weaken their defenses
and that he wanted
memo
the
to
be a part of
it.
which he submitted
into written form,
guaranteed
to
would be given
it
command. On January
consideration by the highest level of
authored a
in
13,
1942, he
Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps,
(his title
would soon be shortened
to
Commandant),
a
personal favorite of President Roosevelt. Titled
"Development Within the Marine Corps of
Similar to the British sevelt’s
memo
Commandos and
a Unit for
Purposes
the Chinese Guerrillas," James Roo-
promulgated every idea Carlson had absorbed from the Chi-
nese. Roosevelt urged the formation of an
American commando
unit, hut
unlike ordinary military organizations, one that had "a closer relationship
between leaders and
fighters than
is
customary
in
orthodox military organ-
izations.”
Roosevelt stated that the battalion-sized unit would not have typical ranks,
such as captains or lieutenants, but would feature "leaders" and
“fighters,"
much as the Eighth Route Army had employed. He wrote, "Leaders must he men of recognized ability who lead by virtue of merit and who share without reservation
all
material conditions to
which the group may he subjected,
ar-
rogating to themselves no privileges or perquisites.
Roosevelt added, "Discipline should be based on reason and designed to create and foster individual volition, to "subordinate self to fifty
and
that
all
men
should be ready
harmonious team-work," 2 and be able '
to hike thirty to
miles in twenty-four hours.
The
memo
die
had been
cast. Roosevelt’s
commando
unit front
and center. With the approval of
given, Roosevelt
placed the idea for a separate his father already a
and Carlson assumed they possessed enough ammunition
weather even the strongest objections. They
failed to realize
how
to
intense that
opposition would be.
The advocacy by Carlson and James Roosevelt even though
it
had the support of James’s
within the Marine Corps from officers
own
version of a
commando
who
of a separate Raider unit,
father,
either
encountered antagonism
wanted
to
command
their
force or objected to the existence of such a unit.
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class Carlson, though, held the trump card
31
— President Roosevelt wanted
mando unit, thus one would exist. The only question was who would command
a
com-
the elite unit. Carlson
stood as a prime contender, but other proponents believed they were better
man who Chinese communists. Two
qualified than a
J.
learned
much
of his military doctrine from the
rose above the rest
— Merritt Edson and William
Donovan.
Edson brought impeccable credentials spondent called Edson in fifteen years as a
with a
rifle
and of
to the table.
One
military corre1
met
war correspondent.” 24 Every Marine knew of Edson’s
skill
most effective
“the bravest, the
his gallant
command
killing
machine
during the famous 1928-29
Coco
Patrol in Nicaragua’s wilderness.
Edson wound up being the East Coast counterpart but with his
sevelt,
own
variation.
Edson intended
to
Carlson and Roo-
to construct a battalion
that could be used both as a raiding force as well as part of a conventional
Marine
division.
His would not be purely a special forces operation, such as
Carlson envisioned, but one capable of taking
command tual”
who
could not be trusted, and
man
at
world. William
J.
place within the normal officer,
detested Carlson’s
at best a leftist-leaning “intellec-
worst an outright communist.
Carlson’s other major rival in forming a ier
Marine
setup. Edson, the poster-perfect
unorthodox views and considered the
its
Donovan, the man
commando
for
whom
unit inhabited a
murk-
James Roosevelt had
re-
cently worked at the Office of the Coordinator of Information (which
morphed
into the Office of Strategic Services,
which
in turn
Central Intelligence Agency), promoted units that penetrated
became
enemy
the
territory,
then rather than quickly pull out remained to aid local guerrilla forces combat the enemy.
Donovan alarmed top Marine commanders, however, by
ing that his unit be independent of both the
placing
it
felt
assaulted on
contend with Donovan but with Carlson and
had the ear of the president.
Donovan, Holcomb could
Marine Corps
but as
into a
If
all
his
sides. ally,
He
not only had to
James Roosevelt, who
President Roosevelt sided with
lose control over a portion of his forces.
president agreed with Carlson, might
artillery
the Navy, thereby
outside the Marines’ realm.
Major General Holcomb
certainly
Army and
urg-
commando-style
it
II
the
fuel a drive to transform the entire
outfit?
Commandos needed
neither
nor aviation, both of which the Marine Corps currently possessed,
commando
units without such assets,
eventually absorb the Corps.
Holcomb
feared the
Army would
32
AMERICAN COMMANDO
This was precisely what
Washington
Holcomb needed
least.
into a frenzy of activity with each
men and machines and weapons. Not
The Japanese had
tossed
branch of the military seeking
only did
Holcomb have
to
worry about
obtaining material for his Marines, but he had to ensure the Corps had a
mission after the war ended.
Though Holcomb could
see the handwriting on the wall, he detected an
opening. Since Donovan seemed to be focused primarily on the European area of operations, and since Roosevelt wanted a
would
give
dominant
him one
role
—
in the Pacific,
King,
Commander
Holcomb
unit,
where the Navy and Marines played the
and he could more readily
Let Donovan have Europe;
commando
retain control over the
Holcomb would
in Chief, U.S. Fleet,
commandos.
Adm. Ernest
take the Pacific.
J.
agreed with Holcomb, and issued a
January 23 order to Nimitz to develop two commando-style units capable of carrying out raids against Japanese-held islands.
Holcomb gave Edson command son, then on the light of
of the battalion forming out east. Carl-
West Coast, became the
President Roosevelt’s advocacy of a
charge the two
men who had been most
Evans Carlson, with
whom
the president’s son, James.
likely selection in
commando
unit,
San Diego.
Holcomb put
In in
ardent in promoting such a unit
President Roosevelt had a close association, and
Not only would the
battalion benefit from such
personal proximity to the center of governmental power, hut should the battalion not
perform as expected, blame would he cast on Carlson and James
Roosevelt, not on Holcomb.
On First
February 16,
Holcomb redesignated Edson’s
Marine Raider Rattalion and Carlson’s new
Raider Battalion. their battalions
unit the
Holcomb handed Edson and Carlson
were
to
Second Marine
three responsibilities
spearhead amphibious landings, conduct raids that
relied
on speed and surprise, and coordinate
anese
lines.
guerrilla operations
President Roosevelt finally had his
In a secret personal
East Coast outfit the
message
to Roosevelt,
commandos. an ecstatic Churchill wrote,
“The enemy are becoming ever more widely spread and we know ing anxiety in Tokyo.
behind Jap-
Nothing can be done on
this
a large scale except
preparation of the technical and tactical apparatus.
When
you told
is
caus-
by long
me
about
commando forces on a large scale on the California you had the key Once several good outfits are prepared, any
your intention to form shore
I
felt that
one can attack garrison,
all
a Japanese-held base or island
their islands will
become hostages
and beat the
life
to fortune.
Even
out of the this year.
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
some
1942,
ing further
made causing
severe examples might be
upon Japanese resources
33
perturbation and draw25
to strengthen other points.
“Some Guy Was Organizing a Hot-Shot Group” On
the other side of the world the small force of Japanese military must have
been
a disappointed
at Pearl
lot.
While fellow airmen executed the spectacular
Harbor and smashed Allied
installations at
and elsewhere, they had been sent
pines,
to
Wake, Guam, the
occupy
feat
Philip-
a sleepy, nondescript
is-
land hugging the equator in the middle of the Pacific. Glory would not be theirs this
December
watched them
10 morning, as only a handful of native Gilbertese
pull into Butaritari, the island in the
Makin
Atoll
intended to establish a seaplane base. They took small comfort that
however minuscule
their post
Japanese empire’s easternmost
They doubted had sent America
that they reeling,
was
at this early stage,
it
where they in
knowing
stood as the
station.
would ever see action during the
and with
a little
force the United States to the peace table.
war. Pearl
Harbor
good fortune, Japan would shortly
While comrades returned
to
adu-
they could claim to have done nothing but languish in one of the war’s
lation,
nether regions.
A
Marine
come
officer
back
in the
United States would change
to Butaritari, not in the
of those audacious raids that
form of stir
a
that.
The
foe
massive seaborne assault but
would in
one
men’s hearts. Carlson’s Raiders were on
their way.
Disappointment
to a
handful of Japanese was opportunity to Evans Carl-
son. Desperately seeking a military
answer
army and navy spread across the
Pacific
to the Japanese,
and Far East
whose triumphant
in a destructive tidal
wave, the president and Marine commandant handed him a dictate unit of
men who
—
forge a
could rush to the Pacific and mount an offensive strike
against the Japanese.
Carlson’s
men would
he the
Tokyo. After years of observation
tip of
an American sword aimed straight
and thought, Carlson was about
at
to put his
vision to the test.
“At
last
1
have received a break," the excited officer wrote his father.
AMERICAN COMMANDO
34 "Today
I
was placed
nize, train
command
in
and indoctrinate
as
it
of a special unit with cart blanche to orga-
see
I
in the country. Naturally, I’m delighted.
Roosevelt
to
is
be
my
There
fit.
executive officer.
I
will
.
.
years
The
.’’
it
existence
in
I
have so long urged and had
now have been I
of the precepts
afforded the op-
have been preaching these past
I
26
label “special forces”
According
men
modern garb waiting While
conveys a certain inaccurate image to some people.
to this notion special forces
the rest of society,
a handful
may
fit
different from
that profile, they represent a fraction of those
The
man
fit
who
vast majority approximate the individual
mowing his
next door
that mold; he
yard, walking his dog,
newspaper.
his grandchildren, or reading his
Carlson’s Raiders
somehow
for a reason to revert to style.
in his later years, is the
hugging
personnel are
with slashed faces and crazed eyes, barbarians in
served with special forces units.
who,
like
.
almost despaired of seeing materialize. But
some
nothing
hand pick my personnel. Jimmy
Things seem to be moving in a direction
portunity to practice
is
made
certain through a careful screen-
ing process. Fierce battlers they were, but like most veterans, they fought not
because they were kindred fought that
with seventeenth-century pirates. They
spirits
way because they had
a job to do.
Duty summoned. The only question was whether they had what answer the
call, a call
that
went
to rich
and
poor,
took to
it
educated and
illiterate
alike.
Men with box,
spirit, a
accustomed
sense of adventure, able to improvise and think outside the to the outdoors
— those were the men Carlson sought. He ’’
"wanted guys with different attitudes
2
from those of the usual conscript,
men who could serve who certainly did not fit
stated Pfc. Ray Bauml,
in a
an unorthodox officer
the usual image of a Marine
unique battalion run by
commander. Carlson explained his ideas that to
fulfill its
in a
memo
to
one of
threefold mission, a Raider unit
his superiors.
must "be
He
flexible,
stated
mobile,
maximum fire power commensurate with great mobility and be composed of men physically capable and mentally conditioned to endure the possess the
hardships and overcome the obstacles necessary to accomplish the mission.
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
It
must he volunteers
follows, therefore, that the personnel
work and
that they
must be
subsequent
and indoctrinated
trained, conditioned
for this
he explained of the Raiders, “Their specialty
letter
which require top physical condition,
fensive operations
resourcefulness, wile,
tiative,
for this type of
work ." 28
particular type of In a
35
is
of-
fortitude, daring, ini-
sound working knowledge of woodcraft
a
including the ability to sustain themselves in the jungle for protracted periods,
and mastery of the mechanics and technique of the means by which themselves
Word
in positions to surprise the
enemy
in
to place
amphibious operations ." 29
quickly spread throughout Marine bases near San Diego of an odd-
ball officer
offering a
seeking volunteers for a
chance
"After a few
new
unit,
at early action against the
weeks the word got out
one shrouded
in
secrecy but
Japanese.
that
some guy
in
San Diego was
or-
ganizing a hot shot group,” said Second Lt. Joseph Griffith. “They were looking for
men, so
five of
us got in
my
car and drove
down
to volunteer
.
30
Carlson harshly separated the wheat from the chaff during the interview
He had
process. station
drew from
from outdoor
his share
states, as the
San Diego recruiting
locales west of the Mississippi, but Chicago’s Victor
kian and other easterners snuck
The
in.
Raiders
came from
Dick Washburn’s West Haven, Connecticut, and Joe from Dallas, but also tiny habitats
like
Magha-
large cities, like
Griffith
and Jack Miller
Kenny McCullough’s
Findley, Okla-
homa, Darrell Loveland’s Greenview, Utah, and Ben Carson’s Laseur, Minnesota.
They even siphoned
County, Wisconsin,
when
a Raider
Mitchell
didn’t
empty the
Ho Chunk
enclave in Jackson
Red Cloud volunteered. The Native Amer-
ican boasted ancestry from a French
"The Raiders
from a
nobleman and
brigs of
a
Ho Chunk princess.
San Diego," stated
Sgt.
Ken Mc-
Cullough of the young volunteers. “These guys were as average as you can get, not rebels or anything.
who as
volunteered, so they
calm
bunch of people
a
While library
Pfc. Ervin
and
later
a very small percentage of the
men
weeded out the troublemakers. The Raiders were as
you would ever want
to
know ."'
1
Kaplan spent hours among the bookcases of his town’s
headed
Griffith graduated
They only took
to university to study
from the University of Texas,
medicine, and Pvt. Darrell
Lt.
Joseph
Loveland and
Sergeant McCullough dropped out of high school. Seventeen-year-old Pfc.
Ken “Mudhole after the
war
Merrill
had
to
promise his father he would finish high school
to gain his assent for enlisting in the Marines.
The Raiders
featured
men
as diverse as Lt. Jack Miller,
whose family
later
catapulted to the top reaches of Dallas’s real estate industry, while Loveland
AMERICAN COMMANDO
36
had joined President Roosevelt’s Civilian Construction Corps,
program
as polar as
Raider from the nation’s
New
Deal
and unemployment during the Great Depression.
to battle poverty
The Raiders were
a
first
Roosevelt and Mitchell Red Cloud, a
Jimmy
family and another from the nation’s original
inhabitants.
They included
a Brooklyn,
fresh-faced Pvt. Franklin of milk so he
New York,
M. Nodland,
orphan, Cpl. Daniel Gaston, and a
a skinny teenager
who
quaffed bottles
would meet the Marine minimum weight requirement. Their
man whose
ranks contained one
ancestry included British knights and an-
other who, anxious to leave the country to avoid the
Army
military police,
who
sought him as a deserter, joined under a false name.
who
Nineteen-year-old Pvt. Silvio Costa from the Bronx,
more than one hundred pounds, had uncles and cousins
He wanted
Benito Mussolini’s armies.
to prove that the
ican as any family. Pvt. William McCall, in the Philippines
back
camp by
and
to
many years
free his parents,
—
as a youth
to battle his
who had been
way
incarcerated at
the invading Japanese.
The men volunteered chance
spent
in Italy serving in
Costas were as Amer-
with his parents, only sought one goal
to those islands
Santo Tomas
who had
barely weighed
for Carlson’s Raiders for glamour, excitement, the
head overseas and get the war over with, and
to avoid
more un-
pleasant tasks. “I
was doing guard
son. “I’m
with
duty,
what
hated the most," explained Pvt. Ben Car-
marching around four empty garbage cans and
I’m never going to win a
it.
I
some major was going
war
this way. Well, the
to put together
I
figured the hell
word came out
an outfit and take on the Japs as
that
fast as
he could. The word was he had experience fighting the Japanese with the Chinese. They said he’d
When
1
got off of guard duty
damned guard
any kind of nutty thing I
started to look into
it
to get us into
a little
more.
I
combat.
hated that
duty! That’s the only reason.” 32
Simple motives
themes
try
—
family, country, adventure, excitement,
that stirred writers since the epic days of ancient
boredom
—the
Greek theater moved
the Raiders.
“Long or Short,
I’ll
Accomplish My Task”
Jack Miller Irom Dallas, Texas, proved family,
that.
comfortable home, promising future.
The youth had everything
Known
as a clean-cut,
—
great
handsome
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
individual. Millers finely sculpted physique
He combined
Charles Atlas.
the athletic
came
traits
37
from the pages of
straight
of Jack Armstrong with the
sensual appeal of a Saturday matinee film hero. Miller attacked his goals with
came
equal parts ferocity and good nature, whether they
in the
classroom or
in the sports arena.
"Jack was always happy go lucky,” said brother.
"I
make me
was always very
S. Miller,
he was so likeable.
serious, but
Jr.,
Jack’s older
He knew how
to
laugh.” 33
many Jewish
Like
Henry
families in those days, the Millers lived in a predomi-
nantly Jewish neighborhood in South Dallas. Their three-bedroom house was
bedroom with
small but comfortable. Jack shared one
Others envied
his
his older brother.
seemingly perfect world, and his baby
adored an older brother
who
sister,
Carmen,
taught her at age ten to play poker and
who
impressed her with his love of jazz and the big-band sound.
remember Jack would
“I
Carmen
recalls.
“When
let
me
tag along with
they played cards, they’d
him and
let
me
his friends,”
play poker with
them.” 34
As much to find Jack,
and
Carmen adored Jack, Jack loved sports. If the they knew where to look the nearest vacant
as
—
his friends so often
halls at If
headed
to toss
where he
lot,
around a football or smash hard ground
each other.
Jack could not get up a game or find anyone to play catch, he was just
as content to stay
home and
great physique,” said
lift
weights.
Carmen. “He had
“He was
Jack was more than just an athlete.
a
good athlete and had
and worked out
a set of barbells
home. Not everybody worked out back then,
halls
family needed
He
with the aplomb of a politician, and
like
3 they do today."
navigated his
life,
“He was about Jack. girls
a facet that his always
way through school
among females
a very I
handsome young
think a
lot
of
my
hoy,” said
with the suavity of his
attire reinforced.
Carmen. “Everybody was crazy
friends probably
had
a crush
on him.
All the
36 loved him. But he had a serious side, too, and very high principles.”
Those principles motivated Jack was
impeccable
at
"’
Cary Grant. Supremely self-confident, Jack Miller enjoyed every aspect of promising
a
at Forest
Avenue High School, where he
active in the school’s Reserve Officers’ Training
Corp (ROTC). After
graduation in 1938, he attended Southern Methodist University, where he
continued Miller was
to
amass
named
a stellar
academic and
athletic record. In his senior year,
captain of the university’s
swim team. People
inside
outside of the Miller family marked Jack as one to watch in the future.
and
AMERICAN COMMANDO
38 That in
war did not intrude
is, if
Europe and the Japanese
first.
With Adolf
Hitler disrupting the
rattling their sabers in the Pacific,
war loomed
He abandoned
a possibility. Miller leaped to the challenge.
calm as
a promising
career, as well as the hearts of infatuated females, to join the Marines.
“The war was coming up, and people were deciding what they wanted do based on what was happening with the war,” Carmen patriotic.
Then
He
after
SMU.
he graduated, he went into active duty""
May
on
was very
signed up for officer's training school before he finished
Sensing that his country might soon he rines
said. "Jack
to
19,
1941 His mother, with .
Miller enlisted in the
at war,
whom Jack was very close,
had
Maseri-
ous reservations about her son leaving for service, but she shoved her objections aside in light of his determination to serve the country.
On
June
1941, Miller received his bachelor of science degree from
3,
Southern Methodist. After spending a
much
friends,
of
three weeks with family and
final
spent consoling his tearful mother, Jack reported for active
it
duty on June 24, 1941.
“Everybody was joining the service
Carmen
explained.
“And while Mother
my mother and my
think
our country back then,”
to fight for
didn’t like
it,
I
remember she
father were proud of both of their hoys.""
cried,
I
8
Miller attended officers’ training school in California, where he heard of a
new
unit being
formed by Evans Carlson. The
nature of Carlson’s
elite
Raiders, plus the prospect of seeing combat, appealed to his competitive nature. “Jack decided he said.
wanted
to
be one of them and volunteered," Carmen
“They were very selective and choosy, and the assignments they would
do would be dangerous, but Jack wanted
As
it
stunned
to
be a part of that.
did to the rest of the nation, the Japanese attack on Miller.
On
the
same day he wrote Carmen,
heard the news about the Japs.
"I
December
suppose
all
7
of you
We were all pretty shocked about the situation,
hut had been told about the condition in the Pacific before." In a separate letter to his is
no need
mother, Miller tried to reassure her that
worry
for
short time. You
thing the
men
— the Marines
know we
all
hate
it’s
well.
"There
will take care of the situation in just a
are the best fighters in the
in this outfit
would be
the Japs.
.
.
.
w orld.
There
r
is
no
If
there
is
any-
fear or hysteria
around here.” 40
On
the day Miller was due to leave Texas for Raider training, he took his
father aside for a private conversation.
He
reassured his father he would take
care of himself, then explained his eagerness to serve his country and do
something
to help his fellow
man. As James Jones,
a close friend of Miller’s,
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
recalled. Jack told his father that
accomplish
Training
men who,
They came from
was long or
life
together Lieutenant Miller and
while opposite
different social, educational,
Victor
PI. Sgt.
many ways, shared
in
he would
short,
41
by faithful service.
his task
camp brought
two
kian,
"whether his
39
similar core values.
and economic backgrounds, yet
they shared a profound sense of duty and the desire to help others. likeliest of
Magha-
The un-
comrades, they developed a lasting friendship that made each
devoted to the other.
Born
in
Chicago,
Illinois,
on December
est of seven children, the products of its
1915, Maghakian was the old-
5,
an Armenian-American family proud of
heritage. Maghakian’s great-grandfather,
who guided
caravans throughout
the Middle East, gained adulation for his military prowess. killed
1
He
supposedly
12 of their hated enemy, the Turks.
Like most first-generation immigrants residing near Chicago, Maghakian’s father scraped out a
working
in
meager
one of the vast
living for his wife, four sons,
steel mills.
As the oldest
and three daughters
child, Victor
accepted
personal responsibility for his siblings’ well-being. “Victor was a quiet, dedi-
cated man,” said his
cept for war.
sister, Virginia, in
He was
2008. “He was always very calm, ex-
such a giving man.’ 42
Adventure, not school, appealed to Maghakian,
would be the
easiest
way
to
who thought
escape a menial living and
the military
travel the world.
He
joined the Marines in 1936 almost by accident. After his father relocated the
Navy
family to California, Maghakian headed to the
Diego, intending to enlist in that branch. ever,
Maghakian ducked
into a theater to
On
the
recruiting office in
way
to the recruiter,
watch the current
,
solidified a side,
I
The glimpse
few hours
of Marine
later
life
impressed Maghakian,
when he watched
”
Maghakian explained
to the aid
a feeling that
Marine band perform. “Out-
a
saw the snappy Marine band marching
Corps Hymn,
how-
film, Pride of the
Marines starring Charles Bickford as a tough leatherneck rushing of an orphan.
San
briskly, "
in 1971.
playing the ‘Marine
That settled
it.
I
joined the
Marines.” 43
From 1936
to
pines and China.
1939 Maghakian served alternating duties
He
earned the nickname “Transport”
ability to materialize a car or a truck ride. “I
whenever he
in
the Philip-
for his unparalleled
or his buddies
needed
never liked to walk too much,” Maghakian explained after the war.
scrounge around the area until
I
saw
a vehicle
1
liked,
then
I’d steal
it.
a
“I’d
Jeeps
40 were
was
my
specialty,
available.’’
AMERICAN COMMANDO
although
I
would take
a truck or bicycle
if
44
As Carlson had days, so, too, did
first
come
Maghakian encounter
fight
his future
enemy
in that country.
almost every night. Marines would ”
British, the Japanese, the Russians,
In January 1939, T.
Wong’s Cabaret
ted
in.
face,
the
When
Chin Wong Too, China,
in
at
Maghakian jumped out of
floor.
One
even the Chinese.
as five
anybody
fight
—the
4-1
Japanese officers
Maghakian’s table and spat his chair
at T.
strut-
the corporal’s
in
and knocked the Japanese
of the major’s compatriots
Like
to the military.
he and a Marine corporal downed beer and shots
major halted
a
China
into contact with the Japanese during his
most Marines, Maghakian frequented the many bars catering “There was a
that’s all that
officer to
smacked Maghakian from behind
with his scabbard-encased sword, drawing blood, but joined the major
when
Maghakian turned and dropped him with one punch. Maghakian grabbed the gun
major’s pistol from his his
belt to cover the other three
buddy backed out of the
The
Japanese as he and
door.
next day Maghakian, fearing a court-martial, appeared before his
commanding
officer.
and spoke
Maghakian’s behalf. Maghakian and his superior stomped over
to
in
Fortunately a British officer had witnessed the incident
Japanese headquarters, where they received a formal apology. Maghakian,
already scornful of the Japanese because of their barbaric treatment of Chi-
nese civilians
in
Nanking and elsewhere, walked away with
a
deeper distrust
for the Oriental nation.
Carlson and Maghakian met briefly
United States.
When
in
China before he returned
to the
Transport heard in 1942 that Carlson was forming a
suicide unit consisting of only the toughest Marines, he speedily volunteered.
Carlson, familiar with Maghakian’s feisty
spirit, readily
with Lieutenant Miller, Maghakian was posted to
accepted him. Along
A Company.
Far to Jack Miller’s and Victor Maghakian’s northeast, First Lt. Richard
Wash-
burn knew on December 7 he had to hustle back to his Marine post
Quan-
tico, Virginia, as
soon as he could.
He had been
at
visiting his girlfriend in
Connecticut when the news of Pearl Harbor broke, so he quickly purchased a train ticket to Virginia.
Washburn
sat in his seat,
wearing
his
Marine uniform,
imagine the challenges that awaited him
in
the
coming
He suddenly noticed that passengers in nearby seats or walking the stared at him. He at first could not fathom their reaction, but then real-
months. aisle
tried to
As he
Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
ized that they looked to
could "I
make was
in
uniform and their glances were
Washburn
lay ahead,"
came
over and asked
walked
over,
me
shook
if
I
if
recalled years felt
we
his hand,
Washburn appreciated
came
for reassurance, as
if
a solitary
man
in
uniform
the peril go away.
what
ers
him
41
he would be equal
really asking
later.
“Some
me
if
I
was up
to
of the civilians even
could do the job that was needed ." 46 Oth-
and wished him
well.
the support, but wondered, too, to the task.
Would he
fulfill
when
his duty
the time
and serve
with distinction, or would he crack under the rigors of combat? Washburn, Miller,
Maghakian, and the others would have
to
answer that question.
3
We Could
Have Taken on John Dillinger
n the patriotic days following the war’s
have any trouble gathering
I companies
start,
Carlson doubted he would
hundred volunteers
five
to
man
the four
with which he would start training. To increase his chances of
finding the right
men, Carlson
James Roosevelt,
in-
told Roosevelt that
he
or his executive officer,
terviewed each volunteer.
“Can You Cut a Jap’s Throat?”
He
Carlson explained his motives for the interviews.
why the men had volunteered for the Raiders, what opinion each had on why the war was being fought, and what motivated them that they would be willing to die on its behalf. “I won’t take a man who doesn’t give a damn about anything," he said to his second in command before they wanted
to learn
started the interview process. "But fight,
even
for the
he has
wrong reasons, take him.
ing to fight for the right reasons .’
men who wanted
if
to
1
He
I
a
deep feeling about wanting
know can shape him I
searched for
men who
volunteers for a brief introduction. easy.
into want-
thought, not
kill.
Before the interview process started, Carlson assembled the
would not he
to
He
told
them
He
explained that the
to expect sacrifices
life
first
group of
of a Raider
and rigorous
training.
Those w ho survived would be quickly dispatched to the combat zone. Sitting in the crowd, Pfc. Brian
Quirk liked w hat he observed. “Colonel ;
42
We Carlson stood
tall
Could Have Taken on John Dillinger 43 and
hands moving with quick gestures
to
empha-
speech; and his eyes, steel-blue and piercing, seemed to find each
size his
”
man
straight,
in the
audience.
2
Carlson selected a nondescript room on the south side of the parade
ground
at
Camp
Elliott to
apart rested in the middle
Two
conduct the interviews.
—one
for
him and one
card tables twenty feet
for Roosevelt
—toward which
the line of volunteers approached one by one to answer the questions.
A
cold exterior
them on edge
purposely kept
how each Marine reacted. “Carlson’s eyes were stern,” “They made me feel like my preacher was looking at me.
yet he looked tough
officer.
He
inquisitive interior.
to see
said Pvt. A1 Flores.
And
masked Carlson’s
and hard-boiled
like a typical,
by-the-book Marine
”3
Carlson plunged into a series of blunt questions. “Can you cut a Jap’s
“Can you choke him
throat without flinching?” he asked.
puking?”
He wanted speedy
replies, not only
each Marine but because he wanted sure, as they
would one day have
to
to
death without
because of the long be able
his boys to
do under
to react
line
behind
under pres-
fire.
“Are you willing to starve and suffer and go without food and sleep?” Hesitation meant indecision; indecision, Carlson knew, meant death on the battlefield.
Carlson’s grim gaze fixed each Marine where he stood.
“I
promise you
nothing hut hardship and danger,’’ he stated with a calmness that unnerved
“When we
many.
Thinking of
“Can you walk
get into battle,
his epic
fifty
walk
fifty
A
I
just
I
could.
knew
give none.’’
miles a day?’’ 4 That led to queries asking the Marine
all
sorts of questions
He
if it
why
origins.
asked
if
was them
1
—were you
raised
or
“I
on
me,
I’d
do
can you
a farm,
told
could cut a man’s throat.
few volunteers passed muster
Griffith
we
miles a day," said Sgt. Kenneth McCullough.
else could, little.
ask no mercy,
march with the Eighth Route Army, Carlson asked,
he fought or about the war’s
“He was asking
we
1
him had
if
anybody
to think a
5
it.”
right away.
When
Second
Lt.
Joseph
stepped to the table, Carlson asked, “What makes you think you can
be a Raider?” “Well,
I
went through Jim Crowe’s scout-sniper school.”
“You’re in.”
sharpshooter’s Pvt. Silvio
6
Anyone who successfully completed the legendary Marine
demanding course was
fine with him.
Costa offered a contrast
105-pound Costa could stand up
to Griffith.
to the rigors of
Carlson doubted that the Raider training, but Costa
AMERICAN COMMANDO
44
argued that he was as good as any man. All he asked was the opportunity to prove
it.
Carlson,
had heart
Twenty
in
feet
who above
all
loved a
man
with heart, accepted Costa,
who
abundance.
away Roosevelt conducted
his interviews, but with
an affable,
easygoing manner absent in Carlson. Roosevelt’s conduct surprised the volunteers, as they expected something far different from a president’s son.
Instead of trumpeting his family background or his education, Roosevelt
came
across as a
"He was an
man
with
whom
they could share a beer and a ribald joke.
man because he was one
extraordinary
of the guys," said
Mary
Roosevelt of her husband’s rapport with the enlisted Marines. "He had a feel for
human From
beings.’’
his Dallas, Texas, retirement
community, Lieutenant
Griffith agreed.
"Franklin Roosevelt’s son, James, was one of the finest people
known," claimed
Griffith.
“He had every reason
to
be a
I’ve
first-class jackass,
ever
but
he was nothing but a great guy.” 8 Roosevelt rejected the they hated the enemy. battalion.
He
men who
boasted they wanted to
They could become
preferred
kill
Japs or that
loose cannons that disrupted the
more somber men, Marines who joined from
a sense
4
of duty.
Carlson conducted the interviews under the assumption that he enjoyed a free
hand
in
forming his battalion, but Admiral King had other ideas. In Feb-
ruary he ordered
Holcomb
to transfer
men from
Merritt Edson’s First Raider
Rattalion in Virginia to San Diego.
Edson officers
reluctantly parted with his
own A Company,
a
and 190 men, including Washburn, supported by
group of seven a
machine-gun
platoon and a mortar section. Edson hated losing trained Marines to another officer, especially to
An
equally
livid
Carlson.
Carlson decided
that, as
he had been forced
to accept the
men, he would put them through the same rigorous screening he used his volunteers. to the
Despite Edson’s reputation for training top-notch battalions,
men’s surprise and Edson’s consternation, Carlson rejected half of the
officers
and most of the enlisted that Edson had
Second was
to trim
Lt.
a hell ot a
John Apergis
still
sent.
bristled at the injustice years later. "This
mess and most of us
tried to qualify for
such military duty,
We he wrote
in
Could Have Taken on John Dillinger
"We were
1991.
The war was
proud.
could not stand rejection by the West Coast brothers-in-arms).”
45 and [we]
just started,
mob
(not
meaning
just
to insult
our
9
Carlson accepted a handful of the most promising men, including Wash-
who
burn and Apergis,
received
command
D
of
Company, but
in
the process
dismantled Edson’s company.
Edson never forgave Carlson sulting treatment to his
Maj. Gen. Charles
F.
men.
what he considered demeaning and
for
B. Price,
commander
West Coast, Edson wrote,
stationed on the
Carlson’s reception of these
20
In a February
men and was I
letter to Carlson’s superior,
of the
Second Marine Division
had already heard rumors of
“I
pretty sore about
tions contained in your letter tended only to increase
what
I
in-
it.
The
my anger and
implica-
disgust at
consider to be an unjust and prejudicial attitude that has no founda-
tion in fact."
Edson harshly condemned
may
so-called standards
men
only confirmed
his resignation a
my
his fellow
commander. “Whatever Carlson’s
be, his refusal to accept three out of four of these
opinion that the Marine Corps had
few years ago and has gained nothing by
lost
nothing by
his return to active
duty as a reserve major.” as an inexperienced officer
Edson brushed aside Roosevelt to prove his
worth
in the military. "It
is
true that
nections with high officials in this country.
It is
who had
yet
Jimmie Roosevelt has con-
also true that he
a reserve
is
captain with very limited military experience as an officer in the Marine
Corps.
I
Now
have already stated that he
transported
them
my
10 opinion of Major Carlson.”
had chosen the to
men
for his first four
companies, Carlson
Jacques Farm, a secluded location that he had selected
for their training. Carlson’s
been tested was no empty
promise threat.
to test
them
“We were
as they
had never before
told to get our gear
and go
Jacques Farm,” said Pvt. Ben Carson. “Everyone wondered where the
was Jacques Farm?
We
went down
to the supply
to
hell
depot and found a truck
going out there. About eight of us helped load up bunks and mattresses and things,
and then we rode on the
truck.
Carlson and Roosevelt were there, and to gripe,
the
but checked his impulse.
same response from Carlson
garden.
1
We
got there
we had
and there was nothing.
to erect tents."
Any Marine who chose
to
Carson wanted
moan
received
or Roosevelt, “You weren’t promised a rose
AMERICAN COMMANDO
46
“A Very Rugged
Life,
We
but
Love
All
It”
At Jacques Farm, a fallow parcel of rocky, cactus-filled land several miles south of
Camp
Elliott,
Carlson promptly conducted a gung ho meeting, the
a series of gatherings giving
first in
explain his views and
Carlson a platform from which he could
hand the men an opportunity
These unique meetings alerted the volunteers
to air their grievances.
that they were, indeed, in-
volved with something innovative.
men in singing the national anthem, Carlson launched He explained the path of world events over the past few
After leading the into his discourse.
years, starting with
China and working
his Raiders
would know not only how
spent a
of time explaining
lot
Ben Carson. “He gave us
a
his
way toward
Pearl Harbor, so that
why
they fought. "Carlson
to fight but
why we were
going to
fight,’
mentioned
Pvt.
good accounting from Manchuria through the
Chinese operations, the rape of Nanking, the whole works." 12 Carlson explained that their training would focus on three areas conditioning, ethical indoctrination, and use of the
become jacks-of-all-trades, adaptable rugged enemy, experienced ise
in hardships,
you nothing but the toughest
est battles
when we
to
”
re overseas.
team. They would
fire
any situation. "The Jap
we
—Gung Ho! He ended by
talion,
heard.
rallying
"rice, raisins,
and Japanese
as well as
14
of the normal amenities, and on the
know anything about Carlson
before," said Pvt. Darrell Love-
"I
talk
had an equal impact on the
didn’t
He
A chore
I
men and
a
talking
and found
damn good man
to fol-
1
Farm
—an ancient chicken house — they
a headquarters building. Until better facilities
be installed the Raiders had to
planned as a way
is
him
after their first meeting. Since only a solitary build-
ing stood on the grounds at Jacques to erect barracks
listening to
figured this
should know what he’s doing."
awaited the
officers,
man. After
out he’d spent eight years in China,
had
new
offering to give everything he had for the bat-
land. "I’d never heard about the
low.
can prom-
who would have to forgo enlisted, who liked what they
The some
and
13
and promised them nothing but
"danger, despair and death."
1
a wily
and the tough-
re in the States
After completing his explanation, Carlson divulged their cry
is
Carlson related. "And so
while
life
—physical
live
and
to toss a challenge at
eat outdoors,
them on
their
could
something Carlson
first
day.
We “We manure.
we
47
spent about two weeks organizing the camp,” explained Private Car-
“The mess
son.
Could Have Taken on John Dillinger
We
hall
had
be cleaned
to
—about
sixteen inches of chicken
hauled out wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of that
Then
started getting a tad better meals.” 16
At Jacques Farm, "we started the
real
Washburn. Coming from Edson’s
battalion, rigorous schedules
to
stuff.
Raider training,” said First
Washburn, but Carlson s system was
from Edson centration
weeks
s
Camp,” and explained
in a letter to
were nothing
His fellow officer
a different matter.
battalion, Lieutenant Apergis, labeled
Richard
Lt.
Jacques Farm the "Con-
Edson they would
train for six
the farm from February until April, followed by two weeks training
at
with rubber boat landings Activities
at
San Clemente, an island
occupied every minute of the
map
ning, hiking, jungle tactics,
off the coast.
day. Calisthenics,
1
swimming, run-
reading, camouflaging, jungle hygiene, de-
molitions, sharpshooting, street fighting, cliff scaling, and sniping were just a
few of the topics covered
in the six
that "Gradually individuals
Marines became Raiders
The days
weeks. Second
Lt.
Oscar Peatross wrote
were converted into units and an
—
Carlson’s Raiders."
invariably started early
esprit
was horn;
18
—around four
thirty a.m.
—and ended
well after dark. Carlson often assembled his Raiders in a dry creek bed or a
sandy location, where, working half an hour, then ran
in pairs,
the Raiders jogged in the sand for
50 feet carrying their buddy on their backs. That
1
workout preceded the near
daily hikes through California’s countryside, treks
over parched terrain, through streams, and up until they
could travel seven miles
in
one hour with
running and half walking. “We marched, other infantry type of training that was Roosevelt. Twenty-mile hikes
"Carlson would get us
in
I
Carlson pushed his
Voight. “And, off we’d go. a gutsy old
man.
I
at that time,’
19
wrote James
became commonplace.
together early in the morning and say to us, ‘See
He would do
anything
we could
think he could walk forever.”
"
stated Pvt.
Dean
do, plus some.
effort,
though he was twice their age, he would heat them
boasting
to the peak.
Sergeant McCullough said Carlson’s words had their desired effect.
were outdo
all
these young guys, and he looked old.
us. Roosevelt
was
right out there
We
with him.
21
He
20
Carlson loved to taunt the Raiders into giving their best that even
more than any
think, probably
vogue
men
a full load, half the time
mountain peak over there? We’ll be there by evening,
that
was
all
hills.
weren’t going to
let
"We him
AMERICAN COMMANDO
48
The Raiders hiked
minutes each hour, usually carrying their twenty-
fifty
five-pound packs on their backs. better have water left
was up
“We had one canteen
when you came
and you
back," said Private Loveland. “Carlson
so he couldn’t always see us, and
in front
of water,
if
we walked by somebody
watering their lawm, we’d have our canteen ready. We’d walk right through little
towns up there hack of Jacques Farm.” 22
Lieutenant Miller loved being with such a high-caliber
he wrote his mother,
crack outfit
"It is a
have the most marvelous
spirit
have ever seen.
I
thing except work
went on
The
—and they
a long hike
next morning
sendee.
It
works on a
we went on
He
might he called hit
a 12 mile hike
mph
a guerilla
in a
subsequent
know
letter that
miles the previous Saturday, “and
a lot of sore feet.”
tent, ate
He added
that at
from mess
gear,
ground, and bathed and shaved
added,
was here we
about a foot of mud.
and averaged
a little better
wrong)
that’s spelled
it
he and his
really
was
than
outfit that
"all in all it’s a
washed
in
men had
hiked twenty-
— no
casualties hut
a killer
one stretch they covered eight miles
one hour and forty-three minutes. He informed
He
in
I
considered average for the rest of the
is (I
—
night
to get any-
and run principle.”
boasted
pup
first
up the side of a small mountain
4 miles per hour. Ordinarily 2 Vi
of a
purely voluntary on their
It is
The
are not kidding.
March
hand picked. They
is
and are told before they are signed up that they are not going
part
five
—each man
outfit. In
his
mother
that he lived out
his clothes in a bucket, slept
cold water, hut would have
very rugged
life
— hut we
all
love
in
no other way.
it 2
on the
"
it.
Lieutenant Peatross claimed Carlson, to weed out the physically incapable,
attempted
to reenact
march he endured thirst,
and
in
an updated, though shorter, version of the long
China.
II
they could handle the exhaustion, searing sun,
blisters in California,
they could more readily tolerate the rigors of
combat. Carlson figured that one day his Raiders would be tested that he could not
thought were their
hope
to simulate in training, tested
abilities.
Like that Chinese soldier
who
in a
way
beyond what they kept marching, he
intended to have his Raiders ready for that moment.
The Raiders
lived in
pup
tents for
much
of their training, and
could be said about the food, what they had of
it.
little
good
During long-distance hikes
Carlson restricted their intake to whatever they could forage from the land or could carry with them.
"We were always
minimum
diet."
hungry," stated Private Carson. "Carlson had us on a
Though he
at
times wondered
why Carlson
placed such a
harsh regimen on the Raiders, he better understood after emerging from
We Could Have Taken on John Guadalcanal’s jungles that for Carlson
at the
end of 1942.
49
Dillinger
some wisdom
think there was
“1
because when we got behind the
lines
in
on Guadalcanal, hun-
ger was something beyond comprehension.” 24
Hardened bodies
tion replaced lack of focus.
molded
the Raiders were
and
rose from peacetime flab
Grim determina-
softness.
Pushed and prodded by the unrelenting Carlson,
men
into the
they were meant to be.
“As training proceeded self-confidence grew,” wrote Carlson. “There was cockiness. These
little
men were
destroy the democratic
One
way
of
bent on whipping an enemy
life
they hold dear.” 2
who
sought to
"’
of his officers, First Lt. Wilfred Le Francois, agreed. "Only the most
rugged of us had survived the weeding-out process," he stated. “Graduates of the course were rightfully considered
men among men by other
were very proud boys.” Carlson and other “You are a fighter
who will
kill
You
will win.”
26
officers repeatedly told the Raiders,
the Japs. You will be given equipment and train-
ing to enable you to win the battle. raiders.
.
.
.
You
will strike
Le Francois claimed that
ers possessed a confidence
Carlson pushed to see
his
men
week hike.
started.
could endure.
Every
which we are learning chew.
We
Few
man
and once
will
to throw.
a
week
Hope
my
1
beautiful waves!” 2
first
Only
a handful of
men
I
initial
weeks, found their hearsailed through the
asked to he sent to other units.
Jack Miller was one of the happiest. Accustomed to pushing himself,
whether with
his set of barbells, in the
swimming
pool, or in the classroom,
Miller took to the training with relative ease. Lt. Stephen Stigler said,
was always smiling and cheerful. Even when things were never complained.” Navy corpsman David
laughed
had
can
'
and then, bolstered with confidence and enthusiasm,
Lt.
more than
Raiders dropped out, as Carlson and Roosevelt had done their
final stages.
to
a seventy-mile overnight
haven’t bitten off
screening jobs well. Most stumbled through the ings
Thomason wrote
be a walking arsenal, including ... a knife
have crew haircuts. O,
all
“We re bivouacked
ten miles and calisthenics to get into shape. Twice a
... a thirty-five-mile hike,
We never ride.
You are
been nothing but manual labor
friends back in Atlanta, Georgia. “There’s five, eight,
fast.
after the training, the Raid-
some lacked when they
how much
hard and
out in the mountains away from anywhere,” Sgt. Clyde
marching
marines, and
it
was so spontaneous and infectious
to join with him.”
Miller quickly Raiders, a
J.
young
“He
at their worst,
he
Henry added, “When Jack
that everyone
who
heard him
28
became one officer
of the most popular
members
everyone expected would excel
in
of Carlson’s
combat. He,
in
AMERICAN COMMANDO
50
much as Miller’s men did him. “This Major Carlmen have ever known," he wrote his mother, "a real
turn, respected Carlson as
son
is
one of the
finest
modern experience
leader with plenty of that with a veteran
I
such as Carlson
in the far east.’
at the
21 ’
Miller expected
helm, he would not have to wait
long for his chance at combat.
Even Edson’s transferred men gradually warmed Lieutenant Apergis liked that the battalion, with
seemed
ident, always
He
equipment.
banned
have priority
in
No
red tape.
“All in all this '
its
is
initial
commanded
connections
to the pres-
new
reservations about being
a smart outfit
and no one
inter-
0
Lieutenant Washburn readily readjusted to his
he
new commander.
obtaining needed supplies and
wrote Edson that despite his
West Coast,
to the
feres with us.
to
to their
in California
new
battalion.
recognized his leadership talent
days they were together, for here was a
man who
in
The men
the
few
first
treated everyone with dignity
and shared every hardship.
“Oh
boy!
What can
I
say about himr” mentioned Pvt. Lathrop Gay. “Dur-
ing our training at Jacques Farm, he
went he went, what we guy.
We
ate,
had great respect
he
ate,
was our platoon
where we
slept,
man. You couldn’t
for the
Training entered a more sober phase
when Carlson
and where we
leader,
he
slept.
find
He was
anyone
drilled the
quite a
better.”'
men
in
1
hand-
to-hand combat, the most personal form of fighting. The use of knives, clubs,
and other small weapons required face of the
man he wanted
and who wanted
to kill
form of combat whose result
left
fighting ethics.
ting an
because war
release. is
to
kill
enemy, see the
him, and lock
in a
only one survivor.
“The training given the Raiders
Marine Corps press
a Raider to get close to the
is
extensive and rigorous,’’ depicted a 1942
“They learn every technique of hand-to-hand
not a noble thing and the
enemy
practices no code of
Gouging, strangling, knifing, bayoneting and any other means of put-
enemy
out of action are sometimes necessary for the success of a
raiding mission.” 32
Corps veterans,
like
Platoon Sergeant Maghakian, already possessed
of the skills, hut Raider training
cluding Col. Anthony
J.
added
to
it.
Carlson brought
Drexel Biddle, a legend
some
in experts, in-
known throughout
the
Ma-
We Could Have Taken on John Corps
rine
likely to use,
such as the sixteen-inch bayonet
and sharpened samurai swords that could handily
The
had
training
man
slice a
desired effect, as most Raiders
its
51
combat. British commandos explained
for his talents in close-in
what weapons the enemy was
Dillinger
in half.
came away with
deeper understanding of what they might face. “Hand-to-hand combat ing
made you
Loveland.
a
train-
think about what you were getting into," explained Private better
“I’d
know what
We
had pros teaching
ple.
Loveland related the time
the hell I’m doing or
Carlson brought
us.
when Colonel
might not make
dropped
nets,
and anybody that can draw blood on
to his knees,
it.
seasoned veterans, tough peo-
Biddle attached a bayonet to his
and bellowed, “Pull your scabbards
rifle,
Each man took
in
I
me
will get a
his turn trying to best Biddle,
off your bayo-
three-day pass.”
but none succeeded.
When
Loveland approached, the colonel handily knocked him three feet aside,
where Loveland landed on
He knew what
got a pass.
his butt with a
he was doing.
resounding thud. “Not a It
was
sort of like in the
damn
soul
movie, The
Dirty Dozen.”**
“The
street fighting
Pharmacist’s
you
failed
was hard
with your bare hands," said
Favinger.
hood kid
yelling “Boo!" cause
react?’
M4
firing
instinct,
how
“I
was
to
calm
a quiet,
your former
kid. If
outfit."
these lethal talents, ingrained in training
might affect him after the war. Would a neighbor-
became
At the
killing
any of these things, you were sent back
until they
I
me,
Mate Third Class Richard
Favinger also worried about
would
for
him
to
do something he might regret?
“How
he wondered.
range the Raiders learned to shoot weapons from
standing, squatting, lying prone, or any other stance in
all
positions
which he might
find
himself during an attack. They practiced not just with the Raiders’ weapons of
choice
—
the
Ml
rifle,
Browning Automatic gun, the Johnson
them
the .45 pistol, the Rifle
rifle,
—but with
weapon
gun, and the
the Reising .45 automatic submachine
and the Johnson
proficient with every
Thompson submachine
so that
light if
machine gun. Carlson wanted
theirs
was damaged
in
combat, they
could retrieve that of a dead Raider.
“Work
in
Harmony”
Platoon Sergeant Maghakian, that the physical training
Lt.
Jack Miller, and the other Raiders knew
would be demanding, but Carlson’s emphasis on the
AMERICAN COMMANDO
52
Army
ideas he had learned while observing the Chinese Eighth Route
them by
explained to his Raiders that what
was not
extraordinary
plished
He
surprise.
Chinese soldier did
that the
The Chinese peasant
it.
it
made but
the epic
took
march
how he accom-
struggling in the line endured not from fear
was
of discipline hut from a desire to do what
right.
An
inner spirit pro-
pelled him. “But,
"when
man
it
is
when
the going gets toughest," Carlson told a correspondent,
takes a
more
little bit
hungry and
drive to keep sane
and
keep going, and
to
then he needs more than esprit de corps.
tired,
It
a
takes
conviction.
“Carlson said that Chiang Kai-shek will take a coolie and put him army, keep
him there
"Chu Teh
Private Carson. gets out of the
talked about."
why
for four or five years
will take a coolie
army he can
36
an enemy as
kill
and
train
was just
it
it
him so
coolie," said
that
as important that his
was how
to
the
when he
was some of the things he
get a better job. This
In Carlson’s view,
they had to
and turn him loose as a
in
kill
men knew
that individual.
Carlson explained the gung ho concept during a 1945 Columbia Broadcasting System radio program. that in
is
the phrase meant, he replied
Chinese the word gung meant "work," and ho meant “harmony." Thus,
the phrase
Ho
When asked what
an
"Work
in
harmony” guided
ideal, the ideal of
between men. Gung Ho
his operations. "Fundamentally,
complete cooperation and mutual
is
tolerance, cooperation
and
and respect
trust
equality.
Gung
It is
democ-
racy at work."
Carlson told the radio audience that knowledge constituted the foundation of his system. “But
you’re doing,
why
I
do believe
you’re doing
it,
it
and
plained that in training he told his
is
if
men
your right and duty to
you
die,
why you
know what
died." Carlson ex-
they were soon to head into battle, a
world comprising death, hunger, deprivation, and the toughest experiences
"What
they would ever meet.
something
to think
I’m trying to do
will
come
doing a better job.
many
Discipline
if
of his being there, he
man
ll
he knows why
the outfit
he’s there,
and
be stronger, a better Marine,
this ethical indoctrination,
he abol-
and
enlisted.
of the strictures that normally separated officers
still
in
3/
Carlson mentioned that, as part of ished
give every
about then [emphasis Carlson’s], the knowledge and un-
derstanding that will sustain him then, for
what good
is
existed
and orders were followed, hut they were based on
reason rather than authority. nation, Carlson wondered,
How
could the Raiders
and not
fight for a
exist in a democratically
democratic
run battalion?
We Could Have Taken on John The
him
quixotic nature of Carlson blinded
democratize an organization
“My
step
first
was
that,
by
53
Dillinger
to the difficulties.
He
planned to
very nature, relied on autocracy.
its
to abolish all social distinctions
between
and
officers
men," he explained. "There must be obedience, of course. That was the cornerstone of everything. But
told
I
my
officers they
must command by
virtue ”
of
Their rank meant nothing until they had proved their right to
ability.
He would
come,
chow
Saluting was reduced to a
their worth. fight,”
willingly.”
One
“We
officers,
minimum.
live;
Carlson told his men.
work
“We
day Lieutenant Griffith asked
it
on
Carlson made him clean his
“We d
his
and enlisted
to the
as
you work; eat as you
up
eat; fight as
privileges cheerfully
all
and
line
up
else," said
if
a clerk could type a set of notes
he had
to type his
desk within twenty-four hours.
man
in his
report,
On
platoon to clean his
chow, and Roosevelt would
to eat
own
he
and
another rifle,
but
own weapon. line
up
right with every-
Sergeant McCullough. “He was friendly with everyone. Carl-
son did the same thing and got
in line
with the boys.
I
know
there were
second lieutenants that
didn’t like
through, but at the
they wondered what he was trying to do.
first
it.
1
don’t think they resented
it
all
The
some
the
way
enlisted
40
All the to
a first-
Officers enjoyed no benefit simply
give
told Griffith that
occasion a young lieutenant asked a
it.”
on
officers that served
estab-
39
added that he wanted
liked
not
and they commanded because they had proven
you
live as
ll
had taken, hut Carlson
body
and
line for enlisted
first-served basis, rather than officers in the front
because they were
you
He
enlisted slept on the ground, their officers slept beside them.
lished a single
rear.
command,
on the basis of rank.
solely If
select leaders by virtue of their proven talent to
38
it.
men knew
that in the field the Raiders could not halt operations
conduct a meeting. Orders were orders. But Carlson, as Lieutenant Peat-
ross explained in a tion,
not during
it.
1979
letter,
“Carlson said that
a pill box, or cross a river,
before
it
was
wanted the men
done.’’
Some
if
when
a fire
to
speak up before an opera-
team
is
anybody had an idea how
of Carlson’s compatriots,
to scale a cliff, attack
to
who
do
it,
to
speak up
believed an officer
ordered and the enlisted obeyed, erroneously assumed he attempted to every Raider, officer and enlisted, equals.
What he
make
sought was to give his
Raiders the opportunity to contribute. “Carlson believed that you obtained input for the decision-making process from any rank including the lowest
ranking private. Carlson thought that this process
made
all
hands think about
AMERICAN COMMANDO
54
way
the best
to
do things and thus
in itself
created initiative, resourcefulness,
willingness and similar things .” 41
“Carlson was very democratic about
how
a military organization should
work,” said Pfc. Ervin Kaplan. “Officers and enlisted had the same privileges. It
worked
for Carlson, hut the
Marine Corps
didn’t see
it
as anything they
wanted .” 42
Most
of Carlson’s
anybody or kowtow Voight. salute.
men
did, though.
to anybody,
and
I
“I
liked the idea
I
didn’t
would be my own man,”
have to salute
Dean
said Pvt.
“We never had to salute. We did show respect, but we didn’t have to If we wanted to we did. We knew who the officers were and we weren’t
going to be disrespectful .” 43
Carlson wanted discipline based on reason.
He had
little
time for courts-
martial, as they required additional headquarters personnel, a factor that
would hamper
his mobility in the field. Lt.
man had
each
Robert Burnette claimed that as
volunteered for the Raiders, he and other officers had few
disciplinary problems.
a man’s behavior
If
concerned Burnette, he
offender that he would be removed from the battalion
He
change.
When
a
if
told the
his behavior did not
never had to transfer a man.
few Raiders
left
camp without permission and headed
to
San
Diego’s bars and brothels, Carlson handled the issue by ordering three a.m.
assemblies for his men. Within days the
number of violations plunged,
allow-
ing Carlson to cancel the early-morning gatherings as well as quietly assert his authority.
Ethical indoctrination
of the Marine erly,
command
was thus more of a
system.
It
lifestyle
focused on the
than a radical makeover
men
living together prop-
helping each other, and respecting each other’s belongings.
In another step Carlson
personnel toon.
in favor of
deemphasized the
role of staff
handing greater responsibility
to
and headquarters
each squad and
pla-
As Michael Zak has observed, Carlson wanted more input and respon-
sibility
from the
men
below, rather than from above.
officers
might be more resistant
officers,
men who had
to these changes,
Knowing
that career
Carlson favored reserve
not been exposed to ingrained Marine customs.
Carlson so detested favoritism that
when
his son, Lt.
Evans C. Carlson,
asked to be assigned to the battalion as a lieutenant, Carlson declined. felt his
son would be subject
to the harshest scrutiny,
He
and Carlson doubted
he could be impartial to his son. Carlson’s father, the Rev.
Thomas
A. Carlson, in mentioning his son’s
We quandary
Could Have Taken on John Dillinger
1943 newspaper
to a
reporter,
55
added another reason. "Evans pointed
out that where they were going they would he sure to get into the thick of the fighting sooner or later
other soldier
it
and while he knew he would
would be bound
to
add
treat his
son as just an-
him when
a complication for
it
became
necessary to order his son on a mission that would probably lead to death.
Even
if
his
son accomplished some
of work, he
was
would have
his son.
better
On
off.’’
to
be the
difficult mission, did
last to
recognize
Under another commander, Evans
it,
felt,
an outstanding piece
because the soldier
all
the boy might even be
44
four separate occasions his son sought admission, only to be sent
away. Finally, shortly before the battalion was scheduled to leave for Hawaii, Carlson’s battalion officers convinced their
commander
man had shown
time,
by applying a
his grit
dent Carlson could deal with his son
fifth
fairly.
The young
to relent.
and the
officers
were confi-
Carlson assented, but told his son
no favors and that the father would probably be tougher on him
to expect
than on any other man.
Carlson succeeded partly due ingly
dropped
to his
immense appeal
their reservations to attempt
Peatross stated that “there
is
no doubt
in
—
his Raiders will-
what he promoted. Lieutenant
my mind
that the rank
and
file
of
the 2d Raider Battalion would have followed Carlson to hell and back on his
command,
“I
Like
‘Follow me!’"
45
Men Who Think”
Carlson’s weekly gung ho meeting gave the officer a chance to listen on a
routine basis to what the enlisted
men had
to say.
Many
meetings opened
with Carlson playing the harmonica and leading the Raiders in a song, usually the "Marine
Hymn.” “Ahoy,
which the Raiders
Raiders!” he shouted as he faced his
replied, “Hi, Raider!” or
evant issues and enjoying
"Gung Ho!"
men,
After discussing
some entertainment, Carlson ended
to
rel-
the meeting
with a rousing rendition of the national anthem.
Any man, of reprisal.
“It
officer or enlisted,
meant
do something about
a lot it,”
had the
right to
speak his mind without fear
because you were being heard by the guy
said Pvt. Lathrop Gay.
ing to get a pair of boots for
“One guy
said he
who
could
had been
try-
two weeks, and the next day he got the boots.” 46
Discussions then ensued, and while they covered a wide range of topics,
AMERICAN COMMANDO
56 two most often appeared the
men
—why the United
should be involved
Time magazine’s top hold discussions.
Pacific
We
States fought the war,
and why
democratic process. Carlson explained to
in the
war correspondent, Robert Sherrod, "We used
would
men
these
tell
the implications of the war.
would show the connection between the war
Europe and the war
in
in
to
We the
Pacific.”
Without promoting best, Carlson
hoped
to
his personal beliefs as to
show what
citizenship responsibilities
were fighting
for,’’
educate them
to
vote
for,
men
his
more
—by
but what to believe
in.
political leader
could accomplish
seriously. “I think they
he told Sherrod. “Anyway, politically
which
that
I
I
don’t
they took their
if
knew what they them.
tried to teach
mean we
was
them
told
We tried whom to
them how
That’s harder than teaching
to
shoot a gun.” 4
Carlson challenged the Raiders to think. “We’d have meetings and you could say what you wanted,” said Sergeant McCullough. “He wanted his privates to in
know what was going on
as well as the captains. That didn’t
other Marine units. Carlson delivered lectures, and he had guests
occur in, in-
cluding Eleanor Roosevelt.” 48
Carlson chatted about
and
political
Democratic or Republican point of view. Rather than organize
wash
camp
sessions, he
wanted
led to thinking
battlefield
his
men
endorsed the
social issues but never
to think
political brain-
about issues. Thinking
under duress. With Carlson, preparing
his
in training
men
for the
was everything.
The correspondent Jim Lucas attended some of the gung ho meetings and watched in fascination when a corporal disagreed with his captain over the maneuvers they had practiced
Carlson listened
earlier.
intently,
complimented
how
the corporal on his suggestions, and then asked the corporal
might work
in a different scenario. “I like
men who
think,”
49
his ideas
Carlson ex-
plained to Lucas.
Lucas listened as Raiders discussed the topic of whether annual incomes should be limited
might make ers
it
to
after the
war
$25,000. Carlson thought the notion
easier for poorer classes to attain improved lives, hut his Raid-
overwhelmingly scorned the
wanted the opportunity
to
idea.
When
they returned from combat, they
be wealthy themselves.
Raiders also talked about what social order should
South received unfair treatment privates debate the issue,
after the Civil
I
whether the
War. After listening to four
“The Kind of Social Order
Lucas was sold on Carlson. “And
exist, or
We Want After the War,”
decided that here was an officer with a
We
Could Have Taken on John Dillinger
man who was which we fight. MI
social conscience, a
57
interested not only in fighting but also in
”
the things for
More than
politics,
Carlson conveyed a religious bent.
He hoped
that his
Raiders would be more aware of the world in which they lived, and that by
understanding
why
they fought, not only would they fight harder hut be im-
proved individuals guided by a social conscience. said of Carlson, living
it.
“He spoke about
He was
When
religion a lot
the most religious
a reporter
asked Carlson
PI. Sgt.
—not
Victor
Maghakian
just going to church, but 51
man ever knew.” how he balanced his I
spiritual beliefs with
war’s brutality, he never hesitated. “I’m an out-and-out pacifist, but
aggressor strikes
over me.
It is
do not believe
I
necessary to
with the other
in
resist, to
calmly permitting his steam
when an
roller to
run
whip the aggressor with one hand, while
we work even harder
to build a social order in
which war
will
”
human differences. s2 address his men at these meetings.
not be necessary as an instrument for adjusting
Carlson invited diverse speakers
to
Besides military instructors, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox and James’s mother, Eleanor Roosevelt, spoke.
The
Lady was
First
Carlson as Jim Lucas was, and better understood
why
as impressed with
her husband main-
tained such an active correspondence with the Marine officer.
“He
China cooperatives,” Eleanor Roosevelt wrote
believes in the
March 1942
letter after
spending time with Carlson. “Those not government
controlled, he thinks the profit motive his
men
that they
system that forced
men
are farm boys,
James
He
must make all
gives
them
a
ficer.
many
The Marine Corps
dians,” especially
he’s
teaching
Southerners, C.C.C. boys but he talks to them.
&
thinks
on earth. light
&
answers questions afterwards.
has taught them a Chinese rallying cry meaning
— He does everything they
Carlson injected a
&
people their friends, they are fighting the
‘news review’ on Sundays
are the finest things
skits
all
must be eliminated
people to war, but they must not hate the people! His
preaches race equality
‘we cooperate’
in a
s
it
is
are asked to
do
horrifying hut the
&
so does every of-
men
think he
&
they
^
touch into the meetings as well. Battalion “come-
B Company’s
Pfc. Jack Barnes, entertained the Raiders with
and jokes. The Raiders booed one man, claiming
to
be an Eskimo, off
the stage after an inept performance of what he claimed was an
dance. James Roosevelt even once dressed as a
woman
for
one
Eskimo
skit.
Poetry recitations always received high marks. Seemingly at odds with the
violence and barbarity in which they were soon to be involved, Marines
ployed poetry as an outlet for laughter, sadness, testimonials, and pride.
em-
58
The poem Skivar,”
AMERICAN COMMANDO tune of “Ivan Skavinsky
titled “Carlson’s Raiders," set to the
was sung
by the group. The song went,
lustily
in part:
They were gathered from near and were gathered from
far
They were picked from
the best in the land
A
sailed the blue
hell-raising
Was
Carlson’s raider band.
They
And And
crew that
machine guns
carry
a knife that
was tempered
the Raiders
all
knew
in hell
claim no mortal by
Could use them one quarter so
Raiders
they say
like pistols,
well the words
well.
name
54
and sentiments behind another poemlike
collection. Called the "Doctrine of the Raider Battalion,’’ the litany of
dogma
1
.
2. 3.
4.
expressing the Raider outlook.
We We
a
points stated:
Land and Sea.
are Raiders of the
work together
The
men chanted
Democracy.
for
Gung Ho! Gung Ho! Gung Ho! Ho! We are tough; we are just; We fight when e’er we must For the right to be free.
5.
We
want
Because
to it’s
do our duty right;
And our duty 6.
We
execute
That 7.
We
will give
all
fright.
orders with a promptitude
will shatter the
are unbeatable
Those Japs
those Japs a
Mikado’s latitude.
— because we us — we’ve
re right;
for
can’t lick
got
might. 8.
We re Raiders — for Democracy. We work together; that’s why we re
GUNG
HO!
GUNG
The rhyme and cadence lacked
HO!
GUNG
free.
HO! HO! 55
that found in epic
imparted everything Carlson believed important.
poems, but the words
We
Could Have Taken on John Dillinger
59
“A Model for Later Organizations” Once Carlson a
instilled the basic
unique twist that
after the
war became
team. As was true with so
fire
concepts
many
came from what he had observed Carlson sought
flexibility
in
and
Raider Battalion, he added
in his
a staple of
Marine organization
other parts of his program, the
—the team
fire
Nicaragua and China.
same time packing
mobility, while at the
more firepower than the standard Marine nine-man squad. He saw
that in
would be
crucial
South
Pacific jungles, like in Nicaragua, flanking tactics
against the Japanese, but he also
was
solution
outshoot them. His
ability to
ten-man squads consisting of three three-man
to create
teams led by
needed the
fire
a corporal or private first class.
In reorganizing squads into three
teams and a
leader, rather
than nine
individual Marines, Carlson freed the squad and platoon leaders to focus on
the larger picture rather than worry about each Marine. In the heat of a
fire-
fight,
instead of directing the entire squad he only had to issue orders to the
three
fire
team
leaders,
who
in turn
supervised the
This provided better coordination and speed attack
— than did an
made
it
together,
how
fied
three
men
vital attributes
teams.
when under
men.
teams
Fire
simpler to coordinate movement.
To create cohesion, Carlson kept the
The
in their fire
officer shouting orders to eight or nine
tightened unit control and
ing.
—
men
fire
teams together throughout
train-
hiked as a team, served mess duty together, quartered
and ate together. They learned each to better coordinate their
other’s tendencies
and
identi-
movements.
Maj. Samuel Griffith, an Edson officer
who had
studied British com-
mando techniques, observed Carlson’s training and was astonished with how much the Raiders did together. Carlson assigned tasks by platoon, rather than to individuals
— the platoon worked
was impressed with they
literally
together, Fire
men
system “which
did live together,
and
I
work
I
kitchen or policed the area. Griffith
thought was very valuable, because
together, eat together, sleep together, train
thought that was a very valuable concept.
teams became
responsibility to fire
the
a
in the
a fertile proving
team
ground
tered jungle
leaders, Carlson could
ment Marines enjoyed
more
first
a
losses.
By handing
readily observe
class
lieutenants, a crucial factor
combat and began suffering
.
for future leaders.
performed. His corporals and privates
spawned sergeants and
.”^ 6 .
formed
how
a pool that
once the battalion en-
At the same time, replace-
smoother transition when placed
they benefited from working with two veteran Raiders.
in a fire
team, as
AMERICAN COMMANDO
60
Firepower previously unseen
Carlsons
(BAR) and
Rifle
Ml
eight
rifles,
at
larger-caliber bullet
minute
rifle,
BAR, whose
a
—could
greater
enemy more
distances of up to five hundred yards brought the
quickly within range, and one
whose
earmarked
but Carlson upgraded the de-
Ml
structiveness by arming each team with one
accuracy
tactical unit
teams. Normally, a nine-man squad carried one Browning
fire
Automatic
Marine
in a small
Thompson submachine gun (Tommy
and higher
rate of fire
shred jungle foliage and blunt
gun),
—four hundred rounds per enemy
charges. Carlson’s
squads thus met the enemy with three Thompsons, three BARs, and four rifles
squad leader usually selected the
(the
and nine
M
rifles
1
Carlson had
rather than the one
rifle),
M
BAR
of a standard squad.
little
weapons because
trouble obtaining such
of Roosevelt,
whose requests raced through channels. The Raiders enjoyed the newest and best of most equipment.
They had
specially designed boots for their long
hikes, the best walkie-talkies in the Corps, special stiletto-type knives
Jim Bowie-type knives,
large
shotguns, collapsible bicycles, chain saws,
riot
Thompson submachine
Bangalore torpedoes, and plenty of "I
think this created, unquestionably, a
battalions, stated
James Roosevelt
that he [Carlson] gave ter
equipment.
any orders
I
me was
that
we
got
and
I
had
get the
and
guess
gotta have that,
1
if
I
that “one of the jobs
could not get some bet-
said that Father never wrote out
now being realistic,
the fact that
into the quartermaster’s office
maybe was
when
M
Garand
rifle.
weaponry, but Carlson only had
"We were
Lieutenant Griffith recalled the time Carlson the
first
group
Griffith explained that
in the entire
Armed
when Carlson heard
Roosevelt called his mother and informed her
needed the weapon. “Would you shipment of the new
fire
talk to
Dad about
how this?”
Services to of the
Ml,
this?
hadlv the Raiders j
Two weeks
later a
rifles arrived.
his version of the fire
group could
and say
the nation’s military geared for war, most
difficulty obtaining the additional
rifle.
His
1,
part of the reason at least
he asked Roosevelt, "Do you think you can do something about
nals.
rival
>
1
With
among
it.”‘
to turn to his executive officer.
wanted the
1
it,
guns.
of unhappiness”
He added
1979.
would walk
At a time of high demand, officers
lot
go back and see
to give us anything, hut
gotta have this,
in
went hack and got
as the son of the president, I
to
and
team, Carlson created miniature jungle arse-
teams brought frightening firepower upon the Japanese. “That really put the bullets out,"
gushed Lieutenant
Griffith.
had assembled a unit capable of outshooting any comparable
size
Carlson
group
in
We Army
the
Could Have Taken on John Dillinger Carson went even
or Marines. Private
taken on John Dillinger and ten Carlson’s revolutionary
Commanding
Samuel
Griffith
one squad."™
just
B. Griffith advised
implement Carlsons
added
interview that "the
in a later
fire
and
and morale point of view, from
tactical
Marine
Gen. Holland M.
a
May
for later organizations."
team concept, which was
Carlson’s concept, despite claims to the contrary
from a
that other
team concept. In
fire
he called Carlson’s Raiders the “model
letter
"We could have
General, Amphibious Corps, Atlantic Fleet, that every
raider battalion should
1942
him with
further.
team proved so promising
fire
officers followed suit. Maj.
Smith,
like
61
—was
a
wonderful thing
a psychological point of
view
a tactical point of view."
In January 1943,
when
Griffith reorganized the First Raider Battalion,
he
followed Carlson’s practices, even though he had been Merritt Edson’s executive officer. Later that year an instruction manual offering material on Carlson’s
fire
teams was issued
Marine Corps adopted I
at
Camp
Pendleton, and following the war the
teams throughout
fire
know," Griffith stated after the war, “the
in the
Marine Corps, the
fire
its
fire
organization.
team concept
“And
is still
as far as in effect
team organization, the squad organization of
three by threes.” 60
“Twenty-one Guns
A
in
His Hip Pocket”
mystique eventually enveloped Carlson and his Raiders. Subsequent Navy
Department and Marine Corps press releases described Raider training
months of hardship
four
"for fighting in the tropics, for
down
night, for thrusts over mountains,
The
writer stated that Carlson
wire,
"And
all
s
ravines, through
men jumped
beach landings
as at
swamp and jungle."
over double layers of barbed
time their bodies were hardened by long, rapid, fatiguing
this
men
marches, and the
drilled for
hand-to-hand combat with boxing, rough-
and-tumble, knife-fighting, and bayonet fighting.”
The
release
went on
to say that Carlson’s rigorous drilling
Raiders for anything. “They trained
—and became neither supermen, nor arch-
killers,
nor glamour boys, but a team with the
‘game.’
”
The
story
added
prepared the
that at a time
when
skill to lick
the Japs at their
own
the United States public wearied
of reading about defeat, “Just as a conditioned thorough-bred anticipates test
on the
track, so
that in jungle craft
do the Raiders anticipate action on the
and sheer
fighting ability they
field,
can whip the
its
confident 61
Japs.’’
AMERICAN COMMANDO
62
Along with the adulation came that
officers
doctrine. Others scorned his supposed democratic system
and bellowed that while succeed on the
might work during training camp,
it
battlefield.
Commanders who uity of losing
commander
lost
would never
it
“There could be no discipline and no morale
such an organization,” 62 claimed Maj. Gen.
I
radical for an organization
argued that Carlson digressed from Marine orthodoxy in favor
army
of Chinese
nor
Too
by nature autocratic and conservative, Carlson expected opposition.
is
Some
criticism.
Omar T.
in
Pfeiffer at the time.
troops to Raider battalions griped about the ineq-
Marines they had trained.
Brig.
Gen. Alexander Vandegrift,
Marine Division, wrote, “Neither General Holcomb
of the First
favored forming elite units from units already
Navy Colonel Frank Knox and President the British
commandos, directed us
He added
that losing valued
to
I
come up with
men “annoyed
could do about
But Secretary of the
Roosevelt, both of
”
wasn’t one earthly thing
elite.
whom
fancied
a similar organization."
the devil out of me, but there 63
it.
Carlson’s friendship with President Roosevelt had the contrary effect of
keeping his Raiders intact while engendering harsh censure. Officers quietly
slammed Carlson
for his ties to Roosevelt, but
claimed that the "Second
Raiders will never need any artillery support. Carlson’s always got twenty-one
guns
A
[a
reference to the president]
few
officers
in his
hip pocket.
rushed to Carlson’s defense.
One
of the most astute
Maj. Samuel Griffith. Griffith claimed that Carlson’s distinctive
profound belief
in people.
"He was kind
of like a prophet out of the
tament, strong and righteous.” Rather than being a communist,
was
an extremely brave and intelligent
just
principle.”
6
didn’t like to
his
Old Testhink he
bend on
such an unorthodox position earned both the
enmity and the jealousy of fellow
officers,
communist. He’s always reminded
me
you remember,
had great admiration ick,
man who
"I
was
-
Griffith realized that taking
face, as
trait
was
a very
of a tough
simple man,
for Carlson."
but “No,
I
I
don’t think he
New
was
a
England type, craggy
believe, very honest. I’ve always
Some brushed
aside Carlson as a maver-
but not Griffith. "Well, he was a maverick, but
I
think
we need
a
few
mavericks.” 66
His
men
convinced
thought the Marines needed more Carlsons.
his contemporaries, but Carlson’s
impact on
He may
his Raiders
not have
was un-
deniable. Pfc. Brian
Quirk remains impressed with Carlson’s
unselfishness. In a
200“ interview he
loyalty,
courage, and
called Carlson a “Christian at heart
We Could Have Taken on John with a militarist all
uncommon
outlook"
s
to see
who
made time
always
him temporarily
63
Dillinger
men.
for his
"It
was not
at
set aside his personal affairs in order to
chat with ‘one of the boys,’ as he called us.
He knew
hy name, past experi-
ence, and capabilities every individual in the battalion." Quirk explained that
“Carlson was a wonderful man.
1
was
just a private, but
same. That was the type of guy he was.” 6 Sgt.
the only
disposition
would of anyone
else
man know, except 68 of my own life.” I
The pace quickened near Hawaii
me
the
all
'
Adrian E. Schofield stated that Carlson would "dispose of himself as
readily as he “is
he knew
to consult
his
myself, with
the end of
command” and
whom
March when
I
would
that the officer
entirely trust the
superiors called Carlson to
about the potential deployment of his Raiders. In his ab-
sence, Roosevelt took
command
four Raider companies
for the final
—three weeks
phase of training
Clemente Island and the California
of landing practices off San
destroyers called
under
—A,
B, C,
and
APDs, then headed
D — debarked
to shore in
coast.
from World
The
War
I
rubber boats to simulate
surprise attacks, one of the Raiders’ prime missions. Roosevelt, hoping to
better prepare the
men
for
combat, pushed the Raiders harder, with compa-
nies vying with each other to set the highest standard. In mid-April the Raiders returned to
volunteers that formed
Camp
where the 250 new
Elliott,
E and F Companies joined them. Carlson now had
complete companies, plus headquarters,
men. Carlson, again with
his
for a total of
six
about eight hundred
men, and knowing they were about
to
head
overseas, granted the battalion a final liberty in San Diego.
Many headed rees
and carrying
to
San Diego, primed
their
gung ho
for beer
knives, they
and women. Wearing dunga-
made
a spectacle. Military police
arrested groups of Raiders but Carlson, foreseeing that he might encounter
such problems, posted Lieutenant Miller, Lieutenant Washburn, and other officers at different jails to
immediately post
bail for the
men.
Training, especially in hand-to-hand combat, had brought the reality of
war
a bit closer.
that reality. at
boot
A
series of
war scares along the California coast magnified
During one December week, with many of the Marines already
camp
in
San Diego, nine Japanese submarines attacked eight Ameri-
can merchant ships, sinking two and damaging two while
One
submarine,
Elliott.
I-
10,
had taken station
off
killing six
San Diego not
far
seamen.
from
Camp
AMERICAN COMMANDO
64
The
On
scares escalated in February, with the Raiders deep in training.
February 23, the Japanese submarine 1-17 surfaced near Los Angeles and
twenty shells
fired
inflicted little
at California oil fields.
damage, the assault
war developments following
Two
the forty-five-minute attack
rattled nerves already
shaken by ominous
Pearl Harbor.
days later antiaircraft batteries near Los Angeles fired fourteen hun-
dred rounds
enemy
Though
at
aircraft
and that the
reported Japanese aircraft.
The Los Angeles Times
stated that
had been spotted above many Southern California locations,
antiaircraft
rounds were the
invader over United States
soil.
In
such shots
first
San Diego,
a red-alert
fired at
an enemy
warning sounded
air
alarms and sent hundreds of air-raid wardens and auxiliary police scurrying to their posts.
The idea of
scares
enemy
made Raider
training
more
relevant. “To us Raiders, the very
shells exploding in our country
was the
last straw,"
wrote Lieu-
tenant Peatross. Orders directed Raiders to hunt the coastline for secret
Japanese radio stations and Japanese spies. “None was found, but the search
added
a
degree of realism to our
training.’’
69
A series of events helped restore a semblance of security to these worried residents. A group of pilots flying over Tokyo chipped in, and the Raider presence
at
Midway during
that epic sea battle, followed by their stunning raid
against a tiny Japanese-held atoll in the central Pacific, lifted spirits on the
home
front as well.
“The Eve
of the
Great Adventure”
In a series of lengthy letters from Jacques Farm, Carlson fed information to
the president on a variety of topics, including Raider training and his son
James’s contributions.
On March ident’s
2,
1942, Carlson wrote Roosevelt of his pleasure with the pres-
son “and the fine way he has taken hold of his assigned tasks out here."
Carlson stated that
when James
arrived in
assigned to Carlson’s intelligence section
two
men
immediately
hit
it
tions of world events,
and
“I
much
me on
A James
eye to eye with
off.
San Diego at
he his executive
he was
first
Force Headquarters, where the
Carlson praised Roosevelt’s written estima-
discovered to
my
great delight that he
saw pretty
matters social, economic, political and military."
pleasant collaboration ensued, making to
in January,
officer.
it
“Incidentally,
it
natural for Carlson to ask is
hardly necessary' for
me
We Could Have Taken on John to assure
you that he was selected
my
I
James vindicated Carlson s camp, despite
1
would show no favoritism
by sharing every challenge of training
trust
“Jimmy Roosevelt was
his fragile health.
tops,” said Private
Voight in sentiments that reflected
how most
stomach problems, but
him down. He never acted
was
same March
to
of the Raiders
felt.
He
“He had
superior.
had made
said he “designed the organization
and equip-
a view to providing a battalion capable of high mobility
maximum
possessing the this, in part,
power compatible with such
fire
and assigning multiple functions foot,
to his
to the
men. “The emphasis
endurance, self-sufficiency and great
and
He did minimum
mobility.”
by cutting unnecessary administrative overhead
movement on
He
be tough to do." 71
2 letter, Carlson discussed the progress he
with his Raider Battalion.
ment with
didn’t slow
That had
a regular guy.
In the
it
in the
concerned.” 70
men were
lives of
and
his merit
believe you are sufficiently familiar
intellectual honesty to realize that
choice of officers where the
on
for this post entirely
without regard to his relationship to you.
with
65
Dillinger
fire
is
on speed of
power,” he re-
ported to the president.
But more than enemy. “In order
tactics
was required. His men had
to lick the
Japanese
we must
to
be tougher than the
out-hike, out-smart
and out-
shoot him.” Carlson added, “Our minds must be kept open to the reception of
new
ideas.” Carlson
cent of the
six
informed Roosevelt that he had selected only 10 per-
thousand
men who volunteered
to
be Raiders, which provided
Carlson with a talented battalion.
man is a volunteer. Each wants to do 40 to 50 miles a day on foot. What a man wants to do he can do if he is willing to make the effort. These men possess conviction. With their morale, armament and coordination am “Every
I
convinced that nese
command
this outfit five
times
could run rings around and cut to pieces any Japaits size.”
Carlson admitted that his battalion was, as orthodox, in the military sense, but
it
will
many
do the
detractors charged, “un-
job.” For instance,
he men-
tioned their pack, which was designed from a hunting jacket for easier mobility. Carlson agreed that
pack allowed
his
men
it
did not look very appealing, but the lighter
to carry their essentials
while retaining speed and ma-
neuverability.
"Of course, we are meeting with opposition from the orthodox brass he
stated, but
that those in vain."
he believed
his
men would
prove their
months of experience with the Chinese
critics
wrong.
"I
guerrilla armies
hats,
feel
now
were not
AMERICAN COMMANDO
66 Carlson ended the
by promising to do whatever he could to safe-
letter
guard the president’s son. “Please
feel
no apprehension
He
for Jim.
has
al-
won a high place in the hearts of the men of this command. He can it. And in the final analysis you can trust me to see that he holds himself
ready take
within bounds.”
2
Carlson had,
established himself as James Roo-
in effect,
sevelt’s caretaker.
President Roosevelt responded ten days
on the use
battalion’s progress
it."
He
and guessed that "surely there
for
had part of
would probably
him know
be a chance to
I
lay
his
is
working with you
stomach taken out and that
him low
mentioned
re-
James.
am, of course, glad that Jimmy
that he
will
Carlson
then added a cautionary remark that underscored Carlson’s
mark about watching out "I
He complimented
later.
in forty-eight hours.
— but
a diet of
don’t forget
condensed cubes
For Heaven’s sake don’t
let
he would slay me.” 73
this or
Those sentiments would one day place Carlson
in the
midst of the most
heated quandary of his career.
On April
23, Admiral Nimitz notified Admiral King that the Raiders
now
pleted training five days earlier and were
had com-
ready for tougher challenges.
Nimitz warned King that unless the unit embarked on active operations or a different sort of training,
its
high morale might suffer. Nimitz,
who
described
Carlson’s battalion as “a striking force with strength out of proportion to
numbers,”
May
1
4
announced
to practice
was sending the Raiders
that he
rubber boat landings over coral
With the prospect of combat drawing ident Roosevelt on April 29,
immense
referred to the
“We
Hawaii around
to
reefs.
are in the eve of the Great Adventure.”
responsibilities that lay with taking I
men
it
He
into battle,
both have put our best
thought and effort into the preparation of this organization and that
wrote Pres-
near, a jubilant Carlson
but declared everyone ready. "However, Jim and
its
1
am
satisfied
represents just about the best America has to offer."
Carlson cautioned that no matter true test awaited in the Pacific. ing, of course,
and so
has demonstrated
its
1
optimistic they might
"The proof of the pudding
withhold the
prowess
how final
in battle.
I
will
word of conviction
am
now be
in
feel,
the eat-
until this
gang
confident, though, that our con-
cepts are sound. Mobility, condition, tactical knowledge, and individual tiative, volition,
the
resolution and resourcefulness: these are the rocks on
ini-
which
We we have
built
Could Have Taken on John Dillinger
our house. Each
and each believes
in
man
is
67
conscious of their meaning and value,
them.”
Carlson claimed that the Japanese, stretched to every corner of the Pacific with their
initial
conquests, could not possibly be strong everywhere, and that
"Pure raids would keep him guessing, confuse him and cause him to alter his plans.
." .
.
could use
These
in
raids could also yield valuable information that the
Army
planning large-scale assaults, while simultaneously disrupting
Japanese lines of communication. “The situation
is
which has obtained
a half years, substituting
water for land.”
^
in
for the past four
enemy where
they least expected, employing speedy
embarking on longer missions behind enemy
observed
in
—
lines, just as
he had
Nicaragua and China.
Another motive prodded the battalion possible
and
Carlson thus imagined the Pacific as a theater for guerrilla
operations, hitting the raids or
China
not dissimilar to that
to beat Edson’s
men
to leave California as quickly as
into combat. Merritt Edson’s First Raider
Battalion had already received orders for the Pacific.
“Our eagerness
to
be off increased greatly
echelon of Edson’s Raiders had arrived
in
when we heard
that the
San Diego and shipped out
first
for
an
unspecified destination in the Pacific,” wrote Lieutenant Peatross. "Surely our turn would soon
come .” 76
4
We Were
Itching
for a Fight
heir time
T
came sooner than
Diego and charted
maneuvered
a
expected. As the ship J. Franklin Bell
two epic sea
Coral Sea northeast of Australia ended
into the fray
San
course toward Hawaii, the Japanese and U.S. fleets
into position for
Midway
the American-held
left
Island,
and help turn the
battles.
pull
clash in the
The second, centering on
in a draw.
would
The May
two of Carlson s companies
tide in the Pacific.
“A Whole Different Ball of Wax” Combat
lay in the future as Carlson,
now
a lieutenant colonel, led his Raiders
and the newly promoted Maj. James Roosevelt aboard the troop transport,
which steamed out of San Diego on May
8.
Once
the ship reached open
waters, the public-address system blared with a message from Carlson. Titled
"The Task That Lies Ahead,” the order announced
which they had been waiting, early
that they
to the Raiders the
were bound
encounter with the enemy. "We become the
for
first
Hawaii and on
men
an
who
then cau-
against overconfidence, a mistake he believed the Japanese
had already made. “The enemy ...
and on
to
for
of our land forces of
our nation to carry the war to the enemy," boasted Carlson, tioned his
news
this factor
is
fully
aware of the softness of Americans
alone he banks to give him 75 per cent of his victories."
But, continued Carlson, the Raiders held the key to victory. "By our faith, our energy, our courage
and our intelligence
68
—perhaps most of
all
by our willing-
We Were
Itching for a Fight
ness to sacrifice comfort and convenience
Even more important, we
pace and blaze the
will set the
takes to win battles.
means work and
It
For most Raiders, the voyage marked the tinental
to victory.
those be-
trail for
that
we Americans hut
sacrifice, Raiders,
1
go.”
let’s
it
march on
shall
them with confidence and showing them
hind, inspiring
have what
—we
69
first
time they had
the con-
left
United States. As the California coastline receded from view and the
ocean engulfed the J. Franklin Bell
,
a distant
Each mile from San Diego brought them
war had suddenly become
real.
closer to facing their ultimate test
combat. "Yeah,
Vanlandingham.
said Pfc. Jesse
now.
We had a
$ 10,000
life
brought the seriousness,
They
we
Most ”
Only weeks this ship
over,
increased
it
and
it
was serious
San Diego. That
in
of the guys didn’t expect to survive at
all.
Loveland claimed that the departure made an impression on
wondering, ‘What have
war
I
was
2
the younger Raiders. “There were
to
training
to business,’’
volunteered. Carlson said at a battalion meeting
probably wouldn’t survive. Pvt. Darrell
The
were getting down
insurance policy.
too.
when we
told us that
Heading
We
was on everybody’s mind.
it
is
a
1
some who were kind
really gotten into?’ There
whole different
were
of uneasy about a
few second thoughts.
wax than being
ball of
before, Japanese submarines imperiled the
plowed
in training.”"
West Coast.
submarine domain. The ship adopted
directly into
and
it
Now
a zigzag
course, hut without escort the defenseless vessel splashed westward at the
mercy of the Japanese.
A more
sober group of Raiders docked in Hawaii. As the
May
inched into Pearl Harbor on
wrecks that once had been the ship Row, where the
Franklin Bell
18 and steamed by the still-smoldering
muted Raiders
Pacific Fleet,
Oklahoma
].
rested on
its
side
and
its
stared at Battle-
compatriot, the
Arizona, lay upside down. Reality dwarfed the tame images they had seen in
home-front newspapers, making some wonder
was worse than what they had been “as our transport
if
the situation in the Pacific
Lieutenant Peatross thought that
told.
steamed slowly past battleship row,
‘battleship death row’
might
now be
a
more
fitting
it
me
occurred to
name.
On
all
sides
could see the almost unbelievable results of the Japanese attack: the
wreckage of once proud warships, some on stern up, but
all
looking irretrievably
Private Loveland battled a
lost.”
their sides,
some how
that
we
pitiful
up, others
4
wave of emotions
Harbor unfolded before him. “There were a
lot
as the devastation of Pearl
of ships laying on their side
AMERICAN COMMANDO
70
and the whole bay was quite me.
I
thought,
That
here.’
brought
Top
I’ve
in
it
really started to sink in to
got to do, and here’s a
sudden example
your head out of your butt. Looking
into perspective.
me."
“Cheese
know what
will get
it all
just got to
I
when
That’s
oily.
No
anger,
no
right
Harbor
at Pearl
surprise, just determination.
It
1
the Trap”
military officials in
Washington, D.C., and Hawaii knew that the Japa-
nese, embarrassed over Lt. Col.
James
bombing
Doolittle’s daring April
raid
against Tokyo, planned to launch a reprisal, but the date and location re-
mained
a mystery. Hawaii, Alaska, the
Coast loomed as
Panama Canal, and even
West
the
Heroic efforts by American code breakers
possibilities.
cracked key components of the Japanese naval code and concluded that the
Japanese intended
Midway. By the end of
to hit
May
Nimitz knew the date,
and composition of forces headed toward Midway.
target,
Situated 1,137 miles northwest of Hawaii, the six-mile-wide
formed
a strategic piece of the fragile
sists of
two islands
Eastern Island.
A
American defense
—the two-mile-long Sand
1938 government report
Island and
listed
line. its
Midway Atoll
The
atoll
con-
smaller neighbor,
Midway second
in strategic
importance only to Pearl Harbor. Losing the possession to the Japanese would place Hawaii within easy striking range as well as cause a possible relocation of the Pacific Fleet to the
While elated over chief of the Japanese
West Coast.
his forces’ victory at Pearl Harbor, the
fleet,
commander
in
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, considered the attack
incomplete since his dive-bombers and torpedo planes had missed the American aircraft carriers.
As long
Yamamoto remained
vulnerable. To
remnants of the American "decisive encounter" for If
in the
fleet
western
remedy
and destroy
which Japanese
Yamamoto succeeded,
A major defeat
as those floating airfields
might cause
this, it
he hoped
strategists
draw out the
— the
had long planned.
the entire Pacific would lay open for his taking.
his
enemy
to sign a truce giving
Japan
a free
hand
Pacific.
had
visited the
her mighty industrial capabilities.
He
understood that
more than
to
Pacific,
in a gigantic sea clash
Earlier in his career Yamamoto
for
roamed the
six
United States and observed if
the war dragged on
months, American factories would begin pouring out an
unstoppable stream of ships,
aircraft,
and weapons that could
spell eventual
We Were defeat for Japan.
He
Itching for a Fight
71
thus devised an operation to knock his adversary out of
the war before that industrial might delivered the tools of war.
Midway
A
threat to
served as the perfect bait to draw out the American carriers and
whatever else remained of the American Navy. Following an early June
on Midway by four Japanese
aircraft
by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, an invasion convoy of
carriers led
thousand
air strike
men
protected by two battleships,
Midway
destroyers would seize
with a potent battleship
flotilla,
five
heavy cruisers, and numerous
six
Island. Lying three
Yamamoto lurked
in
hundred miles behind
ambush
for the
Ameri-
can Navy.
The Japanese assembled an
equally powerful
punch
for the
American
defense forces on Midway. Fifteen hundred Special Naval Landing Forces called Japanese marines
—would
hit
Sand
Island, while a
detachment of one
thousand army personnel struck Eastern Island.
A
confident Japanese fleet headed to battle. Their intelligence predicted
that the
Americans had
they would "beat the
lost
the will to fight, and Japanese sailors boasted that
enemy hands down
They would not have been
.
6
so optimistic
if
they had
known
that Nimitz
held their operational plans, but even such an advantage did not guarantee
an American
victory.
Pearl Harbor,
The United
meaning
States
Navy had suffered alarming
that victory or defeat for the
Navy would depend upon
losses at
outnumbered American
individual courage, instinct, and decision-making
ability.
Events dropped Carlson’s Raiders directly into the storm. Soon after they arrived in Hawaii, Carlson
of
C
and
D
summoned
and Roosevelt, accompanied by the commanders
companies, Capt. Donald H. Hastie and to
if
John Apergis, were
headquarters for a briefing with Admiral Nimitz.
With an abundance of brass as
Lt.
at
the table, James Roosevelt must have
he were again inside the Oval Office. Nimitz wasted
to his point.
armed with
He ordered Carlson as much ammunition
and make the Japanese landing
little
send two Raider companies
to
felt
time getting to
Midway,
as they could carry, "so as to sell out dearly
costly to the enemy." The phrasing of Nimitz’s
request bothered Lieutenant Apergis,
were sending the Raider companies
to
who thought it sounded as if Nimitz Midway as sacrificial lambs. Being the
junior officer present at the meeting, Apergis hesitated to speak, but he over-
came
his
concerns and asked Nimitz
to hold out at
how
long the
Navy expected the Raiders
Midway.
“The answer was
to the last
man and
bullet
—but
if
the U.S. Navy’s plan,
AMERICAN COMMANDO
72
called simply the ‘cheese in the trap,’
worked and the enemy was enticed
go for the cheese (us on Midway) and the Jap carriers were sunk than
to
[sic]
our chances of survival increased.
Nimitz told Apergis and Hastie necessary. Their in front of the
stranded
in
companies were
Japanese.
If
to
be prepared
to fight to the
death
if
be part of the cheese that Nimitz dangled
C
the ruse failed,
D
and
companies would be
the mid-Pacific and face either death or capitulation.
Carlson and Roosevelt remained to lose either
mission.
to
Hawaii.
in
The Marines could
man, especially the son of the president,
They would
stay
in
not afford
such a desperate
behind and supervise training exercises
for a differ-
ent assignment.
“Our Purpose “We were ers in
C
Was
and Die” Vanlandingham of the Raid-
itching for a fight," explained Pfc. Jesse
and
D
companies. “The training was over and
were the best and we
numbered.
that
felt
anybody
that
we
we were
ready.
We
ran up against, their days were
s
Vanlandingham and St.
to Kill
his cohorts
boarded one of three ships
— the
cruiser
Louis or the destroyers Case or Guinn. Because speed was of the essence
and fellow Marines
—the
none of the ships zigzagged destination
Midway
Sixth Defense Battalion at
— needed
help,
as they barreled through the Pacific toward their
more than one thousand miles away.
The Raiders reached
the atoll less than three days
a cargo of thugs than a razor-sharp settle in after the
combat
unit.
later,
looking
more
like
As they barely had time
arduous California training and the long ocean
trip to
to
Ha-
waii before embarking for Midway, the unshaven, grimy Raiders created quite a spectacle.
Their rugged appearance was part circumstance, part design others to walk cautiously
when
near a Raider.
The
—they wanted
strutting arsenals, sport-
ing knives dangling at their sides, bandoliers sloping across their shoulders,
and hand grenades bulging from on
their pockets,
wanted people
to fear
them
sight.
“We were
a fairly wild-looking
lot,’
“Carlson was not a traditional type of not the camouflage uniforms
said Pvt. Virgil officer,
we had
Leeman
we
C Company.
and we wore green dungarees,
later in the war.
having a hath or laundering our clothes, so
of
We
had no way of
got pretty scrubby looking.
We
We Were
Itching for a Fight
73
prided ourselves on being different from other units. Carlson tolerated a
— Mohawk
haircuts, quite a
of stuff
took pride in looking special,
in
were a rough-and-ready
that.
We
outfit.
We
were
what we were doing. Carlson encouraged
that
4
sort of thing.”
The
We
like that.
tough training, pride
few of those, and he put up with
lot
more than two hundred ferocious-looking Raiders made the
arrival of
desired impression.
Midway personnel
kept their distance, and rumors cau-
tioned against approaching a Raider post at night or risk a knife to the throat.
Scuttlebutt stated that thousands of the Raiders were
still
why
uncertain
enemy
soldiers
headed
their way, but
could a few companies halt such a potent assault force? Were they
was always
Island,” said Pfc.
my
Midway was
thought that
Thomas Tobin
of
C Company,
going to he another
Japanese force. “Some
In
C
and
D
“We found
when we
out
down
as
much
as
we
could.”
to a vastly superior
kill
haps
and
said Pri-
die,
got hack that they really didn’t expect
we
could do except
1
Washington, D.C., Eleanor Roosevelt fretted over the well-being of her
whose precise whereabouts were unknown. She wrote
son,
a
were coming hack." 10
the Japanese had landed, there was nothing
If
slow them
didn’t think that
out our purpose there was to shoot and
vate Loveland.
us hack.
men
Wake
where
referring to the site
group of Marines fought valiantly before surrendering
"We found
Midway
at
defense or to die?
to record a heroic “It
How
they had been sent to Midway.
we have
to learn that life
was not meant
to
be lived
a friend that “per-
in security
but with
adventurous courage.” 12
On May with
its
2,
Chester Nimitz had conducted a personal tour of Midway
two commanders, Navy Comdr. Cyril
T.
Simard,
in overall
charge of
who
the military forces stationed there, and Marine Lt. Col. Harold Shannon,
oversaw the
island’s defenses.
Nimitz asked the pair what they needed
to
withstand an attack, then returned to Pearl Harbor to open the spigots. Fight-
bombers, barbed wire, additional men, and tanks poured
ers,
especially after
May
20,
when Nimitz informed Simard and Shannon
Japanese might attack as soon as
Though
clear that the island took a
lose
them without
Simard that
May
if
He
second seat
the choice
to his
Midway, Nimitz made
most crucial weapon
could not afford to lose those assets, or
inflicting graver
came down
the
28.
willing to divert whatever he could toward
Navy’s aircraft carriers.
to the island,
damage on the enemy,
— the
at least
so he informed
to preserving his carriers or saving
Mid-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
74 way, the island
was gone. He could retake Midway
which stood
carriers,
most potent deterrent
as the
Hawaii and the West Coast would be open
sure.
The Marines,
Once
but once the aircraft
Japanese aggression
to
for
Japan
to strike at their lei-
not the carriers, were expendable.
the two Raider companies arrived at Midway, they
The World War
non’s jurisdiction.
at
were gone, he could not soon replace them. The path
that stage of the war, to
later,
1
fell
under Shan-
veteran believed he could stop the Japa-
He had seen barbed wire halt the Germans during World War I, and he now so exhorted his men to string the material everywhere that they started calling him "Barbed Wire Bob." One Marine moaned, “Barbed wire, barbed wire! Cripes, the Old Man thinks we can stop planes with nese
the reef.
at
barbed wire.” 13
The defensive
Leeman and Vanlandingham, tions along the
were
base
to protect
—
—
down
arrived.
Company, took in a
clump of pine
into the hard coral sur-
sand and built upward instead. The
a radar tower
posi-
instal-
and shack, some fuel tanks, and
rested behind.
Lieutenant Apergis led the Island, a
C
companies
beaches on Sand Island facing the ocean or
face, the Raiders filled bags with
a seaplane
D
and
along with the rest of
trees a bit inland. Since they could not dig far
lations they
C
preparations intensified after
men
of
D Company to their stations on
Eastern
twenty-minute boat ride across the lagoon from their Raider buddies
on Sand. Gooney birds fluttered and stumbled about, amusing the Raiders with their fumbling ways, but unlike on Sand Island, Eastern offered tempting targets for the Japanese.
The
triangular-shaped airstrip dominated the middle,
while a main hangar, powerhouse, mess
exchange, and underground
command
water
distillation plant, post
post rested along the sides.
During breaks the Raiders bathed colors, a fascinating
hall,
in the
ocean.
The
water’s stunning
blend of turquoise, jade, sapphire, and blue, vied for
tention with the star-clustered night skies. Pvt. Ralph Shawlee of
at-
D Company
thought he had never seen a more stunning sight than the millions of sparkling stars that
They had
seemed
little
to rise
from the ocean and blanket the
time to admire nature, however. The Raiders helped the
Marines of the Sixth Defense Battalion emplace trenches and dugouts, clear fields of water.
On
fire,
and
light tanks in the forest, dig
set antiboat obstacles in the
Eastern Island’s beach. Private Shawlee stopped digging before
reaching an adequate depth due to the water table. in
down
foxhole
skies.
to only a foot
— 18
inches.”
14
and
a half
where we struck
He
explained that he “dug
salt water.
Not much of
a
We Were They
75
Itching for a Fight
thousands of mines along the beaches and strung hundreds
littered
of miles of barbed wire, in the water and on land. “We walked out about chest
high
in
the water and set barbed wire
way up
the
traps.”
to the
beach.
all
around," said Private Loveland. "All
Then we put some
land mines and other booby
15
Raider improvisation produced tools of war from seemingly innocuous material.
They shoved
ends with hot
tar,
blasting gelatin into lengths of sewer piping, sealed the
clustered
them
in
groups of
ready to he detonated electronically
when
six,
and planted them offshore,
the Japanese approached.
whiskey bottles became Molotov cocktails. Marines emplaced dred of Capt. Harold Throneson’s makeshift mines flashlight battery,
and
fifteen
hun-
made from dynamite,
a
pounds of pressure, and sprinkled the beaches
forty
with hundreds of cigar-shaped boxes metal, and glass.
Empty
jammed
with
The devices could be exploded
nails, spikes,
pieces of
either electrically or by a
Raider sharpshooter hitting a bull’s-eye painted on the box’s side.
As the Raiders helped strengthen Midway’s defenses, additional material poured
in.
On May
26, an aircraft tender dropped off guns, tanks,
while eighteen dive-bombers and seven fighters flew
craft,
island’s aging air force of sixteen Vindicator
and
air-
in to bolster the
dive-bombers and twenty-one
Buffalo fighters. Three days later another four Army B-26s arrived, along with
twelve Navy PBYs. Raiders marveled at the sight of one of the country’s newest weapons, the
B-17 bomber, as the graceful
aircraft
descended
some Raiders had
the plane eased fears
for landings.
that they
The
had been sent
addition of to
Midway
to die.
"A B-17 bomber flew
new
planes, and
each other. aircraft.”
early
16
It
we went
revealed
The
The
absolutely nuts
how we were
string of fighters
June caused one
no place
over,” explained Private
carrying on inside.
it.
were hugging
These were the
and bombers that arrived
officer to joke that
was one of the
Men
in late
savior
May and
soon the gooney birds would have
additional material could not have been timelier, as
tion delivered by his
strike.
On May
it
appeared the
27, Admiral Nimitz, based on informa-
code breakers, divulged
Japanese had already named the officer
The
when we saw
“It
to land.
Japanese would soon
Midway
Leeman.
to
another admiral that the
who was
to take
command
of the
facilities.
Raiders experienced mixed emotions as the
While eager
for a fight, they
knew
that
Midway was
first
days of June ended.
not the ideal situation for
AMERICAN COMMANDO
76 a highly trained fleet
group of commandos
showcase
to
appeared on the horizon, the Raiders had
their foxholes
and dugouts and
had promised
in training
At
least they
had taken
all
little
fight to the death.
camp, but
it
its
It
talents. If the
Japanese
choice but to remain
in
was hardly what Carlson
was the task they had been
precautions. Capt. Robert C.
given.
McGlashan, the
operations officer for the Sixth Defense Rattalion, recalled of the eve of battle,
“Of course, there were
done; but I
turned
that,
all
the essential things had been done
in that night
come what
The Raiders
left
things as well. it
started
thousand things more that could have been
a
may,
knowing
behind
in
Rumors had
on December
7.
would
that the Japs
we had done
all
we
—and not
could.’
Hawaii wondered
if
arrive
a
day
to spare.
by morning,
I
As felt
1
they might be
in
the thick of
the Japanese fleet returning to complete the task
Physicians discharged the less serious patients
Army hospitals to free beds for expected casualties, and Lt. Gen. Delos C. Emmons, the military governor of Hawaii, recommended that all women and children living in downtown Honolulu leave for inland areas. Concern from
spread to the mainland, where military
Coast and stationed a picket
officials
canceled leaves on the West
line of patrol boats
and yachts four hundred
miles off California’s coast.
“My On
Taste of War”
First
June
3,
Ens. Jack Reid, piloting a
PBY on
early-morning patrol, located
Japanese ships seven hundred miles out. The news spread to every Marine that in less than twenty-four hours,
nese carrier
Western movies such the powerhouse on Private First Class
He had
film director
coming
John Ford, the maker of legendary
as Stagecoach, starring
Sand
Island, not far
John Wayne, hiked
to the top of
from where Private Leeman and
Vanlandingham waited
in their
bunkers, to set up his
crafted a career filming shootouts, but
the reality of his next project. the
within range of Japa-
aircraft.
The famed Hollywood
cameras.
Midway would be
none could match
The Navy Department had asked him
battle and, during the fray, to relay to
to film
Commander Simard what
he observed. At 4:45 a.m. on June
4,
108 aircraft launched from the four Japanese car-
We Were
six
bombers
Thirty-six level
riers.
77
Itching for a Fight
rose from the Hiryu
and the Soryu, while
dive-bombers joined ranks from the Akagi and the Kaga. Another
— nine from each
fighters
carrier
—escorted the bombers. The
thirty-
thirty-six
bombers,
level
tasked with destroying the island’s aircraft batteries, would arrive over Mid-
way
first,
against installations
Sand
strike
way
thus clearing the
and
tanks. Aircraft from the Hiryu
oil
Island, while the other
Fifty-five
minutes
dive-bombers and fighters
for the
later Lt.
two
William Chase spotted the
PBY
toward Midway and radioed from his
PLANES HEADING MIDWAY. BEARING
Island.
aircraft
speeding
“MANY
Catalina flying boat,
320,
on Sand and Eastern islands sent men scurrying their aircraft.
and the Kaga would
pounded Eastern
carriers
to strike
Within twenty minutes twenty-six
DISTANCE
to their posts
150.” 18 Sirens
and
had risen
fighters
aviators to
to intercept
the enemy, while the scout bombers rendezvoused twenty miles east of Mid-
way
to await further instructions.
American
fighter pilots
met the Japanese
thirty miles
from Midway, where
the faster and more maneuverable Zeros pounced on the lumbering American
planes to keep them from the bombers. at
The Marine
Japanese bombers, but attracted Zeros
like a
distance. Instead of attacking the bombers, the
had
spend most of
to
On Midway leaving each tion near
man
as they shortened the
outnumbered American
silence replaced the
alone with his thoughts.
Shannon’s
magnet
pilots
their time evading the slippery Zeros.
welcome
a
aviators bravely charged
command
A
awesome
noise of takeoff,
Marine manning the radar
sta-
post called out the range as the Japanese
planes brought the aerial combat within sight of the Raiders ashore.
The Raiders could The American
hardly have been comforted by what they witnessed.
fighters,
outdated F2A-3 Brewster Buffalos, had no chance
against the swifter Zeros,
appeared fins," to
to
some
as
if
who seemed
strings
later
dubbed "Flying Cof-
the savage nature of the war they were about to
ended when they observed the Japanese attack Maj. Floyd
fight
Parks,
who had parachuted from
toward the ground
were
at
official
dangled to
hound the Brewsters,
make
chivalry,
It
the Zeros.
Any Raider doubt about
less
to toy with the slower Brewsters.
him and
in his
didn’t let
Marine report of in his
his
B. “Red"
burning Brewster and fluttered defense-
harness. “As soon as his shoot opened the Japs
up even when he landed on the Parks’s demise.
Not content
reef,’’
to fire at
stated the
him
as he
parachute, the Japanese strafed the water where Parks landed
sure they had completed their task. John Ford bristled at the lack of
and the
official report
added,
in
words with which every Raider who
78
AMERICAN COMMANDO enemy
witnessed the attack could agree, "This .” 19
spect of the word.
.
.
The Zeros swept fense of
Midway
American
aside the
in the
fighters with ease, leaving the de-
hands of the Marines manning the guns and guarding
Midway was naked
the beaches.
cold blooded in every re-
is
before the Japanese.
Lieutenant Apergis gazed upward and noticed “the sky above was
Sun red
ing
ball
marked
On Sand
Zeros.”
of Ris-
full
John Ford observed the events
Island,
through his binoculars, and was most impressed not with the Japanese but with
men around
the
him. "Everybody was very calm.
lackadaisical air everybody took.
I
was amazed,
You know everybody
sort of
took to the line of
duty as though they had been living through this sort of thing Private closer,
Leeman might have
he wondered
enemy bombs and into our
if
was
When
scary.
of
fire for
Carlson
s
and other Raiders
The guns on Sand
Island
in support,
downed one Japanese
tanks, barracks, antiaircraft batteries,
was the most
Winkle of
C Company at
Sand
minded the men
that as their
"We were first
Island.
"I
my
deafening.
life,”
pretty
much
bombs smashed
into oil
claimed Pvt. James Van
to repulse the
when
taste of war,” stated Pharmacist’s
expected land
the attack came, and that
Mate Third Class Richard
bombed and
could do except make myself invisible
The bombing vibrations and
They
the celebration.
installations.
Favinger of the bombings at Eastern Island. “They
of sandbags.
plane, bringing loud
hit.
there barely forty-eight hours
I
initial
imagined the whole Jap Army mak-
main task was
had better not get
was nothing
belched their
beach.” 22 Private Loveland’s squad leader gruffly re-
my
invasion, they
and other
terrifying experience of
ing a landing on
there
got
when Midway’s
bombs ended
Explosions rocked both Eastern and Sand islands as
my
drew
we
the Japanese arrived
Raiders occurred at 6:31
cheers from Marines, but a quick succession of
was
aircraft
20
those hastily assembled bunkers were a match for
bullets. "It
batteries, with Apergis
“It
their lives.”
hunkers and hoped they worked OK.” 21
The baptism salvos.
all
As the Japanese
disagreed.
sort of, at the
strafed,
in that
J.
and
enclosure
the noise of the strafing aircraft was
lasted several hours, probably six different waves.
destroyed everything but the
airstrip.
They
2;i
who saw bombs tear into sheds intact. One bomb hit an ammunition
Japanese accuracy impressed John Ford,
and hangars while leaving the
dump, sending thousands
airstrip
of pieces of deadly shrapnel whistling through the
We Were killing four
air,
79
Itching for a Fight
maintenance men. Another demolished the command post on
Eastern Island, killing the sector commander, Maj. William W. Benson.
With the onslaught heating up loudest
1
had ever heard
my
in
—“The noise during the attack was the Leeman — some of the
life,’’
24
recalled Private
Raiders rushed to antiaircraft batteries to assist the crews. Lieutenant Apergis
manned
Defense Battalion post
a .50-caliber antiaircraft gun, part of a Sixth
near his station. Despite being in the midst of an attack, Apergis could not help but laugh
who proceeded
the
at
to
name
of the Marine he assisted
add more humor
come down on
at the
gun
for the first
When
the Zero completed
to “start shooting at the tail of the
pulled his trigger
its
run, both
reinserted the follower bolt
action
my
with us
—and
— he
all
started firing at the Jap plane
around and came hack
him
get
as
think he was more than 20 feet high again,
and thumbed
his
nose
The most astounding his
at the vision, for a
at
sight
The
pilot
moment
dropped
to
us
had
Marine
said,
recalled
rifle
bolt
same
“The Jap plane had fun with
pilot
—he grinned left for
came
at us,
—down we
so very low this time I
don’t
because we missed
better prey.”
be the Japanese airstrip.
—
did the
he pulled out of his strafing run.
—and to
I
us with his guns blazing
one hundred
pilot
2S
who
brazenly flew
Marines stared incredulously
as
feet, flipped
he taunted
John Ford, “nobody
‘What the
off into the sea.”
at
03
forgetting their guns to observe the unlikely spec-
and sped barely above the surface
was amazed,”
firing.
doing so he
in
his Springfield
—notwithstanding
The Jap
Zero upside down as he buzzed the
tacle.
up
.45 automatic pistol,” recalled Apergis.
we thought we might
rose
mechanism upside down.
go behind the sandbag emplacement. that
men
they heard was a “click” and no
so frustrated that he picked
circled
“to
Jap Zero as he pulled out of his dive,” but
Seargent had stripped and oiled the gun before the attack, but
"He was
Zero
us on a strafing run,” Apergis told Seargent to take cover be-
hind the sandbag parapet.
when Seargent
morning.
to a deadly
As Apergis and Sergeant Seargent waited
— Sergeant Seargent
Hell,’ let
go
at
his
fired at
the aircraft on
Marine
foes.
its
back,
“Everybody
him, until suddenly some
him and then shot him down. He
slid
26
“Those Kids Were Really Remarkable” Within at
thirty
seven
minutes the Japanese had disappeared. The
fifteen, bringing
men
all-clear
out of their shelters to check on
sounded
damage and
AMERICAN COMMANDO
80
They then took up
await further instructions.
beach
to disrupt a possible
While American
enemy
landing.
aviators put the finishing touches
the Raiders and other Marines took inventory. at
their defensive positions at the
The
on Nagumo’s
fighter
been
lost or so
hall,
been
oil
tanks, the seaplane hangar, the dispensary, the
and the post exchange. Eleven killed
and
men
—none from
fighters
left their
Carlson’s Raiders
downed
eight
enemy bombers and
aircraft w'hile his
ow n chased
Midway
after the
The Raiders kept busy throughout Mate Favinger helped
them by hand pumps
aircraft that
man
They helped
clear debris,
to waiting
fifty-five-gallon
had crashed near
drums and
trans-
B-17 bombers.
his bunker, hoping, like
One Marine
forty-five
ripped the
downed Japanese
many American
silk scarf off
soldiers,
the deceased
neck, while other Raiders yanked the body out of the wreckage. Lee-
sat
chunk
also saved our skins.
joined a group of Raiders to inspect a
unearth a souvenir.
pilot’s
.
diminished the likelihood of an assault, loaded
Leeman
Apergis
.’ .
identify the deceased Marines, resorting to fingerprint-
thousand gallons of aviation gasoline into
Private
it
was ours
the long day and night. Pharmacist’s
ing or tattoos in the most severely burned cases. nightfall
As Lieu-
three Zeros.
Japanese carriers worked to
added with more than a touch of gratefulness, “and
ferred
— had
as a tempting target for
perfection, “and the greatest victory in U.S. naval warfare
and once
mess
mark on the Japanese, however. Antiaircraft
tenant Apergis wrote, Nimitz’s plan to offer
Nagumo’s
had
and eighteen wounded.
The Midway defenders batteries
aircraft
badly damaged they could no longer be used. Thick black
smoke billowed from
to
squadron stationed
Midway, VMF-221, was no more. Twenty-three of twenty-five
either
carriers,
down
for a
moment
ot the aircraft,
Japanese
before he realized that, rather than resting on a
he had plopped down atop the charred body of the
pilot.
Midway had
Though
the Raiders at
decisive
moments, they played second
and Marine
fliers
a ringside seat to fiddle to the
w ho attacked Nagumo’s
Japanese four valuable
John Ford was thankful
for
carriers,
;
courageous Army, Navy,
aircraft carriers.
planes, aided by aircraft based out of Midway, that cost the
one of the w ar’s most
American
swooped down
thousands of
lives,
in
carrier
an attack
and
victory.
another reason. The astute Hollywood director
had observed young Americans under
fire,
and had been reassured
that, in
We Were
Itching for a Fight
81
the Marines of the Sixth Defense Battalion and in the Raiders, the nation
s
future lay in stellar hands.
‘The Marines with
was won.’ They were older.
They were
mean
the thing
—
took one look
I
kids, oh,
I
none of them were
have ever seen. They were up there
I
close.’
of courage and coolness under
Those kids were
battle, narrated
to 22,
war
said, ‘Well this
Japanese bomb] would drop through, they would laugh
and say ‘My God that one was
day.
I
having a swell time and none of them were alarmed.
rifles,
[a
them and
at
would say from 18
the calmest people
popping away with I
me
fire in
have never seen a greater exhibition
I
my
really remarkable.”
won
by Henry Fonda,
life 28
and
I
Ford’s
the 1942
have seen some
my
in
documentary about the
Academy Award
for Best
Documentary Short Subject.
A few days after the battle
the Marines sent Major Roosevelt to the island
for a post-action assessment.
During
an officer handed Roosevelt
his tour
a folder containing critical evaluations of the antiquated Brewster Buffalo fighter,
and asked that Roosevelt hand the folder
Philip White, stated in his action report, that orders pilots out for
combat
in
“It is
to his father.
my belief that
One, Capt.
any commander
F2A-3 (Brewster Buffalo) should consider
the pilot as lost before leaving the ground.”
24
when he subsequently traveled to Washperson, he made a point to hand it to his father.
Roosevelt agreed to do so, and ington to “I
make
believe that
thereafter,
M0
it
his report in
resulted in considerable
in
the situation shortly
James Roosevelt wrote Time magazine’s chief
respondent, Robert Sherrod,
The
improvement
Pacific
war
cor-
1948.
in
Raiders cannot claim to have affected the outcome of what occurred
in
the waters about Midway. That honor goes to brave aviators, to code breakers,
and
to sailors
who manned American
Midway, and as such they played called the
Orders sent the Raiders
a role in what, after the war,
at will,
the Battle of Midway, she could have
even as
porter Robert Casey,
far as the
who
to
Admiral Nimitz
attack that in minutes changed the whole course of the war.”"
Had Japan won ocean
carriers.
1
moved about
western coast of the United States. The
the re-
traveled with the naval forces involved in the battle,
wrote that had that occurred, ‘‘We might well have been moving our bases to a
more
The
suitable place
—such
as the
climactic results shifted
bottom of the Grand Canyon.
momentum
to the
”
32
United States, which
AMERICAN COMMANDO
82 after Pearl
ran
much
Harbor had been perilously holding on while Japanese forces over-
Those war scares
of the Pacific.
that tossed the
panic each time a supposed sighting occurred had
West Coast
now been
into a
With
eliminated.
the once-powerful Japanese navy retreating, the likelihood of California or
Oregon again being threatened But
it
had been
Washburn chatted with officer
Eager
close.
friends in
One
able to land,
Raider said to him, "For Christ’s sake,
we would have been
We
two companies have done? the
Navy saw they
C
and
D
were
fields off the all
33
Camp
some
Midway, Evans Carlson
camp
Catlin, a makeshift
pleased with the restrictive confines of
and an appeal
to their
owners of nearby pineapple plantations
of their fields available.
Raiders did not
at
main road connecting Honolulu and
Catlin, so he utilized his persuasive powers,
patriotism, to convince the
What could that’s all. Thank
Coming Up”
tablished the rest of the battalion at
Harbor. Carlson was not at
those Nips had been
just sacrificial lambs,
companies faced the enemy
rounded by pineapple
if
faced with thousands of them.
didn’t get ashore!”
“There’s Something Big While
men who had been under fire, C and D companies. What most struck the to talk to
was not the accounts of the bombing, but the sense of relief his friends
shared.
God
hut disappeared.
all
damage any
The owners agreed on two
conditions
of the property and that they
es-
sur-
Pearl
Camp
sense of to
—
make
that the
the ripening
left
pineapples alone. After Carlson settled the administrative details, the training schedule intensified.
Carlson gave his junior officers prominent roles
tenant Miller hiked his
men
over
pace on July 23 that some of the
hills to
men
the
in this
B Company area
collapsed
in
phase. Lieu-
at
such a
fast
the heat. Lt. Wilfred Le
Francois illustrated the proper techniques for entering and securing a town. In
between training
tempting item
exercises, the Raiders took advantage of the
at their fingertips
one
—the luscious pineapples. Despite Carlson’s
lectures on the impropriety of stealing, the delectable fruit proved too appetizing.
Carlson eventually had to assemble and search his Raiders after
exercises, pilfer a
ers
which slowed the
thefts,
but the
men found
field
ingenious ways to
pineapple or two. As Lieutenant Peatross humorously wrote, the Raid-
were simply applying
their training,
"which had stressed
living off the
We Were enemy’s land, and
now
that
we were
what had been preached
tice
The quickened pace likely
aided by
Jimmy
83
Itching for a Fight
held the Raiders wanted to prac-
in the
as gospel.’’
34
of training and the rapid arrival of supplies, most
Roosevelt, delighted Lieutenant Miller.
When
his par-
ents asked in a letter whether he had any netting as protection against mosquitoes, Miller
with us
we
answered that “we
will
never want for
could not be far
all
many
have plenty of things.’’
3
'
1
it.
As long
He concluded
as
Jimmy
is
that a mission
off.
In mid-July President Roosevelt, anxious to
ing the successful Doolittle
one
a similar mission,
that,
embark upon another
bombing of Tokyo, ordered even
if it
gained
little in
raid follow-
his military to execute
the military arena, would
boost home-front morale. Nimitz considered hitting Wake, Tinian, Attu, a steel mill
on Hokkaido, and
hut concluded those would be too itz’s
on Honshu
railroad tunnels
senior Marine officer, Col.
difficult.
Omar T.
in the
Home
Islands,
Instead he selected Makin.
Pfeiffer, wrote,
pick an easy task on which to cut the raiders’ teeth.” 36
“So
it
Nim-
was decided
to
Whereas the Army Air
Corps carried out the attack on Tokyo, Carlson’s Raiders would have the honor of striking Makin.
Many reasons which meant
Makin
favored
that Carlson
The
as a target.
would not have
to
stood closer to Hawaii,
atoll
be transported deep into enemy-
controlled waters, and a raid against the lightly held atoll would serve as an
adequate
test of
Raider hit-and-run capabilities.
Carlson would have to prepare without sufficient intelligence. "We don’t
know much about what
the Japs have there,’ Nimitz confided to Carlson.
"Tarawa, near Makin, doesn’t seem
like
much
—
From
yet.
reports
much
As
to
how
strong a force defends the place
definite dope. You’ll have to
you two subs.
That’ll
Carlson chose
A
mean
make your own
a great
—we
haven’t
and B companies
to
estimate. We’re allowing
200 men.
a force of about
make
from the
A and
coming
fire.
3,
the raid. Those units had
trained longer than the other four companies, and he
most experienced troops reacted under
is
and
their headquarters in the Gilberts. They’ve got a seaplane base
deal of supplies.
Makin
wanted
to see
how
his
Carlson assembled the officers
B companies and, with Roosevelt’s assistance, briefed them about raid
and about the specialized training
boats they would soon
commence.
in
landing from rubber
AMERICAN COMMANDO
84
In mid-July trucks transported the Raiders to Barbers Point, a stretch of
beach on Hawaii’s coast due west of Pearl Harbor that had been selected because
its
terrain
and surf closely matched that of Makin. The Navy con-
structed replicas of Makin’s radio station, barracks, and other installations so that the Raiders could rehearse their assignments.
With the
rest of the battalion
B companies embarked on
back
at
daily landings
Catlin, the Raiders of A
Camp
from rubber boats, battling the chal-
lenging surf at Barbers Point to land at beaches strewn with lava rocks.
approached to help
and
They
ten-man rubber boats, each equipped with an outboard motor
in
advance through the
surf.
Sometimes the engines worked smoothly,
but more often than not the exposed motors sputtered to a standstill after
being doused by ocean water. Despite the
crafts’ difficulties,
awkward rubber
the
the Raiders
Each man not only trained
boats.
the boat hut learned others’ as well in case they ers drilled as boat captains,
men
first
hopped
The
taller
on
incapacitated. Raid-
men
occupied positions
took spots midboat and in the stern to
and helped carry the boat out
in
maneuvering
for his precise role
became
walking the boats out to deeper water. While the surf
deft at
outboard motor mechanics, coxswains, fuel men,
boat inflators, or paddle men.
while shorter
became
to
taller
men
make
in
the
how
easier in
it
splashed into the
deeper water, the shorter
men
and started paddling.
Since neither of the two submarines designated for the mission, the Nautilus
nor the Argonaut could be released from duty until shortly before de,
parture, Carlson fixed
the two submarines.
then
at a signal
two buoys
at set
distances from the beach to represent
Each day and night the Raiders paddled out
from Carlson commenced the return
trip to
to the buoys,
the beach. Rarely
did things go right. In a
foreshadowing of events, the exposed motors often sputtered and quit
during landing exercises. “They would never
start
&
out
come
the paddles
&
the boat crew had to paddle like hell to get anywhere, especially against the ”
ocean
drift,
38
wrote Ffc. Ray Bauml
in his diary
on July 30 of the frequent
mishaps.
"Sometimes the motors would run," recalled Private Carson, “but many times they wouldn’t.
The buoys were
practiced, practiced, practiced ”
a pretty
good wind blowing.
quite a ways beyond the surf line.
—during the day and
39
Without cowlings
at night,
when
to shield the
there
We was
motors from
being drenched, the Raiders often had to disassemble the engines after each practice run and
wash the
salt
water out of them.
We Were The
85
Itching for a Fight
They practiced landings
Raiders trained for every contingency.
heavy and mild swells, during rain and sunshine, by day and simulate a near disaster and test their adaptability
skills,
at night.
in
To
Carlson scheduled
one practice where the men made do without clothing, workable motors, or paddles.
Once
his
men were accustomed
son expanded the
together.
maneuvering the rubber boats, Carl-
from individual boat training
drills
then company-sized
to
drills,
to platoon-sized training,
and eventually landings including both companies
He at first allowed the men to paddle without equipment. When
had mastered that technique, he added cartridge
belts,
they
ammunition, helmets,
and packs. Pfc.
Ray Bauml wrote
to
Lieutenant Miller s father that he, Jack, and the
others "had quite a few happy
You
see, the
ocean
at this point
crashing upon the beach with
rubber boat out into the ficient distance
breaker in right in
moments
practicing our rubber boat landings.
had tremendous breakers that would come
terrific force.
We
had
surf, fighting the breakers,
from shore
a gay time paddling our
and when we were
—we would turn around and then
— using our clumsy rubber boat
as a surfboard. Your
a suf-
try to ride the
hoy would be
amongst us enlisted men, laughing, having a whale of a time, enjoying
himself to the
fullest."
40
After repeated rehearsals with the rubber boats, Carlson shifted to the
land phase. Based upon photographic reconnaissance of
by the Navy during
Makin conducted
February raids against the Gilbert Islands, Carlson
its
reproduced Makin’s objectives by outlining a replica of each one a short distance inland with long strips of white cloth.
The
Raiders, in full equip-
ment, then practiced landing, camouflaging the boats, and rushing inland toward their objectives. Hampered by inadequate reconnaissance, Carlson realized the outlines bore
little
actual resemblance to what his
encounter on Makin, hut he wanted jective rested in relation to the
to
make them aware
whole scheme, as well as
to
men would
of where each ob-
time them
in their
practices.
He added
a sense of
"There’s something big
urgency by hinting that soon the training would end.
coming up,” Bauml wrote
in his diary
on July 30. "We
were given an explanation concerning some island which we might
The
41
next day they learned for certain that a raid had been planned, hut were
not given the
name
or location of their target.
Lieutenant Miller,
men
raid.”
in
who had
combat, could not share
so eagerly awaited his chance to in
command
the enthusiasm. During one of the landing
86
AMERICAN COMMANDO
wave hurled Miller against the gunwale and fractured
exercises a crushing
the index finger of his right hand.
The
send Miller home, prevented him from participating frustrated officer
had
Maghakian, steamed
was certain
to
remain
in
He
to war.
enough
accident, though not serious in the
Makin
Raid.
to
The
Hawaii while his men, including Sergeant
consoled himself with the fact that Carlson
to involve the battalion in other operations,
by which time the
hand would have healed. After three weeks of practice, including several night landings from sub-
marines, Carlson set a dress rehearsal for
dawn
of August 6.
With Admiral
Nimitz and Adm. Raymond A. Spruance, the victor of Midway, observing from ashore
at
Barbers Point, the Raiders, in blackface and
full battle gear,
disembarked from the Nautilus, headed toward land, and drew within feet before either
Nimitz or Spruance detected them.
Carlson critiqued the operation afterward with Roosevelt and other cers
and concluded
that the session
was
confines of a submarine for the
in the
fifty
a success save for
one aspect. Stuck
time, his Raiders wearied in the
first
wilting heat caused by an additional 130
offi-
men
taxing the vessel’s ventilating
system. In twenty minutes the temperature inside the boat soared fifteen
To remedy the
degrees, to the mid-nineties.
was
hastily installed
effects, a five-ton air conditioner
aboard each submarine. “Living conditions
will
he worse
than the standards set by the canned sardines," Bauml ruefully scribbled his diary
The
on August
trial
“The sardines
4.
have
oil.”
The Raiders from A and B companies had proven
many
during the
confidence that his
perform as expected.
as to our readiness to handle anything that might await
us at the objective,’’ wrote Lieutenant Peatross, “and great self-confidence
boarded trucks
and no
for the
little
move back
“Stood the Test of Making
men
it
was with
self-satisfaction that to
Camp
”
Catlin.
to
He
feelings of
we broke camp and
43
It”
immediate hours before departure, Carlson issued
his Raiders.
their
practices off Barbers Point, justifying Carlson’s
men would
“We had no doubts
In the
42
run before Nimitz and Spruance heralded the end to Carlson’s
preparation for Makin. versatility
at least
in
final instructions to
again reviewed the plans and objectives, and reminded the
head ashore on Makin with bolts closed on empty chambers
the possibility of an accidental
firing.
The
last
to
reduce
thing he wanted was for one of
We Were his
men
enemy
to alert the
men
he urged the
Finally,
about the
tain silence
Itching for a Fight 87
to their
presence before the Raiders were ready.
to write letters
home and
cautioned them to main-
raid.
Carlson had reason to worry. Shortly before the Raiders tenant Peatross and Lt. William B. for a final
between two submarine
going to be a risky
it’s
trip.
Those two
club
officers overheard
One man
officers.
old, pig-iron,
are just too big, too slow, too difficult to maneuver,
Hawaii, Lieu-
to the officers’
round of drinks. During the evening, Carlson’s
a disturbing conversation
“At best,
MacCracken headed
left
said,
minelaying boats
and unbelievably slow
in
diving.’’
The other rately
mile
officer added, “Besides
enough
to
and
to
trip,
As they
left
pop up next
make
it
more
were talking about
one another
difficult,
us.
after
of the
coming
raid. If
can’t navigate accu-
making
a two-thousand-
they have to arrive after
dark.’’
said to Peatross, “Peat, those bas-
44
Supposedly only a handful of American
knew
you just
that,
MacCracken
the club, Lt. ”
tards
to
all
more than
that
officers outside the battalion
had
details,
what might the Japa-
nese know?
What might
that also
mean
for the safety of
James Roosevelt, the president’s
son? Carlson had had serious misgivings earlier in training about Roosevelt’s inclusion on such a dangerous mission and had even contacted Admiral itz
about Roosevelt’s removal. Though he admired his executive
wondered officer
many
if
Nimhe
officer,
the added risk was worth the anxiety. Carlson was like any other
who commanded
the offspring of a head of state
responsibilities of orchestrating a battalion in
about the president’s son. ture Roosevelt?
Would
What might happen
—
in
addition to the
combat, he had
should the
enemy
supervise the actions of his
worry
or cap-
who
lost
harm Carlson’s career? Could he adequately
men under
fire
with those concerns on his shoul-
ders? Might that apprehension subconsciously alter his style of
Maj. Samuel Griffith, the Edson officer
commandos and
kill
carrying the reputation of being the officer
the president’s son irreparably
to
who had
command?
observed the British
written a report on their practices, claimed that Carlson
“didn’t
want young Roosevelt along. His thinking had nothing
Jimmy
as a Marine.
The
raid
was
a hit-and-run operation
from
a
to
do with
submarine.
Carlson just didn’t want to be worrying about the President’s son during an in-and-out raid like that one. Just think what hay the Nips could
make
if
AMERICAN COMMANDO
88
Jimmy were
'
captured.” 4
The Japanese would
1
display
him
to the
world and
use James as a propaganda device. In his
March
12, 1942, letter President Roosevelt
had
all
hut asked Carl-
son to take care of his son. Carlson hoped that Admiral Nimitz could help find a
way out
of the dilemma, hut
He had
as unfair interference.
James Roosevelt reacted
what he saw
to
joined the Raiders from a sense of duty, and
now, just as they were about to engage
in their first
mission, Carlson consid-
ered removing him.
To James’s
when
hind
credit,
he could easily have remained
the Raiders
left for
1930s his detractors reveled
in
munition
for their barbs.
He was
not about to give
at least inside
the odds.”
When that
if
would
them more am-
As he wrote
feel
I
have stood the
test of
to his
when
making
it
mother on
this next job
no matter what
46
James contacted
his father, the president told
one of the battalion
his son, go.
I’ll
that. In the
This raid could prove his worth to his doubters, to
July 29, he had long pondered the issue of favoritism, "and
done
be-
left
claiming James landed lucrative business con-
say nothing of gaining his father’s admiration.
is
and been
Makin, but he wanted none of
because of his connections.
tracts
silent
While
that
officers, did not
ended the discussion,
it
Adm. Ernest King
go on the
raid,
no one
did nothing to resolve Carlson’s
predicament. Pvt.
Ben Carson discussed the matter with other
easily impressed,
Raiders.
These men, not
had scrutinized Roosevelt during training and judged him
worthy. However, on the eve of battle, concerns existed.
"We
all
knew
that
taking Roosevelt along was a hell of a risk," explained Carson in 2007. "The story
among
us privates was
badly beat up.
Once
it
was
if
he gets caught by the Japanese, he’d he pretty
settled, though,
nothing was said anymore.” 4
Carlson hoped to show that his Raider Battalion, fashioned and trained after his
unique notions of ethical indoctrination and the gung ho
emulate the moral
fiber
observed marching
for
minor aberration
would pose the the Raiders.
could
and fortitude exhibited bv the Chinese soldiers he j
hundreds of miles
for his battalion.
first test
spirit,
—
Makin,
in
the 1930s.
Midway had been
a surprise raid against the
for Carlson, for his system, for Roosevelt,
a
enemy,
and
tor
5 It
f
O
the
many
stage,
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme
Japanese seized
Pacific locations the
Makin
Atoll,
occupied on December
in
the war’s opening
10, 1941, represented her
easternmost possession. As the deepest Japanese penetration toward the
United States, Makin thus became a
likely
choice for a
raid.
“To Create a Diversion”
One
reason dwarfed the others for organizing the Makin Raid
home-front morale shattered by early Pacific developments. The victories galled
Americans
— Guam, Wake
diversion that reassured
American
needed
to
put a dent
in
list
to boost
of
enemy
Hong Kong,
Island, Singapore,
Netherlands East Indies, and the Philippines had succumbed gical strikes. President Roosevelt
—
the
to Tokyo’s sur-
Japan’s armor, a
civilians that their military stood ready in
the Pacific.
The United destroy
enemy
States
would benefit
installations at
in
other ways. Carlson’s Raiders were to
Makin, seize prisoners and documents
intelligence sector, discourage the Japanese from advancing toward to
for the
Samoa
or
attempt to interdict the crucial United States-Australia communications
lines,
and, according to one of Nimitz’s official reports titled the “Makin Di-
version,” “to create a diversion confusing Japanese plans
from the stronger concentrations being assembled late
August.
”‘
89
and diverting forces
to attack
Guadalcanal
in
AMERICAN COMMANDO
90
Nothing extraordinary appeared about Carlson’s island
Other
objective.
than serving as the stage for the August drama about to be played, Makin would handily have slipped into the backwaters of history,
and a few hardy adventurers that passed
tants
known way.
its
only to
its
inhabi-
One thousand
miles
northeast of Guadalcanal, Butaritari Island, which forms the southeastern an-
chor of the Makin
Atoll, stretches eight miles
from
tip to tip
wide.
Clumps
trees,
coconut palms, and scrub bush sprout from the sandy
and one-half mile
of mangrove dot the lagoon shore. Inland, patches of breadfruit
the island’s interior, resting between the handfuls of
Through the years the
natives
added
terrain
making up
swampy marshes.
to Butaritari’s features.
A lagoon-side
road connected Ukiangong Village in the southwest with Tanimaiaki
dirt
Village eight miles to the northeast, running by in succession Butaritari Village, a
church, the local hospital, and Government House. Along the way
three wharves extend beyond the reef to the lagoon
the southwest, and in succession King’s northeast.
The
— On Chong’s Wharf
Wharf and Government Wharf to
to its
smaller dock called Stone Pier stood halfway between King’s
and Government wharves. Since
on the
December
island,
10 the Japanese had stamped their militaristic imprint
which they intended
to turn into a
weather station and sea-
plane base. In close proximity to the church resting near Stone
constructed barracks, a
rifle
range,
and
a
Pier,
they
headquarters building.
Neither the natives nor the Japanese expected their tiny island to be the
scene for anything beyond a few harmless carrier set in,
The
which seemed appropriate
for the
air raids.
A somnolent
slumbering Pacific
pace
isle.
plan called for Carlson’s two companies to disembark from the Nautilus
and the Argonaut on August 17 and paddle toward the beaches units.
Based on information provided by
aircraft in early February,
would focus
American
aerial
photographs taken by carrier
intelligence estimated that the Japanese
their defenses along the lagoon side
Government wharves. Thus Carlson would bring
between
Coyte’s B
left at
Beach Y opposite
Company stormed
ment Wharf. The
tw'o
On
On
his Raiders in
sparsely defended ocean side. First Lieutenant Plumley’s
land on the
as separate
Chong’s and
on the more
A Company would
Chong’s Wharf, while Capt. Ralph
ashore on the right
at
Beach Z opposite Govern-
companies would dash across the
island, hit the Japa-
nese from behind, then veer toward the island’s center and meet proximity of the church.
in the
It
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme
91
After killing the Japanese, the Raiders were to scour the island for prisoners
and documents and destroy whatever Japanese isted.
no
The plan
later
installations
off
than nine p.m. Should they
fail
to
appear by that time, the task force
Makin
and leave the Raiders
or to depart
nearby
at
Though
all
Makin
Little
appeared
be
to
whether
to decide
to their fates.
proceed as expected, Carlson would lead his Raiders
morning
ex-
called for Carlson to bring his Raiders hack to the submarines
commander, Comdr. John Haines, had the authority main
and supplies
in a
to re-
Should the
second
raid
raid the next
Island to the northeast.
in order,
two parts of the plan bothered Carlson
and Roosevelt. Rather than an unsuspecting Sergeant Major Kanemitsu, the Japanese would be on
alert,
Makin but everywhere
not just at
in the Pacific,
following the August 7 Marine landings in the Solomons. Kanemitsu’s
men
would thus be more prepared when the Raiders came ashore. Hopefully, they could
still
surprise the
enemy from
the ocean side while Kanemitsu’s
men
faced the lagoon, but the possibility that they might be landing into heavy
enemy
seemed
fire
all
Kanemitsu had, diers
manned
placed snipers
too real.
in fact,
their
extra precautions in light of the alert. Sol-
machine-gun posts around the clock, and Kanemitsu
in the tops of
with their magnificent
Wake
added
palm
trees.
He
lacked a sizeable garrison, but
December 1941 defense
the American Marines at
outnumbered
Island had already proven that an
force could inflict large
casualties on an invading enemy.
Carlson bristled
he
at the instruction to
to get the prisoners
The weary
back
capture a few
enemy soldiers. How was
submarines and transport them
to the
to
Hawaii?
Raiders would be at the limit of their endurance paddling back to the
submarines
premium on
after fighting
all
day on the
the congested boats.
island,
How could
and surplus space would be
at a
they handle extra personnel?
Some Raiders wondered if they even should. told his men that, because of space concerns in dispose of any Japanese soldier they captured.
Private Carson’s squad leader
the submarines, they were to
When
a
Marine asked
if
they
could simply turn the Japanese loose after the operation, the squad leader replied, “No, that ain’t disposing.”
2
“A Very Hostile Environment” The Raiders spent
the final hours in Hawaii in diverse ways.
and double-checked
their
equipment and weapons. Some,
Most checked
like Private hirst
AMERICAN COMMANDO
92
USO
Class Bauml, headed to the
center
down egg sandwiches and cake with dering as they did
this
if
Koailu Beach, where he washed
at
Others wrote
beer.
might be their
final
home, won-
letters
communication with loved
ones.
Platoon Sergeant Maghakian plotted to sneak Lieutenant Miller aboard
Maghakian
the Argonaut so his friend could participate in the raid, but, as later wrote,
“Colonel Carlson got wind of
remained behind, but purchased “in
case
I
got
silently
donned the regular
the raid.
then
whiskey
Maghakian
for
issue khaki shirts
their helmets, packs,
word
head
to
Each man
out.
and pants, now dyed black
and cartridge
for
belts in gunnysacks,
waiting trucks for transport to the submarines.
filtered to the
Due from
They placed
a quart of top-grade
the Raiders received the
7,
and nixed the notion. Miller
M
wounded.
Late on August
it"
to a lack of space in the submarines, fifty-five Raiders, twenty-five
A Company
and
Argonaut squeezed
thirty
in a
from B Company, had
mixture of 134 Raiders from
which the captain described
as “a record for people
he
to
A
on
behind.
left
The
and B companies, a
submarine on an
offensive mission,” 4 while the Nautilus took another eighty-seven Raiders
from B Company. Carlson and
his staff
Roosevelt steamed out in the Argonaut.
hoarded the Nautilus while James ,
The two would
reunite in rubber
boats off Makin, then lead the Raiders toward shore.
To make room
for the additional
personnel and provide a place for extra
bunks, the submarine crews had removed surplus torpedoes from the torpedo storage room. For the duration of the
trip,
both submarines would have use
of only the six torpedoes resting in the tubes. Hopefully, neither submarine
would have
to utilize those six.
To maintain
secrecy, trucks waited until after nightfall
on August 7
to ferry
the Raiders to the harbor, where the Nautilus and the Argonaut waited to take
them aboard. Plunging
into the bowels of a
alien world for the Raiders, rough
cramped
in the restricted areas,
entering an
like
Marines more accustomed
ors than the metallic confines of a
wherever they could
submarine was
to
outdoor
rig-
boat. Raiders stored their gear
then settled
in for the
nine-day
voyage across the Pacific.
The submarines
exited Pearl Harbor at nine a.m. on
orders to refrain from attacking is
enemy vessels
August
8,
carrying
"unless a favorable opportunity
presented for attack on a carrier or other capital ship.
^
The
pair
steamed
out under escort until nightfall, at which time their protectors peeled
off.
Until the tiny force returned to Hawaii, the submarines and their comple-
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme 93
It
ment
of two Raider companies, including the president’s son, were at the
mercy of radar, lookouts, and good fortune. Each mile took them deeper uncharted waters, farther from friendly forces and closer for
all
to
into
an enemy who,
they knew, could he lurking at any point along the 2,029-mile distance
from Pearl Harbor Carlson and his
Makin. Unlike
to
men headed
later expeditions against the
Japanese,
across the Pacific without the comfort of know-
armada steamed with them.
ing that a vast
“There’s something about being on a submarine, and you’re not a part of a big
you and
B Company’s
said
flotilla,’’
this ship against the world.
port and you can go on deck
We
With at
Makin
first
and conduct
the submarine navigators objective,
which
to
different than being on a troop trans-
It’s
can cause you
become
to
Nautilus raced on ahead alone so
a periscope reconnaissance of
to
Men
Makin.
jumping
a victim.”
6
could arrive
it
knew what they were doing and could
some Raiders seemed akin
it.
environment
for us. You’re in a very hostile
a lot of things that
nightfall, the faster
it’s
and see an armada. Here you know you are
had no idea what was waiting
because there were
know
Private First Class Quirk. “You
hoped
locate their
into a lake
and
finding a particular pebble at the bottom.
The Raiders the submarines
guessing game.
did not learn the left
name
or location of their target until after
Hawaiian waters. Until that time,
Some swore
they headed toward
Wake
men engaged
in a
Island as retribution
Marine surrender of December 1941, while others suggested the
for the
Marshall or Mariana islands.
Carlson ended the guessing with his “Operations Order 1-42,” issued aboard the submarines told his
men
in the early
moments
of their voyage.
The commander
that estimates determined there should be no
more than 250
men on Makin, possibly supported by seaplanes and craft. He added that while the nearest enemy land-based
Japanese officers and
one or two surface aircraft
was 170 miles north, and
that
some Japanese might he
stationed on
two islands seventy miles south of Makin, “No friendly forces are within supporting distance.”
He and
reiterated the raid’s
main
vital installations, to seize
prisoners,
and
strategic
purposes
—
to destroy
enemy
documents and other information,
to serve as a diversion to
troops
to capture
draw Japanese reinforcements away
from the American forces currently engaged
in
the Solomons.
He mentioned that once the submarines arrived Company aboard the Argonaut would paddle over
off
Makin, the
men
of A
to the Nautilus in their
rubber boats, and from there the entire force would motor
in for a four
a.m.
AMERICAN COMMANDO
94 landing.
On
Once
ashore
at its destination at
A Company was
Chong’s Wharf,
to
Beach
Y,
situated directly opposite
advance northwest across the island
to a road paralleling the lagoon side, secure the Raider left flank
Chong’s Wharf and King’s Wharf, then veer west
and
seize anything of value, including the
ments, and Japanese prisoners. west,
A Company was
Upon
to eliminate
between
On
Japanese troops
Burns Philip Store, Japanese docu-
reaching the Burns Philip Store to the
B Company, which should by
to establish contact with
that time be approaching from the northeast.
meantime, B Company would be accomplishing similar objectives
In the
in its sector.
pany was
After landing at Beach
to
right flank,
move
to
opposite
in Butaritari’s
prisoners. After securing
meet
Government Wharf, the com-
northwest to the lagoon road, secure the Raider
then eliminate opposition
documents and southwest
slightly
Z
its
sector,
eastern section and grab
B Company was
swing
to
A Company.
Carlson instructed his Raiders that they were to place a priority on destroying the two radio stations that existed near Stone Pier and
Wharf and any seaplanes signs
were
mine
his identity,
of
“Gung
typically Carlson. If a
he was
in
man needed
in
to challenge
to shout, “Hi, Raider." If
Raider was to open
Ho,’’ the
would be established and
that might be floating in the lagoon.
each company
fire.
at
X
Beach
The counter-
someone
to deter-
he did not receive the reply
sector, near the left
Company
west to help secure
to the
Chong’s
Carlson added that aid stations
"Operations Order 2-42," he informed B
one squad
On
its left
and
that
it
right flanks,
was
to land
flank.
“Only Supposed to Raise a Little Hell” Fortunately, neither
which meant
that
submarine made contact with Japanese surface
most of the time the submarines could steam on the
face at faster speeds.
While
fresh air might
make
Despite the additional
air
in ghastly
little
but remain near their bunks,
which kept them out of the way of the busy submariners but to dwell
on the
sights,
condi-
conditioners, temperatures soon soared to
over ninety degrees. Raiders could do
more time
sur-
conditions in the tower
more bearable, the Raiders below sweltered and steamed tions.
vessels,
also gave
them
sounds, and, mostly, the smells.
"You feel like you’re in a tomb," said Private First Class Quirk of his time in the Nautilus. Raiders
Most
had
difficulty breathing in the intolerable conditions.
stripped to their shorts and passed the time listening to phonograph
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme 95
It
— Harry James, Benny Goodman, Glenn — reading books, and playing
records
were they
favorites
made
cards.
game
a
and Dinah Shore
Miller,
Some became
so bored
of “liberating’’ cans of fruit and vegetables from the sub-
marines’ supply.
Submariners, as well, weakened
in the
withering heat. They later voted
rougher than earlier missions that took them farther into Japanese
this trip as
waters. Looking for something to break the monotony, Raiders helped the
pared-down crews by assuming some of squirmed
not
dirty.
facilities
We re
packed into
.
8
little
in line for breakfast
speedily, but the
few days the putrid odors of un-
to the miseries of a large
respite.
With limited
and dinner.
men
A
galley capacity, Raiders
had
to wait
lunch of soup and crackers went more a half hours to feed
all
only time the grimy Raiders headed topside and enjoyed fresh air was
morning and half
in the
evening
in the troop
Peatross of
Once to the
compartments
B Company,
a
day
—
half the
— Marines stretched
minutes before again descending
their
complement muscles
“the few minutes spent on the
open deck were
bunks had
to
spir-
.’’ 9
Tiers of temporary bunks, stacked four high and no
after torpedo
twenty
wrote Lieutenant
exercise had to be refreshing, for the bunks offered
apart, stood in every available corner
for
in the
ovens below. “After spending hours
like sardines in a can,’’
itually as well as physically rejuvenating
and
group of adult
and dinner.
during their daily exercise period.
The
a
submarine cooks required three and
at breakfast
packed
Within
a tiny space.
Meals gave
The
sweated and
nonexistent during the voyage, Raiders joked,
Raiders
washed men further added
hands
all
alike.
With bathing
“We re
their duties, but
little
comfort.
more than twelve inches
and along the bulkheads. The forward
rooms housed Raiders instead of torpedoes.
Men with
inside
climb over two or three Raiders to reach their destination, and
during the night a Raider
who
“Raiders were sleeping “Their gear was stowed
in
twisted and turned disrupted his entire row.
all
over Nautilus," stated Lieutenant Peatross.
any available space. Rubber boats were lashed on
the outside, fuel cans were stowed in the torpedo tubes, and medical and
other valuable equipment were stowed inside. Places to sleep were at a pre-
mium and many 'hot
bedded.’
I
slept
on the transom
(sofa) in the small, small
wardroom .” 10
Many their
Raiders had to bend their bodies three different ways to
fit
into
bunks aboard the Argonaut. The packed quarters aboard the same boat
AMERICAN COMMANDO
96
reminded Private Carson of the family
back home
root cellar
where the clan gathered during inclement weather.
my bunk
other guys to get to
you had
to crawl over four
—
it
was four
During the
mundane
Mine was
first
if
Minnesota,
to crawl over four
you had
to get out
guys sleeping, and you can imagine the animosity
against the bulkhead.
M
portion of the voyage to Makin, the Raiders idled the time in
ways, with talking, laughing, and relaxation prevalent. That
altered five days out
Line.
had
back and
tiers
”
that created.
“I
in
when
the submarines passed the International Date
Not only did the Raiders
August 14
mood
lose a
day
—August 12 passed seamlessly
—but they now had drawn within
Soon they would be within range
of
five
into
hundred miles of Makin.
Japanese land-based
aircraft,
thereby
increasing the likelihood of discovery.
for
A more somber mood
replaced the joviality as the Raiders began preparing
what would become
their country’s first long-range offensive raid of the
Pacific War.
As
if
to
morning exercises
mark the
seriousness, the submarine
more time
for the Raiders to give
for preparation,
9:29 a.m. the Nautilus embarked on an emergency dive
an
She remained under the surface
aircraft.
much
for
Throughout the submarines Raiders met with the raid.
Jimmy
commanders
when
halted
and
at
radar detected
of the day.
officers to review details of
Roosevelt orchestrated the talks on the Argonaut, while Carl-
son supervised similar discussions on the Nautilus.
According
Le Francois Raiders — now focused on three items stand watch and study our problem of aboard the Argonaut, the
to Lt. Wilfred
“Live,
raiding their aerial
his
Makin
men
Island."
1
-
He and
together to remind
other officers, like Lt. Joe Griffith, gathered
them
of the mission’s objectives. In studying
photographs of Makin’s beaches and
men
Lieutenant Le Francois and
surf,
noticed white streaks of foam breaking close to each other off
kin’s reef,
hut did not
know what
to
make
streaks would, in the form of violent waves,
of
it.
In a
Ma-
few days, those tiny
encompass the Raiders
in a
wa-
tery nightmare.
Two
days before reaching Makin the
men
staged a nighttime rehearsal of
debarking from the boat. The Raiders gathered into their assigned boat teams,
numbered
1
to 8
aboard the Nautilus and
to their billeting areas in the in
groups
—even-numbered
1
to 12
aboard the Argonaut, moved
submarine, then climbed a ladder and gathered boat teams to the starboard and odd- to port.
It
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme 97
They then moved through
hatch onto the weather deck, pulled their boats
a
out of storage, and inflated and carried them to the debarkation stations,
numbered
sequentially from
bow
Using ropes, the Haiders hoisted
to stern.
the outboard motors, medical supplies, and other equipment up ladders and carried
them
The
to debarkation stations.
only portion they could not practice was leaving the submarines. Off
Makin, the plan called boats and allow
One
them
submarines
for the
submerge beneath the rubber
to float away.
part of the rehearsal raised alarms
fines of the
to
—once the Raiders
submarines and stepped into the dark onto the
the con-
left
slippery,
wet
decks, they had difficulty moving around. Should uncooperative weather and
harsh surf greet them off Makin, the operation could experience a rocky
They could only hope
that the gods granted
As the submarines neared
they would perform under pres-
Most were eager
rigorous training since February,
men
chance assault
and
if
Others debated whether they would attain surprise, or placed wagers on
the likelihood of surviving.
the
seas.
their destination, Raiders grappled with a
wide range of emotions. Some wondered sure.
smooth
start.
I’d
“rice, raisins,
They had endured
when Carlson gathered them and promised
wet blankets, and
glory.”
Now,
finally,
they had their
come to blows with an enemy who had started it with a surprise on December 7. “I liked the idea that we would get out to the war first have a chance to kill some Japs,” 13 said Private First Class Quirk. to
Dean Voight
Pvt.
lowed
for a fight.
to
briefly
pondered why the president’s son had been
accompany the group, but quickly dismissed the
subject.
al-
“He went
with us on most of the stuff we were doing. You’d think he had special favors,
and I’m sure the Japanese would have made something had they captured him. But
draw
it
was only supposed
attention,
and get the
to
be a one-night mission, raise a
hell off.
little hell,
to
14
Neither Evans Carlson, James Roosevelt, Brian Quirk, nor any Raider had
much
“If
I
to
worry about,
it
appeared.
Miss the Jump, I’m Gone”
As expected the Nautilus, with Carlson aboard, the Argonaut and
Jimmy
arrived off Butaritari before
Roosevelt. At 3:09 a.m. on August 16, Lt.
William E. Brockman, the Nautilus's skipper, sighted
Little
Makin
Comdr.
Island off
AMERICAN COMMANDO
98 the starboard
bow and turned toward Makin one and
a half miles astern.
At
5:38 he dove and attempted to round Ukiangong Point to their south, where
he took periscope photographs of the island. Rain squalls
— hampered
portent for the landing
wrong
if
they had
ar-
island.
Brockman remained submerged headed
ominous
and when Brockman had
Makin landmarks, he and Carlson wondered
trouble locating rived at the
his visibility,
—an
until 7:24 p.m.,
when he
surfaced and
meeting point with the Argonaut. At 8:27 Brockman
to the arranged
spotted what he assumed was the Argonaut, glistening seven thousand yards
away
in a
moonbeam, but
dropped
squall object.
before he could verify the sighting another rain
his visibility to zero
Ten minutes
later
Brockman
alternately scanning the horizon
and blocked Brockman’s view of the arrived at the rendezvous
and worrying about
his missing
Could the submarine carrying Roosevelt have missed the
and
circled,
companion.
island?
One
slight
navigational error could shift the boat one hundred miles off course.
T hirty-nine minutes
later,
with better
visibility, a
relieved
Brockman
ted the Argonaut on schedule. His mates in the Argonaut, including
spot-
Jimmy
Roosevelt, shared Brockman’s apprehension over missing the island. Roosevelt later recalled
how
delighted he was when, after such a long ocean
voyage, he peered through the Argonaut's periscope at his objective a few
miles
in
the distance.
Brockman maneuvered
closer so he could pass mes-
sages relating to the operation, then began steering to the disembarkation point with the Argonaut following.
Now
near their goal, the Raiders started to prepare for battle. They
an evening meal on August
15,
which many joked was either
per or that they were being fattened for the fortable
bunks
to catch
whatever
had
Sup-
their Last
then headed to their uncom-
rest they could.
most Raiders remained awake, alone with battle
kill,
first
Some
slept soundly, but
their thoughts as the
impending
loomed.
James Roosevelt looked forward because he wanted
to see
to his first taste of
how he performed
but also to
combat, not only
finally exit the
marine. T had never been in a submarine before,” he stated view, "and
none of
were sleeping
in
my men
in a
the torpedo tubes, and two
minutes on the surface that the raid
had ever been
was going
at night to exercise.
to take place so
in a
1979
sub-
inter-
submarine before. Here we
chow
lines a day,
Ten days of
we could
that, ”
get out.
15
and twenty
we were happy
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme 99
It
Back
in
Hawaii nursing
broken hand,
his
Lt.
consternation, was his sole contribution to the
day his platoon landed that
he should be
for his friend in
for a
for
fit
combat
Griffith’s wife
Makin
On August
17, the
mother
stating
wrote a
Raid.
letter to his
native Lt. Joe Griffith.
"and
He went
few weeks.
lied,
few weeks, then asked her
in a
B Company, Dallas
might telephone
from him
at Butaritari, Miller
which, to his
Jack Miller
to
do
a favor
He wondered
if
she
her not to worry about not hearing
tell
out for a few weeks intensive training.
16
Miller lied to maintain the raid’s secrecy and to avoid alarming Griffith’s wife,
but he could not hide his disappointment action.
When
would he get
chance
a
missing the Raiders’
at
to lead
men
who were accustomed
Even
for the Raiders,
light,
morning on August 17 came
from their bunks and gathered
for a
to
first
offensive
in battle?
waking
at the first hint of
Shortly before two a.m. they rose
early.
meager
down
breakfast. After choking
few morsels and swallowing some coffee, the Raiders donned
a
their black-
dyed uniforms, put on their boots or black tennis shoes, and assembled their gear without ons,
much
and checked
clip, as
chatter.
They sharpened
their gear.
They double-checked
that they
weap-
had not put
in a
ordered, to guard against an accidental firing inside the submarine or
Men
during the approach. the fighting to be
spoke
in
muted voices about what they expected
like.
In the Nautilus, Carlson placed a
pocket and Emerson’s Essays
copy of the
in another.
when he
commence
He wanted
at five twenty-five.
New
He moved up
of five thirty by thirty minutes
light
their knives, cleaned their
Testament
in
one
the planned landing
learned that daylight would actually all
the Raiders ashore before day-
favored the Japanese.
Raiders in both submarines followed the same procedure. At four thirty
they gathered near ladders ascending to the deck and waited for a the crew to open the hatch.
member of
As the boats surfaced and the hatches opened,
welcome gush
of fresh air wafted through the
raising spirits.
Once
a
dank atmosphere, momentarily
out on deck, though, a howling wind and driving rain
peppered their faces, camouflaged with burned cork.
“When
the word
and crawled up on
came
for the
deck,’’ said Private
The wind was blowing, and to
eighteen
feet.
Second Platoon
to go up,
Carson. "God,
it
I
was
the sub was bobbing up and
grabbed a
my
mess up
down about
sack
there. fifteen
AMERICAN COMMANDO
100
Carlson only needed one look
the churning waters and large breakers
at
understand why the Japanese did not expect an assault from the ocean side
to
Who
of Butaritari.
would be so crazy
On
mover
as to attempt such a
the
Nautilus Lieutenant Peatross headed on deck and thought that the weather
was so poor
that “the adjective ‘atrocious’
coming down all
seems wholly inadequate. Rain was
strong onshore wind was whipping up whitecaps
in torrents, a
around, seas were running high with a strong onshore
rine
was
stars,
and pitching
rolling
heavily.’
18
set,
and the subma-
Storm clouds blocked
and the submarine commanders had
to cautiously
view of the
all
maneuver
their boats
to guard against crashing into the coral reef.
Before his
men had
stepped into their rubber boats, Carlson faced two
decisions that changed the assault’s timetable.
time of landing, and he
method
now had
of leaving by floating
to
away
have to do efit
in the
already advanced the
decide whether to abandon the rehearsed as the
by the blustery conditions, Carlson had drop their boats
He had
submarines submerged. Hampered
little
men to “Now we would
choice but to order the
water and leap into the bobbing
craft.
the hard way,’ wrote Peatross, "over the side, hut without ben-
it
of previous practice.” Private First Class Quirk had not even stepped into
his boat,
and already
“it
seemed
that confusion reigned supreme.”
19
With turbulent seas tossing the rubber boats up and down, the Raiders started the excruciating task of leaping from the boats.
“The submarine was supposed
said Sergeant
McCullough about
to
submarine deck into
submerge and leave us
leaving the Nautilus, "but
in
their
the water,”
we had
to go over
the side because of the swells. They’d raise four to five feet and then drop
about ten
feet.’’
20
Raiders had to guard against losing their balance as the submarines rose
and plunged
in precipitous fashion. Carefully
assembling
the Raiders pulled their rubber boats out of storage, lifted
and used pneumatic hoses Gallagher,
who
we
proper
“Bill
hooked up banshee.
I
them onto the deck,
size.
When
William
Pfc.
an earsplitting sound pierced the darkness.
to the boat,
a red rope
— there were
Gallagher was
in
different colors for different units
charge of getting
matic hose up to the deck hole, and
a
to
pulled the boat out of the tube, then wrestled
Carson.
it
them
boat teams,
shared the same boat with Private Carson, failed to properly
connect the hose
“We had
to inflate
in their
right,
and he
figured
damn windy and
let
we woke
noisy, that
1
Bill
it
it
—and
on the deck,” explained
inflated.
They had
a
pneu-
got ahold of that but didn’t quite get
her go and
it
squealed
like
he had stepped on
every Jap within a hundred miles, but don’t think
anyone heard anything." 21
it
was so
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme
It
Quirk wondered how the Raiders could
Pfc. Brian
man. "The
rines without losing a
were so high
down
when
into the boat to
twenty
jump, and
would
hit
was
thought,
I
rock.’ Luckily,
it
I
made
you had
feet, so
If
I
I
jump from
the
remember when
The water would go
would come down
it
The
swells
the submarine
it
came my
miss that son of a bitch, I’m going
into the boat.
it
make
at its zenith. ...
the top of the submarine,
a waterfall .”
to
in sheets.
and then they would drop
that they brought the rubber boats up,
fifteen or
subma-
safely exit the
was coming down
rain
101
down
up, and
turn
like a
when
it
you were under
like
22
Routine procedures that
on deck, now took minutes off schedule
in practice
took seconds, such as pulling the boats
arduous conditions, throwing the timetable
in the
Men
even before every Raider had exited his submarine.
bobbing boats, concerned what the
into the dark waters at the
pounds of equipment might mean
even a
in
slight misstep.
peered
sixty-five
Standing on the
Argonaut’s deck, Lt. Joseph Griffith described the waters off Butaritari as “unbelievable.
the
jump
We
all
and thought before he jumped,
got wet,”
into the boat, I'm gone. Barbers Point
this.” Private
Voight
came
to the
“If
I
I
miss
was nothing compared
same conclusion on the Nautilus
burdened with the extra weight,
ing that
"If
,
to
realiz-
miss the boat I’m going straight
down .” 23 Lieutenant Le Francois thought that the rubber boats "bounced around like toys
and looked very
frail” in
into the boats that to the
men
the water. So
much
yet on deck, waiting to jump,
and ocean had become one, and "you wondered thing at
all
when you jumped
The Raiders Barbers Point,
it
bore
little
themselves
first
The Raiders waited came back almost Carson. gear,
away.
“I
level
you were going
was amazed
men
and
to
that should they miss their boat, they
rubber boats to
was on
that
its
if
were
accoutrements second.
their
Griffith said
had been off
what they now encountered. Lieu-
before leaping.
rise
with the deck, someone would it
to hit any-
24
resemblance
for the
jumped when
and Lieutenant I
for one.
if
appeared boat
it
realized that, as tough as they thought the surf
tenant Griffith cautioned his to think of
water had already spilled
way down.
We
you go over the
nobody was drowned.
jump
had over
side,
in,
it
said Private
sixty
chuck
"When
pounds of
that gear right
"
Private First Class Quirk approached the submarine’s edge with caution.
“We were accustomed a bullet
to the waves.
We
was more frightening than the
the side at the sea, you
knew
had been training
water, although
26 you’d better not slip .”
for
it.
The
idea of
when you looked
over
AMERICAN COMMANDO
102
W. Cotten almost became
Cpl. Julius
attempted
to leave the Argonaut.
As he
the raid’s
started to
first
jump
when he
casualty
into the rubber boat,
clutching the tripod of a .30-caliber machine gun, his foot slipped and sent
him tumbling upside down hand and
his
pack with the
into the boat.
other,
held on to the tripod with one
and “landed upside down looking
to the skies with the rain falling in
A
He
my
face.
was
It
straight
up
a real chore getting in.
2
steady series of strong waves hampered attempts to pour fuel into
outboard motors without mixing
in salt water.
The waves pinned some
rub-
ber boats against the submarines, directly underneath the streams of water that cascaded
down from
rose to dangerous levels,
the limber holes. Water levels in the rubber boats
and waves and water from the submarines doused
most of the outboard motors, putting them quickly out of commission. The Raiders had to paddle their boats just to reach the rendezvous point off the Nautilus.
By three
thirty all boats
marine and moved
to the
from the Argonaut had successfully
left
rendezvous point near the Nautilus. In the haphaz-
ard departure, few boats
left
in
an organized landing formation, instead
separating from the submarines whenever and wherever they could.
from the Argonaut was failed to appear. tilus,
the sub-
to pick
One
boat
up Colonel Carlson from the Nautilus, but
Commodore Haines
impatiently paced the deck of the
it
Nau-
waiting for the tardy boat, hut after twenty futile minutes he shouted to
Peatross to take Carlson aboard his boat. Peatross
drew alongside.
boat, Carlson
such force that
hanged
his right
his face
submarine
In the leap from the
cheekbone against
to the
rubber
a Raider’s rifle butt with
immediately swelled. Though the injury bothered him
the next two days, no one heard
him complain about
it.
Peatross ferried Carl-
son and his runner to the rendezvous point, where Carlson hopped into another boat.
Carlson faced decisions that came as rapidly as did the waves. Rather than
an organized unit of two groups, one of A prising
B Company,
Company
boats and the other com-
twenty boats had arrived piecemeal. High seas and
his
stormy weather not only hampered communications and knocked out the outboard motors but
made
efficient reorganization impossible.
sending the two companies to their to take the entire
own beaches
complement of twenty boats
Government Wharf, the to avoid intermingling
A
in as a unit to
men
Beach Z opposite
B Company. He preferred
in this
reaching shore and establishing control of his
Rather than
as planned, Carlson decided
original landing point for
and B companies
many of
manner, but he
felt
that
before daylight was more
It
He
crucial.
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme 103
wrote
in his action report that
he had
ing confusion in the darkness of the night"
could for
all
boats to follow me.” 28
to act quickly in the 'result-
and had word passed
The Raiders had
yet to touch land
and already Carlson had made three changes
taritari,
"as best
in the
1
on Bu-
schedule.
At four twenty-two Carlson started toward shore half a mile away.
He
sig-
naled by waving his arms, and shouted for the other boats to align behind him.
Those nearby followed, but Raiders
in the boats
bobbing
at a distance
could
neither hear Carlson’s shouts in the noisy surf and wind nor see his signal.
Taking the In rine in
initiative,
such
a
they headed to shore either alone or in small bunches.
haphazard fashion did the
initial raid
launched from a subma-
United States history begin. The series of plan changes, coming on top
of the horrible weather and unexpectedly harsh surf, disrupted Carlson
s
timetable and tossed uncertainty into the operation.
And
they had not yet reached shore.
“Badly Intermingled on Landing” After receiving a signal to head surf line and
worked had
its
the twenty rubber boats churned to the
powerful series of breakers. The few whose motors
still
moving through the waves and traversing the
final
difficulty
little
in,
half mile to shore, but most, their motors
paddle to
in.
Waves
keep the
frail
lifted
and dropped the
“It
would be
swells,
had
to
craft in wild rides. Raiders strained
vessels on course, realizing that
beach and move toward surprise
doused by the heavy
if
they could not reach the
their objectives before daylight, the advantage of
lost.
was raining
like hell
and the sea was rough,” said Private
First
Class
Bauml. "Unlike Barbers Point, these were short and choppy waves, worse than Barbers Point to get
off.
We
couldn’t see our
hand
in front of
our face
when we landed. A lot of the training kind of goes out the window. You never know when you’ll get a machine gun burst or a boat will tip. So many intangibles, so many things to mess up! And the waves kept slapping at the boats. Getting on and off Makin was more dangerous than combat.
happened, you were Private
a goner.”
If
something
24
Carson faced the same obstacles
in his boat.
Lacking the power
of a motor, he struggled to advance the craft a few yards against the resisting surf. "[Private] Bill
motor was on
Gallagher couldn’t get the paddle
there, so
we were
in
going in circles in the
the water while the
surf. Finally
we con-
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme
It
vinced
undo the clamp and throw the motor over the done we started heading for shore. ™
Bill to
got that
Removing the engine did not
solve
skidded
down
One wave
life.
in the
As the
When
the boats
tossed Private Carson out of his
OK, but
it
was the
fifteen-foot
were so rough," said Private Voight. “We
my clothes
about
in half.
he
on.
I
shucked
all
my
The water was
water when
to gulp in
to shore that
he
shallow water.
got into the boat
got close to shore.
but
them
was close enough
rear seat into the water, hut fortunately he
that
When
the wave’s opposite side, they snapped hack, forcing the oc-
cupants to hold on for dear
could stand
side.
their problems, however.
all
boats rose to the crests, the turbulent surf bent
“I
105
I
quite deep
came up and
breakers
at the
didn’t get tipped over until
and when
stuff,
waves
landed
1
when we
had nothing
I
tipped over.
the next wave took
As Jimmy Roosevelt’s boat neared the beach, thinking
it
we
me
was
was just
I
"
1
in.
all
right to
leave he shouted to the Raider in front, Pfc. Harold E. Ryan, to leap over the
Ryan disappeared
side.
Ryan discarded
the swirling waters,
in
his helmet,
weapons, and web
wave knocked him forward. enough
The
to grab
at a right angle
him
its
and
dropping off Carlson
direction, but
from
to Ryan’s hair
pull
too deep for
belt for
buddies
him
buoyancy
in the
boat
to stand.
as a
second
moved
close
him aboard.
violent conditions forced Peatross to return to the Nautilus for direc-
tions. After
away
on
Finally, his
still
he
at
the rendezvous point, Peatross headed
from the Nautilus
in
what he thought was the correct
submarine had
failed to realize that the
in the interval
original launching point to avoid hitting the reef.
farther from shore, so he reversed directions
Commander Brockman
pointed him
back
moved
The course took
to the Nautilus,
where
the proper direction. Off Peatross
in
went, badly lagging behind the other nineteen boats, toward what he thought
was
his original point of landing.
By
five twenty, after a
harrowing twenty-minute
trip to shore,
Raider boats had landed. Carlson and seventeen boats
two-hundred-yard stretch of sand
The
boat of
to the
and
A Company’s
at
the twenty
came ashore along
a
Beach Z opposite Government Wharf.
Cpl. Harris Johnson pulled up two hundred yards
southwest, while the boat containing B Company’s Sgt. William Yount
his Raiders
joined Carlson,
landed one mile northeast of Carlson. Both groups soon
who now commanded
nineteen of the twenty boats. Only
Lieutenant Peatross remained missing.
One
mile to the southwest Peatross and his
the beach, camouflaged
it,
men
dragged their boat across
and then scouted the area
to
determine their loca-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
106 tion.
They found two rubber boats containing medical
supplies,
guns, and ammunition about one hundred yards to their footprints in the sand indicated that the boats
own.
He
must have
left,
machine
but a lack of
floated in on their
learned later that these two boats had broken away from the subma-
weather before any Raiders jumped
rines in the blustery
in.
By landing one mile southwest of Carlson, Peatross unknowingly tioned his eleven
men
in
what would soon become the Japanese
posi-
During
rear.
the morning’s fighting Peatross would prove to he a major headache to Kanemitsu, but unfortunately Carlson failed to learn the whereabouts of Peatross’s
group until
later in the afternoon.
He might
have discovered Peatross by
dispatching a small scouting patrol along the island’s beaches, but he opted against
it
and missed an opportunity
to orchestrate a coordinated
two-pronged
assault against the defenders.
Fortunately, the
sodden Raiders landed along undefended beaches. They
dragged their boats across the twenty-yard stretch of sand and camouflaged
them
in
the bushes, then awaited Carlson’s orders. Later describing his
panies as "badly intermingled on landing
,
32
com-
Carlson posted security along the
bushes and, with Major Roosevelt’s assistance, turned
to the task of restoring
order.
Though he had for
Carlson had trained his
to alter the tactics,
themselves and believed he would have
jectives. “This
was
a
to think
difficulty achieving his ob-
good example of Colonel Carlson’s leadership," empha-
sized Private First Class Quirk. "It officers
little
men
and noncommissioned
was
part of the training that he
officers
had put
his
and these privates through so that
they could handle any adversity.’’^
The
situation
improved
Nautilus was established.
at five thirteen,
The
dry in the miserable weather.
Raiders’
when communications
main concern was
Many had been
been doused with ocean water and
rain.
to
with the
keep warm and
tossed into the surf, and
all
had
As the Raiders tramped around the
beach, their footwear emitted squishing sounds that might have been humor-
ous had the situation not been so serious. They huddled on the beach for
warmth and waited
for Carlson’s orders to begin
moving
out.
“Everything Lousy”
A
force as large as Carlson’s cannot land
without being discovered. Shortly after
on an island
as tiny as Butaritari
five o’clock a native police officer
It
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme 107
pedaled his bicycle along the lagoon road, cautioning the natives that the
Americans had landed. The Gilbertese native A. George Noran, who kept diary of the events,
and
his wife
headed
to
Ukiangong
a
Village in the island’s
western portion, hoping that would take them out of harm’s way.
Any doubt whether at five thirty
when
the Japanese were aware of Carlson’s presence ended
Pfc.
Vern Mitchell accidentally discharged
his rifle,
an
incident that, added to the other mishaps already plaguing the operation, led
some will
to believe that
Murphy’s Law
—
— hexed the Raiders. “They might
we re
here,
come
find us,"
Private First Class
Quirk
if
anything can go wrong
as well just
told
to
worry that “we
them we
Although Roosevelt
blow the bugle that says
re
supposed
re
be
killing
here !" 34
ment was not whether the enemy had been
alerted but
had been harmed, the commander could not hide
his
to already
Now we haven’t even left the
later stated that Carlson’s chief
mishap. For the only time
certainly
lamented Corporal Cotten. The gunshot caused
these guys while they’re sleeping in their bunks.
beach yet and we
it
in his military career,
concern
at that
mo-
whether any Raider
his displeasure at the
Carlson swore
at
one of
men.
As dawn broke, Carlson shook
and ordered
off his anger
rush across the island toward their objectives. With his
men
his Raiders to
standing in the
landing area designated for B Company, and with B Company’s objectives
looming ahead, Carlson instead ordered
A Company
First Lt.
Merwyn
C. Plumley to take
across while holding hack Captain Coyte’s B
serve. Carlson told
Plumley
Company
in re-
to seize the road skirting the lagoon side, quickly
survey the surrounding area, and report the force’s location in respect to the
wharves. Carlson’s switch added to the confusion. While B sively trained in Flawaii to
occupy the
terrain
Company had
ahead and were familiar with
the buildings and landmarks in the area, Carlson rushed stead.
Complicating matters was the
fact that
exten-
A Company
some B Company Raiders had
already started advancing into the zone as soon as they hit the beach. Peatross’s
whereabouts unknown, the chances
would stumble
into
was not
With
that different units of Raiders
each other rose precipitously.
To the southwest Lieutenant Peatross was orders, he
in in-
to
just as confused.
According
to
break radio silence until after the shooting started, so
he could not contact Carlson
to coordinate their
movements. Not
until Peat-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
108 ross spotted the Japanese his location.
The church stood
planning his next move
nese to rush toward
it,
range shortly after heading inland could he three hundred yards ahead, and Peatross
when he heard
to the northeast. Peatross
officer took
rifle
fix
was
Private Mitchell’s accidental discharge
concluded that the gunfire would cause the Japa-
which would place Peatross
enemy’s
to the
men
advantage of the situation to move his eleven
The
rear.
closer to the
He sent no enemy forces
Japanese, whose attention would be riveted in the other direction. three
men
to reconnoiter the land
and with
behind
to
make
sure
southwest was
threatened his
rear,
clear, Peatross
determined that the only Japanese on the island rested be-
their report that the area to the
tween him and Carlson’s main body Since fighting had
now
to the northeast.
erupted, Peatross ordered his radioman to alert
Carlson to his presence behind the Japanese, but the radio, waterlogged from the trip Pvt.
in, failed to
Raymond
command
operate. Peatross ordered Pfc. Alexander
fire
Donovan and
D. Jansen to head out by different routes, locate Carlson’s
post,
and
alert
Raiders, though, that
Heavy
J.
if
him
to Peatross’s location.
they received heavy
enemy
He
fire,
cautioned the two
they were to return.
forced Jansen back after three hundred yards, but
to return. Peatross
who would most
Donovan
failed
concluded that Donovan successfully reached Carlson,
likely alter his battle plans
based on the new information
and order an assault on two sides against the enemy. Until he heard from Carlson, Peatross decided to clear his area.
moved toward
the church and a Japanese barracks, a Japanese soldier rushed
out of the barracks, but
were the
first
fell
dead when three Raiders opened
fire.
shots that any of us had fired in the war; this was our
to-face encounter with the enemy,
While Carlson waited fred S.
As he
Le Francois’s
cois posted Sgt.
First
at
man
first
face-
Peatross later wrote.
the beach, Lieutenant Plumley selected Lt. Wil-
Platoon to cross Makin’s half-mile width. Le Fran-
Clyde Thomason
platoon, dropping a
"These
vanguard and followed with
in the
his
off every fifty yards to serve as a guide for the follow-
ing Raiders. In less than ten minutes
Thomason’s lead group reached the road
without incident and watched as surprised natives, barely awake, stumbled out of their huts to see American Marines. Fifteen minutes after crossing Makin, Plumley sent Le Francois back to Carlson’s
command
just off the beach.
post,
which was
at that
Le Francois informed
time set up
his
in a
commander
clump
that
of bushes
Plumley had
occupied both Government House and Government Wharf against no op-
It
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme 109
position and that he had yet to see any Japanese soldiers. Carlson sent instructions with Le Francois for Plumley to veer to the southwest
advancing along both sides of the lagoon road. leader that
The nese.
B Company would be
He
informed the
and would protect
in reserve
and begin
A Company
his left flank.
native inhabitants greeted the Raiders with information on the Japa-
They informed Le Francois and Lamb
paring for three days
American
— most
assault in the
lagoon side somewhere between
had been pre-
placed on alert following the August 7
likely
Solomons
that the Japanese
—and
On
that they expected an attack
on the
Chong’s Wharf and Government Wharf.
Since then the Japanese had practiced defensive measures, placed snipers
in
the tops of palm trees, and posted guards along the expected invasion beaches.
The
how many soldiers defended the island, but Kanemitsu commanded between eighty and tw^o hundred
natives could not agree on
most guessed
that
Japanese, with the majority favoring the higher number. They also reported that a concentration of Japanese stood at
Ukiangong Point
in the island’s
southwest portion. Carlson adopted the dictum that worst.
Throughout the day he acted
hundred or more men
Though
judicious,
it
when as
doubt, one should assume the
commander had two
the Japanese
if
more than he
at his disposal,
caused Carlson
in
actually possessed.
proceed more cautiously than he
to
might have done. Carlson had experienced a rough
first
hour.
A
difficult
landing disrupted
the boats, he had accidentally lost the advantage of surprise, his arrived
where they should have, and he faced
defense than expected. Somewhat flustered, to the Nautilus, "Everything lousy.”
36
a potentially larger, at
men had
not
more potent
5:43 Carlson sent a message
Four minutes
later,
Plumley s occupation of Government House, Carlson sent
having learned of a
second message
stating that the situation ashore appeared to be in hand.
To support Plumley s
drive southwest
and
to
prevent reinforcements from
reaching Kanemitsu’s main group, Carlson radioed the submarines to target the reported Japanese enclave at Ukiangong Point. for six
minutes
at 7:03,
The Nautilus opened
fire
but the Argonaut, lacking precise coordinates and
fearing they might accidentally shell the Marines, remained silent.
Meanwhile, Kanemitsu informed headquarters of
now
all
dying
in battle,’’"
the
commander
radioed.
his situation.
“We
are
AMERICAN COMMANDO
110
“Loose Cannons” Along the lagoon Le Francois, now back from reporting his platoon in a
and
wedge-shaped formation. He posted
a fire
deployed
team on each flank
the point, then led his platoon forward through thick brush broken by
at
marshy
areas. Raiders
had
check each cluster of bushes,
to
handful of native huts, to make sure no farther rain
to Carlson,
down
the road.
Once
enemy
as well as the
forces hid inside, then
moved
they had passed the native settlement the
opened and enabled Le Francois
to
ter-
advance more quickly.
ahead, as well as a machine-gun section
Company had been moving under Corporal Cotten of A Com-
pany and
rifle
At the same time, random-size groups from B
fully
palm
Sgt.
Walter D. Carroll
antitank
s
crossed the island, largely comprising trees
platoon.
and underbrush,
He
set
up
ment House and
moved
a
laid
down
at that point
to position the
machine gun and
a
section. Corporal
Cotten care-
open land broken by
machine guns
in his
weapons
mortar section just beyond Govern-
a field of fire to cover the other
men
as they
up.
Lieutenant Le Francois and Sergeant they inspected one hut.
could turn toward him.
Charles
Lamb and
Thomason approached
enemy
the door, and killed an
The
"Gung Ho
when
the structure, kicked open
Upon
leaving, the pair
came under
fire
when
Lt.
other Raiders, assuming they were Japanese, opened up. call sign, "Hi, Raider,’
and relaxed when he
in reply.
shots
errant
shot
sniper with his shotgun before the Japanese
Le Francois shouted the Raider received
Thomason were almost
showed
that with
different
Raider units prowling
about the island, unaware of each other, accidents could easily occur. Peatross later wrote, ‘“Loose cannons’ suggests itself as a not inappropriate meta-
phor
for
amazing.
such
largely uncontrolled activity,
and that they did not
collide
58
The Raiders moved
a
thousand feet
machine gun forced them
to the native hospital,
where an enemy
Twenty Japanese
soldiers leaped
to take cover.
from a truck three hundred yards down the road, planted the Rising Sun in
is
flag
the ground along the road, and then melted into the brush to begin their
defense. “By
0630 our center and
left
were heavily engaged,” 39 Carlson wrote
in his report after the raid.
Le Francois
set a trap for the Japanese.
At
six
a.m. he sent
Thomason
forward to establish a line near the road, then took a position on an elevated
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme
It
plot of
111
ground so he could observe the Japanese as they slowly crept through
the brush along a hundred-yard strip of land between the road and the lagoon.
The
officer
moved
on the point
the Raiders on the
The sun the
at his
and be subject
back worked
enemy and conveniently Thomason
closer,
them
With any
to create a cul-de-sac.
straight into the trap
flank closer to
left
luck, the
enemy would advance
from the flank and
to fire
Le Francois’s
in
favor.
It
40
Le Francois
Thomason reminded
glared in the eyes of
glee
and
later recalled of his robust sergeant.
men
his
men and reminding
"Thomason chuckled with
to hold their fire until directed.
patted his shotgun,
front.
outlined Kanemitsu’s men. As the Japanese drew
strutted along his line, encouraging the
”
Thomason’s men
to hold their fire until the
enemy drew
within twenty yards. Suddenly, as Raiders clenched their weapons and
squirmed
slightly in their positions,
and emptied
”
Thomason
bellowed, "Let ’em have
4
!
his twelve-gauge shotgun.
The Japanese were caught unawares by son’s insistence
on arming
the devastating firepower. Carl-
teams with
his fire
Ml
son submachine guns paid off as Le Francois’s
"A shot rang out
“We had
it
.
.
.
and
all
hell
rifles,
men
BARs, and Thomp-
cut into the Japanese.
broke loose,” recalled Cpl.
Japs in front of us, above us, alongside of us to our
us also to our
Two machine guns were sweeping
left.
Howard Young.
left,
and behind
the area above our
heads; slugs were chunking into the bases of the palm trees. Snipers were ”
coming very
close, but
A Japanese
hits.
42
heavy machine gun near the
flag
mounted
a serious challenge.
Le Francois’s
feet,
and nine Raiders from the
the next thirty minutes.
“We
got into a real hot hrefight right off the bat,
Bullets hit at in
no
”
near the radio station and headquarters,
Sergeant
Howard
to eliminate a
He
E.
44
First
Platoon died
said Corporal Cotten.
Stidham moved toward a native hut near Stone Pier
machine gun when
a burst of fire scattered the dirt at his feet.
took shelter behind a concrete block supporting the shack that, to his
amazement, protected him from chine gun.
One
left
At almost the same drifted too far
heard someone
yell,
”
44
and
a piece of shrapnel
arm, but he emerged unscathed from the incident.
moment
Lt.
Gerald Holtom, a Japanese-speaking
from the Raider
line
A
few seconds
of-
and was cut down. Le Francois
"Lieutenant Holtom has been shot and
needs medical attention!” mind.
one hundred rounds from that ma-
bullet scraped the left heel of his boot
ricocheted into his
ficer,
at least
later the
same voice
is
dying!
said,
He
"Never
AMERICAN COMMANDO
112
Sergeant Stidham waited for a
He
gazed
serious this was.
lets
bled,
4
a
Howard Craven and
I
BAR,
When Johnson
the corporal were
if
all right.
Johnson
stum-
he was
said that
Pvt. Franklin
Nodland blasted the sniper out of a coconut
away The seventeen-year-old Nodland, who everyone
tree not far
how
realized
then collapsed and died.
fine, started to rise,
his
time
Cpl. Harris Johnson dodged bul-
Japanese sniper as they ran into a clearing.
Craven asked
With
first
"’
far away, Pvt.
from
the bring before checking on Holtom.
the body for a few seconds, "and for the
at
”
Not
lull in
“Chicken” because of
his boyish looks
called
and small frame, gained every Raider’s
respect by carrying one of the heaviest weapons, but a few minutes after ing the sniper, he, too,
The withering
was
Raider heroes. Sergeant
and
his Raiders ter
by an enemy bullet.
felled
the
fire in
fight’s
opening minutes took
Thomason
from snipers who were no more than
appeals, but a Japanese sniper soon
fifty
ended
yards
men to seek distant. He ignored
in
felt for a
pulse. For his deeds
Maghakian found himself
ment. The bearded, cigar-chewing Raider
—waved
the cigar
was
smacked
into his right arm.
Maghakian caught
me
had the
in
full
trademark
later
my
directions to his
My arm
left as
I
I
me
dropped
to the deck’
out and his shot
and played dead
rifle.
that
a bullet
went dead almost immediately hut
him with my automatic
silenced
in his ele-
men, when
teen minutes until another shot by him revealed his location.
showed himself
such
first
—every veteran Marine knew
explained that "one sniper picked
the right arm.
use of
their
the Pacific.
In the midst of the melee, Transport
his
shel-
his
Makin, Thomason received a posthumous Medal of Honor, the
granted to a Marine
to
his stand.
Le Francois inched over and unsuccessfully at
on other
its toll
encouragement
alternately shouted
enemy, despite the pleas of
fired at the
kill-
I
still
for
fif-
When
he
46
Instead of seeking aid, Maghakian wrapped a tourniquet around his arm,
Thompson to his left, and continued to battle despite the wound. When asked how he could so calmly face death, he said that simple anger shifted his
prodded him
to action. "It
make up your mind you ”
the belly.
seems
to get
you mad. Good and mad. Furious. You
are going to get that so
and so
if it
costs you a slug in
4
Near Carlson’s command post required help at the front
line.
Dr.
Stephen
He and
Second Class Walter Elterman, headed
his
Stigler learned that a casualty
eorpsman, Pharmacist’s Mate
to the sector to locate the
man.
It
"Due
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme 113
my
to
inexperience
in
nese machine gun," explained
Machine-gun
trees.
who
combat, Stigler,
led us into a field of fire of a Japa-
1
who found
bullets nipped the
cover in a cluster of palm
ground near
Stigler
and Elterman,
could not reach the stricken Raider until the weapon was out of com-
mission.
As the two wondered how much longer they could evade the enemy machine gun,
erupted from the side. Suddenly, the machine gun stopped
firing
"We then saw
clattering.
Victor approaching us with a big smile on his face.
While the Japanese had been busy with out the whole machine gun nest.
He had been
seeking.
Tommy gun
He was
who
wounded Marine
the
that
we were
shot through the right wrist but had transferred his
arm and
fired
it
from that position.”
and Elterman hurriedly patched
Stigler
kian,
to his left
he had flanked them and wiped
us,
wounds and advised Magha-
his
received a Navy' Cross for his exploits, to retreat to the aid station,
but the sergeant declined and returned to the fighting. "There
is
my mind
Elterman and
I
that
had Victor not wiped out that machine gun
would have been
While Le
killed or badly
Francois’s
men
wounded. He saved our
men
in a
a Japanese soldier rush out of a building,
Japanese had passed the center of their the
man on
men
line,
The Japanese managed
Raiders killed him before he retreated too a
second
cyclist
midpoint, then opened kill.
44
A
third
but in the excitement of bat-
enemy
and waved
white as
if
shirt,
before
the
men
reacted
soldier reached the line’s
example of over-
fate.
more minutes, but when no additional Japanese
men
east toward the
sound of
battle.
They crossed
was supposedly Kanemitsu’s headquarters, hut
found the building abandoned. As they spread out in a
later,
w'hat Peatross called "a classic
the road and approached wTat
man
BAR
to flee a short distance, hut other
Japanese soldier met a similar
appeared, he turned his
and pedal
to hold their fire until the
appeared a few minutes
fire in
Peatross waited a few
a
a bicycle,
They
far.
with more discipline. They waited until the
”
hop on
the right end, Pfc. Ernest R. July, opened with his
the signal was given.
When
48
lives.
skirmish line near the road.
directly toward them. Peatross ordered his
tle
in
battled along the lagoon, in the Japanese rear to the
southwest Peatross deployed his
saw
nest,
no doubt
to search other structures,
khaki shorts, and pith helmet emerged from a house
signaling. Cpl.
Sam Brown
Peatross learned later was Kanemitsu.
shot and killed the man,
The enemy had
lost its
whom
commanding
AMERICAN COMMANDO
114
fortunate turn of events for Carlson, as
officer, a
forced the defenders to
it
ensuing battle without proper direction.
fight the
Peatross’s
men advanced
Though he could
to the barracks,
which they
see the fighting four hundred yards
down
the road, he
had heard nothing from Carlson. Had Donovan reached the to
found empty.
also
command
inform the colonel of Peatross’s whereabouts, or had he been
still
post
killed, leaving
Carlson unaware that he had a group of Raiders conveniently placed
in the
Japanese rear?
Carlson faced difficulties of his own. Concerned about the
he committed part of his reserve from B Company. Griffith near
him and
said, “Joe, get those
He
battle’s progress,
turned to Lieutenant
boys on the skirmish
line.”
men would merge with other platoons once on lose control.” He believed B Company should be
Griffith, worried that his
the line, replied, “But
deployed
in
I’ll
an enveloping maneuver against the Japanese right flank.
Carlson curtly cut off the objection. skirmish
line.
“I
don’t give a
The
fighting that day
stymie the Japanese advance.
A
Griffith’s
series of thrusts
men added
never regained control of a
Griffith’s
hunch of
men
in
flanking attack required
and he wanted those men on the
With
“1
was pretty much
Carlson believed he had to commit
cute,
in the
Did you hear me?”
Griffith followed the instructions, but
platoon.
damn. Put them
individuals.”
such
a
my
50
manner
more time
to
to exe-
line immediately.
to the action, the fighting
now devolved
into a
and counterthrusts that occupied much of the morning. The
Battle of the Breadfruit Trees
had begun.
“A Shootout at the O.K. Corral” By seven a.m. the fighting along the lagoon road had bogged down. The Japanese anchored their defense on four machine guns, two grenade throwers,
automatic
rifles,
a flamethrower,
infantry supporting the automatic
ating from the tops of cocoanut
and according
to Carlson’s report, "with
weapons and with
[sic] trees.”
a corps of snipers oper-
Carlson stated that the snipers
and machine guns provided the toughest resistance. “Snipers were cleverly camouflaged and their
fire
was extremely
effective.”
51
Until eleven thirty Carlson and the Japanese traded blows in a series of
It
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme 115 Though
sporadic actions.
the fighting included a pair of what could loosely
be described as banzai charges by the small Japanese force, the morning unfolded mostly
uncoordinated charges by Raiders against the
in individual,
Japanese and a few fierce thrusts against the Raider sideshows to the
hitter contest against
however, were
line. All,
who hampered
Japanese snipers,
Raider activity far out of proportion to their numbers.
Carlson did not help matters by keeping his
men
in a
skirmish
line.
He
could have ordered a rapid advance by both companies, but lacking clear intelligence about the size of the defending force, he opted to place his Raiders in a set line, thereby stalling their
He
advance across Makin and handing the
initiative to the
enemy.
wished and
he would so successfully employ on Guadalcanal
as
could have ordered a flanking attack, as Griffith in a
few
months, but he declined. In the early hours, the Raider commander had substituted caution for aggression, timidity for audacity.
Day one
What
Makin would not prove
at
Raiders
call
to
be Carlson
shining
s
the Battle of the Breadfruit Trees, so
two
large breadfruit trees that
first
of two Japanese charges.
dominated the scene of
moment.
named because
battle, started
Though sporadic breaks occurred
with the
in the fighting
throughout the morning, during certain periods bullets and mortars so the air that one Raider called
After Le Francois’s
men
some
five
a
shootout
at the
filled
O.K. Corral .”' 2
enemy along
mounted successive charges
the lagoon road,
against the Raider
hundred yards from the command post where Carlson and
Roosevelt directed the efforts.
which
“a
grappled with the
the Japanese reorganized and line,
it
of the
wave of Japanese
A bugle
sound
sliced the
morning
air,
soldiers rushed out of the brush in the
following
middle of
the island one hundred yards distant toward the Raiders, firing and shouting insults as they ran.
Le Francois stated that the Japanese “charged down the
center of the island, running
at full stride,
holding their
rifles
over their heads
with bayonets fixed, and shooting from that position without aiming. They
came
shouting, 'Banzai."
Raiders held their ably close ,”
53
fire until
they were, as Le Francois put
it,
“uncomfort-
then directed a withering blast of automatic weaponry that
ripped apart the
enemy
staccato of gunfire, most
ranks. Japanese stumbled
maimed
ground toward the Raiders.
who dropped them
and
fell
before a deadly
or killed, while a handful crawled along the
Two appeared
only twenty feet from Le Francois,
with twenty shots from his automatic. Behind the Japa-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
116 nese infantry, four
light
machine guns well camouflaged
in the foliage
and
a
flamethrower lent their support. Raiders quickly eliminated the flamethrower, not wanting that ghastly
plagued the Raider
weapon anywhere near them, but
line all
explained B Company’s Pvt. Neal
what
it
was.
machine guns
was
letting loose,”
morning.
"The machine guns were going
That’s
the
We were
off, F.
in fields
cutting the leaves off the trees.
mortars. Everything
Milligan. "Ever hear of the 4th of July?
with a
lot
of brush, and the bullets were
”^ 4
Raiders brushed off sweat and
the Japanese tried to push
dirt as
them
off
Enemy bullets pierced both ankles and the side of Pfc. Donald D. Daniels, who refused to let any Raider leave the firing line to help him reach the aid station. The injured B Company Raider crawled all the way back to the island.
the beach for
first aid.
A Japanese ford, also of
fate of
bullet glanced off the grenade jacket that Pvt. Joseph
B Company, wore,
being killed
in
an explosion
“tore at that jacket like a
the heat of the
setting the jacket of his
mad man" and
moment he
lost his
retrieve the valuable piece of gear.
own
Woodford
When
jumped up and shouted, they are!
Facing the ironic
fire.
it
as far
away
helmet and risked injury
"The fellows
told
me
up the sand
as he could. In to rush out
and
afterward that the
right
behind
me
as
I
later said.
a sniper bullet
”"’ 6
Wood-
grenades, Woodford frantically
tossed
bullets of Jap snipers could be seen kicking ran,’’"^
on
J.
bloodied Cpl.
“I’ll
I.
B.
Earless mouth, the Raider
get those heathens by myself!
Show me where
Despite the cries from fellow Raiders to take cover, Earles rushed
through the brush, shooting
at
any Japanese he saw. Earles charged and wiped
out a machine-gun nest, then slumped dead from eleven bullet wounds. Earles
s
A Company buddy,
Cpl. Daniel A. Gaston,
became
so enraged at
witnessing his friend’s death that he, too, leaped to the attack. Platoon Sergeant Maghakian observed the heroics and later wrote Gaston’s family that
"nothing could hold
Danny
back.
On
the
left,
another Jap machine gun
own safety, Danny stood straight up and charged squarely into that nest, his Tommy-gun blazing full automatic. He undoubtedly killed four or five Japs in that charge before he went down fighting. Maghakian added, "Please believe me, every man in the Second Marine Raider Battalion loved Danny Gaston and he will always live in our memories, fighting in spirit side by side with us until we drive every enemy of freedom opened up. Disregarding
and democracy
his
off the face of this
Other Raiders
fell.
A
good earth.
bullet into the forehead of Sgt.
Norman Lenz
of
A
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme
It
Company paralyzed the Marine veteran for had to he removed when five machine-gun
life,
117
while Lieutenant Le Francois
bullets
mangled
shoulder as he directed efforts along the line near where
his right
arm and
Thomason had been
killed.
After a brief
the fighting, the Japanese regrouped and launched a
lull in
second furious attack on the Raider
line.
Again preceded by a bugle
call,
the
Japanese, their numbers badly reduced by the previous assault, rushed the
Marines,
When
who
fought with a reassurance inspired by repulsing the
first
attack.
they beat hack this second attempt, organized Japanese resistance on
Makin ended.
“The Fighting Had Become a Free Centered
in
for All”
the area of the breadfruit trees and bushes broken by open
between
stretches of land in Makin’s midsection, south of the lagoon road
Stone Pier and the native hospital, the Japanese abandoned frontal assaults in favor of their
masterful use of camouflage and the
the Raider line bogged down.
skill
The Japanese, dressed
in
of snipers to keep
green camouflage
uniforms that blended perfectly into the background, attached leafy twigs to their
helmets for better concealment. Snipers posted
in trees
fastened coco-
nuts to their bodies to better hide their positions.
Only once target,
ers
in
the next two hours did
enemy
shooting where he thought the
accounted
for
Melvin Spotts
less a free for
Japanese were near perfect
abandoned
fire
at
all,’
fire at
in his sector.
said Spotts,
“The fighting
who added
concealment and camouflage.
discipline
a visible
was, hut during that time snip-
most of the casualties suffered
had become more or
the Raiders
PI. Sgt.
that
“the
Only when
and blasted away the tops of palm trees
instead of trying to locate each sniper did they
make any
Rather than an organized counterattack, the Raider
progress. line dissolved into
individuals or small teams attempting to eliminate single targets. “One spot
would
start up,
and another eased down,”
said Sergeant
McCullough. “Every
man dropped down and hugged the ground," added Private Milligan. “In that brush, we didn’t know where everybody was at, who was getting hit, or who was
hitting
who. Everybody was alone
at their spot.’”'
Corporal Cotten grabbed whomever was close pany, to form an attack group centered on his
narrowed
by,
4
regardless of their
machine gun. The
to the three-yard plot of earth at their feet.
com-
fighting
had
118
AMERICAN COMMANDO
“We were kind of on an individual mission
was
most of the guys. There was very
like that for
Whatever you could see
tion.
Marine.
I
to shoot at,
a lot of areas."
who
Lieutenant Griffith,
interview. "Peatross
cois also, but
“It
had degenerated
it
if
I
advance against the Japanese.
after the raid that the fighting
worked out
to a
individually,”
he stated
units to act as a unit.
in similar terms.
He
now had become
Le Fran-
explained in an interview
“a case of taking out the in-
direct
and
62
Platoon Sergeant Maghakian epitomized such the arm, for the
first
by refusing to remain his help against the
were young
in a
man-to-man, fire-team-to-fire-team
machine-gun nests by flanking operations, followed by
the fighting,
anything,
hit
61
Carlson depicted the action
action.’’
wasn’t a
it
Makin was an unorganized movement
was one of the few ”
bloody
you shot, as long as
led his unit into the left flank as Carlson or-
across the island’s midsection.
dividual
integrity of organiza-
60
dered, claimed the morning action at
2008
little
shot about three clips, sixty rounds. I’m not sure
we hosed down
but
there,” said Private Carson. "It
time
in his
valor.
Already wounded
Marine career Maghakian disobeyed orders
at the first aid station,
claiming that the Raiders needed
stubborn snipers. Rather than order someone else into
Maghakian accepted the
risks himself, explaining,
“A
lot ”
You couldn’t send a green kid against a
kids.
in
many noncoms had been wounded
pillbox.
6
*
of
them
Since so
or killed, he felt an even greater urgency
to reach the front.
Cpl. Leon R.
Chapman from B Company and
Kenneth M. “Mudhole" their light rill
machine gun
kept the
Merrill, fired
at
soldiers with his knife in
ammunition
an enemy machine gun. While
in a
and
grenade, then leapt
pistol,
carrier, Pvt.
more than four hundred rounds from
enemy pinned down, Corporal Wygal
another direction, hurled
and praise
his
Chapman and Mer-
crept toward the gun from in
and
killed the surviving
an action that earned Wygal a Navy Cross
Time magazine.
Raiders found the bodies of a dozen Japanese soldiers strewn about the gun. Sergeant Stidham paused from battle long enough to check the bodies for souvenirs,
when suddenly one
rose to his knees.
of the supposed Japanese dead groaned and
Stidham dispatched the soldier with
a knife thrust into his
chest and learned a valuable lesson about assuming the demise of a foe. Raiders often wiped out entire machine-gun nests, only to find more Jap-
anese soldiers rush up and take over for their fallen comrades. Corporal Young
had
to attack
one gun position three or four times because of such
tactics.
It
The
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme 119
snipers proved as resolute. Corporal Cotten approached one tree,
when
ready to lob a grenade to the top,
web
tached to a
strap
failed to explode.
grenade as
nade
killed a
Sgt.
up
The grenade
Cotten pulled the as
pin,
monkey
that
counted
had taken refuge
He
hut fortunately
split apart,
to three,
he could. Besides two Japanese
and heaved
his
soldiers, Cotten’s gre-
in the tree. in the field of fire
from three
spotted one hiding behind a tree one hundred feet away, hut
shotgun shells failed
when
his chest.
James Faulkner found himself trapped
snipers. his
far
on
the sniper’s bullet hit a grenade at-
a bullet hit
him
to pierce the foliage.
in the
hand.
When
a
“Damn,
I’m hit," Faulkner cried
few moments
later a
second bul-
“Damn it! They got me." Faulkner, who refused evacuation, cursed again when a third bullet struck, this time piercing his side and leg. “Goddammit! They got me again 64 Now weakened let
struck the sergeant’s head, he cursed,
!’’
from blood a Raider
As
a
loss,
Faulkner
handed him
finally
a canteen full of Scotch to soothe the pain.
communications man near Carlson
McCullough stood behind the bull’s-eye. “I survived
mand
agreed to be taken to the aid station, where
at
the
command
post, Sergeant
front lines, yet he at times felt like a walking
because of luck, and then
post with Carlson]. Those
little
I
was back
a bit [at the
com-
antennas on the walkie-talkies were
chrome, and they reflected sunlight, and the Japanese were very good recognition.
The chrome
of Makin, they designed tions
men who
thing
them
landed, only
came
straight
up by your ”
different after that.
McCullough avoided
At no time did the Raiders
feel they
65
and return
to the
Of the
were losing the
submarines.
If
I
think because
five
communica-
injury.
cern was whether they could silence the opposition objectives
ear.
at
in
fight.
Their only con-
time to carry out their
they failed to wipe out the Japa-
nese before exhausting their limited supply of ammunition, they faced the unappetizing prospect of leaving the island under
They did not fenders.
realize that they
had already
fire.
killed
most of Kanemitsu’s de-
6 It
“Composure
Is
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
Will
Contagious, Too”
During the morning
fighting, Carlson’s
presence
in fighting areas
while Roosevelt, following his boss’s orders, remained to coordinate
units.
Raiders
commented on
post
Carlson’s apparent obliviousness to
bullets during visits to the front areas,
instilling
command
communications with the submarines and with other Raider
Numerous
enemy
the
at
was evident
confidence
concealment held
in his
men. He
which he believed crucial
strolled out in the
their breath for fear
he would he
hit,
open
in
as Raiders in
calmly chatting with
command
Raiders or inspecting the progress, then returned to the
post to
consult with Roosevelt.
Raiders never
mouth,
to
knew when
they might find Carlson at their side, pipe
check on the progress. One man
recalled,
Td
in
turn around and
there was the Colonel, calm as hell, smoking that stinkin’ pipe of his." Carl-
son would greet them warmly and ask feel not so scared, his
how
they were doing.
being right up front with you ."
"It
helped you
1
"Carlson seemingly had no fear of dying," said Private First Class Quirk. “In
combat he was the calmest,
was so calm
that he
is
contagious, too
for the next day. Fear
you
to
is
like
He
he was giving
contagious, and
compo-
.’’ 2
While Carlson was officer,
he was delivering an English lecture.
calmed you down. He talked
you an English assignment sure
like
free to
come and
go,
Jimmy
Roosevelt, as executive
took care of the nuts-and-bolts tasks of the battalion
1
20
at
the
command
It
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
Will
hundred yards behind the
post four
Carlson
when he was
stopped
by.
there,
fighting.
He
read messages, chatted with
and discussed matters with any
officers that
McCullough
Situated in a small shack that reminded Sergeant
hog pen, the command post became the huh of
a
121
of
activity coordinating the
Trees and underbrush lent partial concealment, but the post was subject
raid.
to fire
from snipers and from Japanese
aircraft later in the day.
Wounded
Raiders filtered in to the adjoining aid station, set up in a building with a cathedral roof, where Dr. Stigler and corpsmen labored to keep
patch them up so they could return to
communications
In his role as a
front-row seat to battalion
specialist,
Sergeant McCullough held a
observed Roosevelt’s actions and
tened as Carlson discussed the course of battle with his executive
was
pretty businesslike,”
McCullough
humored some
glistening in the sun
Though Roosevelt was comparatively
officer.
lis-
"He
whose bald head
stated of Roosevelt,
of the Raiders.
hundred yards away, no point on the
alive or
battle.
He
activity.
them
“He did
a
good job.” 3
few
safe with the action occurring a
island
was immune
to attack. Snipers
shot a walkie-talkie out of his hands, and twice the president’s son discharged his
weapon
at
enemy
of
a
in
proximity
bandaged
middle
right
When
finger.
reporters asked
him
Roosevelt declined to explain, instead talking of the Raiders as "the
it,
est
showed
two snipers lurking
and a post-raid photograph of Roosevelt chatting with
to Roosevelt’s post,
reporters
soldiers. Raiders killed
group of
men
in
the world.” 4
In the thickest part of the fighting, Carlson officer,
checked
the president’s son, was safe. Carlson liked the
command
post, but
fin-
had
to continually
way Roosevelt ran
his
his executive to stay in the rear
he wrote President Roosevelt that his son "was
areas. In the battle’s aftermath
as cool as the proverbial
remind
that his executive
cucumber and kept
the loose ends tied together
without a hitch," even though sniper bullets were a constant threat to him during the morning of August a
sump
tions
1
7.
"
Time and again
hole and stay there so that
would continue
sticking his
neck out
to function,”
to see
By eleven a.m. the
how
fighting
I
1
had
to tell
could he assured that
him
to get into
my communica-
added Carlson, “because he
insisted
on
things were going.”'
was mired
in the
middle of Makin Island,
snatching crucial time from the destruction of key installations, the seizure of
documents and information, and other
in a
morning-long
set battle
objectives. Killing
was not an apt substitute
for
enemy
soldiers
accomplishing the
mission’s objectives. "Instead of maintaining the mobility necessary for a raid
of this type, the Marines had allowed themselves to get bogged
down
in a
AMERICAN COMMANDO
122 fruitless fire fight that
had dragged out
ment. Carlson had handed the
all
day," 6 concluded a Marine docu-
momentum
to a smaller force of
Japanese
defenders. After closely observing Japanese tactics in China, which Carlson thought too rigid, he concluded that "an aggressive opponent had a tremendous ad-
vantage. Here was an obvious weakness waiting to be exploited." At Makin,
however, he failed to take his
own
advice and allowed his
men
to
stalemated rather than aggressively dispatching flanking attacks.
who had been more
comfortable fighting guerrilla
become
The man
employing forces
style,
in
speedy hit-and-run jabs while avoiding the enemy’s main body, as evidenced by his service
in
Nicaragua and China, had opted for a set-piece attack
Makin. Had Carlson faced a successfully driven
him
larger
enemy
force, the
Japanese might have
into the sea.
Luck smiled on Carlson
in the
form of Peatross’s
unit.
eliminated the snipers to their front, Peatross’s eleven
all,
created a diverPeatross’s
group
Japanese along the road while losing three men. They harassed
killed eight
enemy
While the Raiders
men
sionary attack by hitting the Japanese from the west. In
the
at
rear,
nese car as
it
destroyed a radio station, shot and killed the driver of a Japa-
sped down the road, and created havoc that helped deflect
forces from Carlson’s line. In his report
under
fire for
to inculcate
the
first
raid
Carlson credited Peatross, an officer
who was
time, as an example of the Raider initiative he had tried
during training. The officer earned a Navy Cross for so com-
pletely harassing
“It’s
on the
enemy
forces to the rear.
Wise to Assume the Worst”
While the Raiders battled on mile out at sea.
They
aircraft, as the last
land, the
carefully
two submarines passed the morning
scanned the skies
for
a
approaching enemy
thing a submarine wanted to face was an air attack while
on the surface.
The Nautilus had
already shelled the Ukiangong Village area to eliminate
supposed Japanese reinforcements. Roosevelt radioed a second request seven ten, this time to shell two vessels
hundred-ton transport and
a
in
Makin’s lagoon
—
at
a thirty-three-
thousand-ton gunboat. The ships, which one
Will
It
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
123
Raider feared was the advance element of the potent Japanese Fleet,
No one knew how many reinforcements ‘This caused me much consternation," said one of Peat-
produced great apprehension.
the boats might carry. ross’s
men,
Pfc.
James C. Green, “because
I
knew
reinforcements our small group would have very Roosevelt, perched amidst a
that
little
clump of bushes,
if
the Japanese landed
chance
yards from Roosevelt,
stated Pvt.
Denton
he was on the radio giving instructions
was
in the
middle of the island,
The Nautilus opened
fire at 7: 16,
Commodore Haines
to the
too.
absence of
firing. Sixty-five
Though
Roo-
to shoot.
9 calm, did a good job."
a precise target location.
At
rounds sank both ships with what
prayers of thanks with the boats’ disappearance, as
manner
five
B Company, "and
good luck.” 10 Raiders offered
called “the sheerest
the submarines, their sole
of
was about
"I
sub which way
He was
8
constantly altering the range and deflec-
tion to cover the entire lagoon in the
7:23 the Nautilus ceased
Hudman
E.
to escape.’’
bullets whistling about,
relayed his messages via a walkie-talkie to the submarines.
sevelt
Combined
of leaving
Makin
it
meant
Island,
silent
their lifeline to
remained
intact.
the Nautilus destroyed the two Japanese boats, Carlson had no
idea whether any Japanese reinforcements had debarked from the ships be-
were sunk.
fore they
numbers than
ever.
If a
number had
substantial
landed, he faced larger
His Raiders had already been depleted,
ammunition, by the morning’s
fighting,
in
numbers and
and now the defenders’ strength had
possibly increased.
Natives informed Carlson that as
been aboard the
patrol craft.
dismiss the thought. As his tactics as
if
1
as sixty Japanese marines
had
lacking verification, Carlson could not
commander he had
to
assume the worst and plan
the Japanese had, indeed, received the reinforcements. Peat-
ross claimed that the issue
hension.’
Though
many
“seems
have heightened Carlson’s appre-
to
1
As the morning unfolded,
had gone
little
right for Carlson. Starting with
the rocky departure from the submarines, a series of unfortunate incidents
plagued the operation. While each on
its
own may have been
minor, the ag-
gregate produced a combination of blows that temporarily perplexed the
mander. His frustration intensified
pummeled
The
morning when
a series of air attacks
his line.
first aerial
sance
in late
com-
attack occurred at
aircraft arrived.
1
1:30
when two Navy Type 95
reconnais-
Both submarines quickly dove, and Raiders held their
AMERICAN COMMANDO
124 fire
while the pilots scouted Makin from above. After fifteen minutes, the
aircraft
dropped two bombs, neither of which struck inside Raider
lines,
then
headed north.
A
more destructive
raid followed in the early afternoon. At
12:55 the
Nautilus surfaced, hut radar picked up twelve contacts twelve and fourteen miles out. Faulty radio communications prevented the submarine from noti-
and alerted
fying Carlson, so the Nautilus dove
via
underwater sound the
still-submerged Argonaut to remain where she was. Expecting to
be a problem
until
enemy
aircraft
two hours before sundown, by which time the planes
would have
to leave to return to their
underwater
for the
home
bases before dark, the pair stayed
remainder of the afternoon. They had,
in effect,
been put
out of action for the day.
The twelve fighters, four
aircraft,
which included two Kawanishi
1
got caught out in the leaf,
and that
few casualties but
open beach.
really doesn’t give
All
you
enough the
Howard Young waited
Cpl. to the
dirt piled up.”
ground as possible.
aircraft
He
we had
low taro
pit
upon the
and came
out the bombings by pressing his body as close
was
petrified until he realized the
their efforts
shrapnel, Private Milligan
and alternately huddled close
to
on him.
jumped
one side or the
In
an
into a shal-
depending
other,
direction of the incoming aircraft.
After seventy-five minutes, ten planes
bomber and
a
Type 95
aircraft,
landed
out. Sergeant
tank
close to the lagoon and,
rifles
machine guns, opened
The Type 95
while two others, a Kawanishi
the lagoon off King’s
fire
when
in
set
the
first aircraft
their
drew within
Boys
anti-
a thousand
flames and sank, while the Kawanishi
an attempt to evade the gunfire.
Platoon Sergeant Maghakian directed the shooting observing bullet splashes through a pair of binoculars.
formed Stidham
up
Wharf about
accompanied by Marines manning three
aircraft burst into
executed a speedy turn
in
left
Stidham and another Raider
two miles
sight,
a pass
Corporal
12
stated that he
bombs and
under was a big
to hide
The guy made
were shooting blindly rather than focusing
effort to avoid the
yards.
rattling Raider nerves.
a lot of security,” said
Cotten. “At least the camouflage was there. close
bombed and
For the next seventy-five minutes they
:20.
strafed Raider lines, causing
palm
Zero
Type 94 reconnaissance bombers, and two Type 95 seaplanes,
struck the island at
"I
flying boats, four
his first shot
came up
at
When Maghakian
in-
Stidham raised
his
short of the target,
took aim, and directed a steady stream of gunfire
Tracers and incendiary rounds from
all five
the Kawanishi by
guns zeroed
at the in
Kawanishi.
on the bomber,
It
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
Will
which managed
125
to slowly rise into the air a short distance before crashing in
flames into the lagoon.
The Raiders had destroyed both
aircraft,
hut as with the two vessels ear-
did any reinforcements leave the planes beforehand? Natives told Carl-
lier,
son that
thirty-five
Japanese soldiers poured out of the large seaplane, hut the
figure could not be confirmed.
sumed
had strengthened
that reinforcements
Some have questioned
As he had with
earlier estimates,
Carlson as-
his opposition.
Carlson’s assumptions relating to the size of his Japa-
nese opponent. Peatross, for one, hits his commander’s quick acceptance of native reports. Peatross states that because of his sendee in Nicaragua
China, Carlson,
any combat veteran, should have developed a
like
feel for
how
a fight unfolded,
ress.
"As he walked along the battle line and talked with his Raiders,” Peatross
wrote, “saw with his
and heard with of
enemy
his
how
and
own
own
fire until all
the sights and sounds indicated the battle’s prog-
eyes the
ears the that
enemy dead strewn about
marked diminution
in
the battlefield,
the volume and variety
remained was intermittent sniper
Carlson
fire,
should have realized long since that the prize was his for the taking. But he didn’t.”
This produced an exaggeration of Japanese strength and caused what
Peatross labeled “Carlson’s seeming operational timidity.
Others counter with the argument that Carlson had
little
accept the larger figures. Information from native residents
choice but to
who had
mingled with the Japanese since the previous December could not dismissed. "The natives told us there were about
mentioned Sergeant McCullough. "We had some intelligence were about 100, hut naturally you pay attention
lightly
80 Japanese on the
1
to
inter-
be
island,"
that there
what the natives say be-
cause they’re on the island. Carlson was faulted for thinking there was 180
on there, hut he had firsthand information, not something intelligence us.
It’s
wise
when
you’re in a situation like that to
assume the
Another point of contention centers on Private
whom
Peatross had sent to locate Carlson.
two, informing island,
him
and that
that
claimed that after the the
way back
raid,
men
was one of the high points
in
Class Donovan,
the southwest section of the
could attack the Japanese
when he and Carlson
to Pearl Harbor,
14
worst.
Donovan reached Carlson around
no Japanese existed
Peatross’s
First
sat
rear.
Peatross
aboard the Nautilus on
Carlson told Peatross that Donovan’s
in the day.
told
arrival
Despite the good news, Carlson de-
clined to act, a fact that perplexed Peatross.
AMERICAN COMMANDO
126
"But high point notwithstanding, he seems to have discounted or completely ignored Donovan’s information
chose
my
to
remain
in a
on the enemy
situation. Instead,
made no attempt
defensive posture and
to link
up with
group, thereby leaving the initiative in the hands of a few snipers.
ross added, “Given
own direct enemy for
of the objective evidence available to
all
observations, that of his Raiders several hours,
who had been
in
and that provided by Donovan
him
—
he
Peat-
that of his
contact with the
—
it
difficult to
is
understand why Carlson, a seasoned combat commander and an experienced intelligence officer,
was not more aggressive
in carrying out his
persisted in overestimating the enemy’s strength his
even worse, underrating
own.” ls It
appeared that Carlson,
China, and even on at
or,
mission and
this first
Makin had become
who had proven
his
courage
in
Nicaragua,
in
day with his complete disdain for enemy bullets,
indecisive.
“The Effect of Resolute Men” With
a lull in the air attacks,
the submarines.
Carlson
now began
With Japanese snipers
a
two-phase withdrawal
in thick foliage
to
holding up the Raider
advance, and with the specter of Japanese reinforcements strengthening their
hand, Carlson pulled back the line to an open area snipers onto
hopes of luring the
more accessible ground.
At four p.m. he held the right flank
in
left
two hundred yards.
under enfilading
fire
flank in place, then withdrew the center If
the Japanese followed they would
and
come
from straight ahead as well as from the Raiders remain-
ing on the left flank, or at least be
bombed by
their
own
aircraft that
thought
they were hitting American positions.
Some of the Raiders could "We thought he was crazy for “but just for a minute
.’’
not understand the reason for the withdrawal. a minute," said Platoon Sergeant
Maghakian,
16
Shortly after executing the withdrawal, at four thirty Japanese aircraft arrived for the third air attack of the day.
bombs
fell
As Carlson hoped,
on Japanese soldiers who had crept forward
for thirty
in light of
pullback. Shrapnel cut through the palm trees and foliage, taking a snipers
who had blocked
When
minutes
the Raider toll
on the
Carlson’s advance.
the final plane departed for the day, Carlson faced another deci-
sion. Roosevelt
suggested they immediately begin pulling back to the beaches
It
Will
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
127
rendezvous with the submarines rather than use up precious time by
for their
staying in place. Carlson could either remain in line, wipe out the defenders, attain
some
of the mission’s objectives, then pull back to the beaches for the
departure to the submarines, thereby delaying the withdrawal, or he could begin a more orderly extraction now.
Carlson visited the front lines to assess the situation, asked other officers for their advice,
were crucial
and then opted
to the
war
for Roosevelt’s suggestion.
effort in the Pacific,
them by making them wait
The submarines
and he did not want
off the island while the Raiders
missions. Besides, as he stated in his report, “The
enemy
to
endanger
completed
still
their
appeared
to
strong in our front, and he was in a position to receive reinforcements.’’
p.m. Carlson sent a handful of
five
men back
begin extricating themselves from the
“seemed
rest of the
18
back immediately. In
between
moment, Carlson
his options before finally
a surprisingly harsh report
Admiral Nimitz censured Carlson
Raiders to
line.
historian concluded that at this crucial
to vacillate’
At
1
beaches to begin prepar-
and ordered the
ing the rubber boats for evacuation
One Marine
to the
be
on the
for too readily
choosing to pull
October 1942
raid, in
abandoning the mission.
“Although the mission of destruction of enemy forces and installations
had not been completed,
after the last
cided to withdraw according to plan.”
A
bombing the more
critical
raider
commander
statement pertaining to
the strength of Carlson’s opposition followed this relatively mild rebuke.
appears that there were only a few Japanese soldiers effect of boldness in a
mander
While
at this
this
few resolute
time that he was
took place
in
still
men
that
it
left alive,
seemed
opposed by a
de-
yet such
is
to the raider
large force.”
“It
the
com-
19
Makin’s midsection, to the west Peatross faced his
own
decision. In the absence of hearing Irom Carlson, Peatross concluded
that
he should pull hack
to the
beach
at
the appointed time and head out to
the submarine, where he hopefully would be reunited with the rest of the Raiders. to the
Around three p.m. Peatross and
his
men
destroyed anything of value
Japanese, then turned toward the beach.
Though Carlson and the Raiders had spent
a trying first
day
at
Makin,
they were about to face what one Raider called "the most harrowing hours] in
my
life.”
20
[five
128
AMERICAN COMMANDO
“A Life-or-Death Struggle” At
six forty
the Raiders began pulling out from the front line and withdrawing
to the beaches,
the departure.
where boat crews had already prepared the rubber boats
By seven
above the beaches
a covering force stood guard
for in
case the Japanese attempted to disrupt the proceedings, with orders to re-
main
had entered the water before taking the
until the other Raiders
final
boat out.
The Raiders gathered
in
small groups, with most of the force assembling
by seven p.m. To improve the chances of the wounded making
it
back
to the
submarines, Dr. Stigler and Dr. MacCracken placed them into different boats according to the severity of
An
injury.
unanticipated incident with Major Roosevelt tested Private First Class
Bauml’s nerves as he waited on the beach.
which Bauml cradled with the
An
accidental discharge of his
barrel pointing to the sky, sent nearby
The
including the presidents son, scattering for cover.
sheepishly explained to Roosevelt what had happened, at
how
man
close he had
come
to injuring Roosevelt.
No
all
mortified
rifle,
men,
Bauml
the while petrified
one wanted
to
he the
responsible for harming the president’s son.
Strategists
had selected seven
thirty to leave
would hinder Japanese observation and which would make
it
Makin
to take
Island so that darkness
advantage of a high
easier for the boats to traverse the reef.
tide,
However, they j
had not foreseen the dangerous combination of the speed of the waves and the rapidity with
By seven
which they followed each
fifteen the boats
had lined up along the southern beaches, where
doctors and corpsmen carefully lifted the to the severity of Sergeant Lenz’s
placed him into the
him
first
other.
wounded
wounds, which
left
him
Due
paralyzed, they
along with Dr. Stigler in the hopes of transferring
as quickly as possible to the submarine,
on him. Lieutenant Le Francois while the twice-wounded
into different boats.
lay in the
Lamb occupied
where
Dr. Stigler could operate
second, tended by a corpsman,
the third boat to leave.
The
rest of
the Raiders spread out to walk the boats out to chest-high water, at which point they intended to hop in and begin paddling toward the reef. task tested each Raider at the
The
end of an exhausting
day.
boats at each end of the line started leaving at seven
by the next
in
order as the string of boats worked
its
A daunting
thirty,
way toward
followed
the center of
It
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
Will
129
the line, where Carlson orchestrated the effort. Since the units had been
intermingled since early morning, Raiders walked to the nearest boat
whom
without regard to
McCullough. “We
a boat,’ said Sergeant
toons.
It
“We just
they joined.
was pretty much you
sort of got ten
didn’t go out
by
in line,
guys and got into fire
got in with other guys. Carlson
teams or
was
pla-
right there
overseeing everything .” 21
Carlson remained, with the covering force posted behind as a rear guard, until every boat
had entered the water.
When
he was confident that every
had departed, Carlson splashed into the
Raider, including the covering force,
surf at seven thirty to join the Raiders
manning the
final boat.
Carlson assumed the covering force had already still
but in fact the unit
guarded the high ground above the beach, protecting the Raider rear
until they
were positive every other man had departed. They assumed some-
one would
retrieve
them when the
force dwindled to two boats
Carlson and one for them. However, incorrect assumption. to
left,
make Pvt.
As
it
was Carlson’s
made
his
for
own
responsibility
sure he was the last Raider to leave the island.
Ben Carson blamed
a sergeant
wasn’t a boat for us to leave feel at that
time that
Carlson know he nication .” it
the other end Carlson
commander,
overall
group to their post. “Carlson got
As
at
—one
left
in.
who
directed Carson and the covering
in the last boat,” said
We
didn’t
know
Carson, "and there
this at the time.
We
didn’t
we were being abandoned. The Sarge should have us as a covering force. There was a lack of
let
commu-
22
turned out, Private Carson and the rest of the covering force had box
drama
seats to the
was now
in the surf that
to unfold as the weary,
Raiders dragged their boats into the water. Each
man advanced
hungry
“into a life-
or-death struggle to heat through the heavy waves to safety," declared Le Francois. Colonel Carlson stated in the
water
it
"a struggle so intense
ghastly nightmare to those
who
and so
labeling the time spent
futile that
participated .”
Each boat followed the same Griffith
more bluntly by
routine.
it
will forever
remain a
23
The Raiders with Lieutenant
grabbed the rubber handles on the boat’s side and walked the boat out
as far as they could.
The
swirling surf battered their legs in the shallower wa-
ter,
buckling some of the men’s knees and serving as an ominous harbinger to
the
coming
ordeal.
into the boat
When
the water had risen to their chests, Raiders hopped
and began paddling toward the reef and
Most boats made
it
through the
waves drenched them with
salt
initial rollers,
its
angry breakers.
but faltered as a series of
water and buffeted the tiny
craft. Roosevelt’s
AMERICAN COMMANDO
130
made
boat
it
over one roller only to be immediately smacked backward by a
second, more violent set of waves, requiring Roosevelt and the
men
in his
boat to paddle more furiously simply to return to where they had been. Those
wounded who to the
could, plus other Raiders, bailed out the water that had risen
gunwales
tossed back twice the
amount
when
“It
was kind of
like
like
in Private
overboard.
they were eighteen feet high,’ said Pri-
being
or who’s going to hit you, but you
The Raiders
dumped
of water they
“Them damn waves seemed vate Milligan.
from sinking, but the unrelenting ocean
to prevent the boat
in a football
know
game. You don’t know
you’re going to get hit
Hudman’s boat paddled
.’
24
as furiously as they could,
when Hudman looked shoreward after fifteen minutes, they had moved a mere fifteen yards. Sergeant McCullough described the time in the water as
yet
“the toughest thing
I’d
My
paddled and paddled and paddled.
wave
first
so strained
smashed
into
it,
Waves towered above
watery taunt before crashing
in a
“We
2
"
1
knocked
its
it
correct course a second
followed almost immediately by a third that flipped the
boat and tossed equipment and Raiders, the water.
.’’
that crashed into Lieutenant Griffith’s boat
sideways. Before they turned the boat hack onto roller
said,
muscles were aching. You could see
them almost popping out because they were
The
Bauml
ever done,” while Private First Class
wounded and unharmed
alike, into
the boats, hanging momentarily suspended
down on
out the few motors that had coughed to the curls, teetered on the brink of the
the exhausted
life.
men and knocking
Other boats drifted upward into
wave
for a
few seconds, and then
tipped over backward, tossing occupants and weapons into the raging surf.
Overturned boats dashed and darted gasping for
ers,
air,
the Raiders with
in different directions as
struggled to reach the surface. Sergeant
him
tried in vain for three
breakers, but each time the waves hurled
the drained futile
men
McCullough and
hours to make
them back
it
through the
to the beach,
where
rested before embarking on what proved to be yet another
attempt.
In his post-raid report,
ably
drenched Raid-
drowned
Admiral Nimitz stated that several Raiders prob-
trying to leave
Makin. According
to
Time magazine, Roosevelt
saved three Raiders from drowning. Three times the surf tossed the paralyzed Sergeant
Lenz
into the water.
Each time other Raiders quickly came
to
his aid. Pvt.
Dean Winters
struggled in the surf
when he heard
a
man
shout, "Shark!" then disappear under the surface. Winters never
near him
saw the man
Will
It
again. Corporal
him
close to
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
131
Cotten heard the Marine warn other Raiders from coming
as a shark
had already hitten him.
At different spots along the beach, clusters of Raiders regrouped, headed into the surf to retrieve a boat,
and repeated
their efforts to
the breakers, sometimes four or five times before their quit from the strain. ried
Le Francois
lay
on the beach
puncture through
weakened muscles
after his fifth attempt, wor-
about his fate should the Japanese capture him, for he had heard horror
stories of
what the Japanese did
to the
wounded. Sergeant Stidham
lost his
and could not remember how many times
rifle, pistol,
and knife
he tried
paddle beyond the reef before collapsing on Makin’s sand and
to
to the surf,
falling asleep.
“We Quirk.
got overturned, overturned, overturned,” said Private First Class
was
“It
off the island,
frustrating.
You started
and we knew
back the next day or the day over
my
if
we
after.
to get a hopeless feeling
didn’t get off, the Japs
We
about getting
would be coming
had no ammunition now.
I
had thrown
gear." 26
From
his
perch above the beach, Private Carson witnessed the struggle
unfold a few hundred yards from shore. “As
we
looked toward the surf
we
could see boats being turned over backwards by the onrushing waves, dumping the
wounded
into the surf,”
“Raiders would stick with the
Carson recalled of
wounded and drag them
up on the beach. Nowhere could we see surf
and time
righted by the
his beleaguered buddies.
after time the boats
out of the surf back
a boat drilling
its
way through
would wash up on the shore only
dumped-out crews, and the
struggle through the surf
that
to
be
would
begin again.
One thought bothered Carson as who made it hack to the beach were stripped of
all
but their underclothes.
he watched the
battle.
weaponless, and
many
What
Those Raiders lay in the
sand
could those Raiders do to repel
Japanese attack? “We rear guard Raiders were wondering just
how
long this thing could go on before [we] represented the remaining
fire-
a possible
power.
”27
“Where the Somehow,
Hell
eighty
Have You Been?”
men succeeded
geant McCullough claimed that
it
in all
reaching one of the submarines. Ser-
depended on the
vagaries of the waves
AMERICAN COMMANDO
132
boat entered the water. His crew battled in vain to leave
at the location a
Makin, while boats one hundred yards
to his side
out to the submarine.
A boat close by Corporal
relative ease, despite
having
"They were It
looked
through
wounded
right alongside of us
like the sea just
It’s
They were only
aboard.
and they paddled out through that
calmed down and parted, and they picked
three to five yards from us.
traveled to
Makin on
Grant of B
Company was
The
28
at
it
was
Hudman
the nearest vessel. Private
the Nautilus but returned to the Argonaut. CpI. Dell so relieved at safely battling through the waves to rail
when he
finally arrived.
mile away Lieutenant Peatross fruitlessly waited at the beach in the case Carlson appeared, then led his
in
covered their boat, inflated
it,
men
into the water.
and dragged the boat
leaving, Peatross carefully studied the surf for fifteen
pattern,
and noticed
that every fifth
previous four. Waiting for a
fifth
wave seemed
They un-
to the beach. Before
minutes
to
determine a
to be smaller than the
men jumped when the engine
wave, Peatross and his
began paddling. Good fortune blessed the group to
way
current was the same, the
straight through .”
the Argonaut that he kissed the submarine’s
dark
their
one cared which submarine they paddled toward. As long as
American, they were going straight
A
surf.
uncanny. The hand of the Lord was taking care of them.
and frequency, and yet they paddled
No
glided through the surf with
I’s
and four people paddled where twelve of us couldn't even contain
it,
a rubber boat.
swells
passed beyond the reef and
in
and
kicked
life.
"That way, Sam,” Peatross told Cpl.
open “But
as he pointed toward the
hoping that one of the submarines actually
sea, if
Sam Brown
you
can’t find a
submarine, just get
me
lay in that direction.
as close as possible to
North
Carolina .” 29
Around seven
forty-five they spotted the flashing
Nautilus (th e Argonaut flashed a red
and
his grateful Raiders
light),
green
and twenty minutes
news
that his
was the onlvj boat so
fifteen minutes, aided
was sound
More as
from the
later Peatross
climbed aboard. Peatross gave a quick report
modore Haines on what had occurred ashore, and reacted the
light
hv the brandy
far to
to
Com-
disbelievingly to
reach the submarine. Within
Commodore Haines
gave him, Peatross
asleep.
arrivals
soon awakened Peatross. The scenes he witnessed topside
exhausted Raiders struggled aboard stunned Peatross. "They
pale shadows of the
men
I
had
last
all
seen early that morning, and
they had been through a terrible ordeal.”
I
looked
like
knew
that
It
The men
Will
in
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
subsequent boats, who had spent more time Hghting Makin’s
currents, looked "like nothing less than zombies." At least
boat retained a few weapons, but those
in the first
133
who
some
followed
of the
came
men
along-
side without rifles, packs, helmets, even clothes.
"Standing on deck and watching the believe
my
was no longer
eyes. This
last
boat approach,
a team, but a
I
could scarcely
group of humanoids held
together only by the boat they rode and their individual wills to survive.
had
their eyes fixed in a thousand-yard stare
paddling
like
Some
and seemed almost catatonic,
automatons. Not a paddle, however, was to be seen; instead, the
0 boat was being propelled by palm fronds and hands."'
When a
he glanced
Lieutenant Griffith, he barely recognized the Texan,
at
tough officer
who
"looked like he had aged twenty years."
“Where the
hell
have you been?’ MI Griffith asked Peatross upon seeing the
supposedly rine
lost officer.
The two caught up on
crew brought food and
the day’s events as the subma-
liquid to the Raiders.
Four boats reached the Nautilus and another three the Argonaut, safely conveying eighty men. Besides Peatross’s and his patient, Sergeant Lenz,
Griffith’s groups, Dr. Stigler
reached the Argonaut, while Private
First
and
Class
Quirk found safe haven with the Nautilus.
The whereabouts
Those men futility in
lay
of another 120 remained in doubt.
on the beach, wet, exhausted, and hungry. Carlson saw the
expecting weakened
hack stronger men the submarines.
like twigs,
He hoped
men
to
succeed against
a surf that
and abandoned the attempt
to reorganize the
men
to
had tossed
rendezvous with
ashore and figure out his
next step.
Carlson surveyed his Raiders and concluded “that of extreme exhaustion.
Most had
lost their gear,
as other Raiders gasped for breath.
about the sand. Carlson
set
More than
up a defense
line
all
men were
and the wounded half the boats
in a state
lay helpless
were scattered
above the beach, comprising
the covering force and other able Raiders, then sat
down
to
determine
his
next moves.
According to
beach with
little
his report,
equipment, "and waited miserably
another attempt to pass the
"We went
"We began
to
he and the other 120 Raiders gathered on the in
the rain for
dawn and
surf.’
beach and flopped down,” said Sergeant McCullough. ^ wonder if we were ever going to get off the island.’ to the
AMERICAN COMMANDO
134
There Anyone
“Is
As day one
lemma
at
Who
Makin wound
of his military career.
Thinks
We Ought
to a close,
An
to Surrender?”
Evans Carlson faced the worst
di-
exacting landing ended with an accidental
discharge, sending his Raiders into a set battle and planting confusion in the
Those were mere foreshadowings
ranks.
to a traumatic evacuation that left
two companies drained, perplexed, and uneasy. He somehow had
his
store order
from the chaos and find a way
to
men cut off his retreat route. He two submarines, how many
remove the remainder of
from the island before Japanese reinforcements
had no idea who had successfully reached the
to re-
his
Raiders currently lay on Makin’s beach, or the strength of the Japanese
on the
still
island.
At eleven p.m. gunshots from the security detail posted above the shore
Hawkins of B Company opened
interrupted his thoughts. Pfc. Jess a patrol of eight
Japanese soldiers approached the perimeter. Before falling
wounded from two
shots to the chest,
and forced the others “This incident
wrote
when
fire
Hawkins
added
to flee, but the event
showed
that
enemy
in his report of the raid.
resistance
The near
killed three to
enemy
soldiers
Carlsons predicament.
was by no means ended
certainty that the next
,
34
he
morning would
bring additional Japanese reinforcements and renewed air attacks com-
pounded
his quandary.
weapons with which
Other than
to
his covering force,
few Raiders possessed
defend themselves.
Carlson’s next step sparked a controversy that exists to this day. Did the
commander Though some
who
broached the sub-
Raider
consider surrendering?
ject?
Raiders contend that Carlson advocated a capitulation,
If so,
first
others either vehemently deny the allegation or claim to
Most accounts agree and
a
few other
men
that
know
nothing.
around midnight, Carlson gathered
for a meeting, at
which time the subject
his officers
arose. Discus-
sions then spread to the Marines scattered along the beach. “In our regular
gung ho meetings, there was
little
protocol," stated Corporal Cotten. “Every-
body’s opinion counted. That night, the
little
groups got together and
lowed the same procedure. There were about ten of us together
According
some wanted
to this version, three points of to ignore the hazards
making another attempt
to reach the
.’’
fol-
35
view arose among the Raiders
and continue
to fight, others favored
submarines, and a third suggested sur-
rendering. Debates flared into heated arguments, with no side gaining domi-
It
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
Will
135
nance. This version has Carlson meandering from group to group as an
mood.
impartial observer, trying to ascertain the prevailing
James Roosevelt matic
moments
later called this night at the
Carlson collected his felt
men on
a small rise
try to survive
We voted
we
above the beach, asked what they
voted on survival
when
the night and escape
and
to stay
Doubt
exists as to
which meeting he
to surrender or
the tide went out in the morning.
keep the president’s son
at arm’s
Some
refers.
Raiders assert that
without Roosevelt s inclusion,
officers,
distance from such a distasteful topic.
If
Roosevelt most likely sat in on one of the smaller group discussions while
Carlson contemplated the issue with his
That
man
a
officers.
could be present on the beach that night and
about the surrender until long after the Either they did not
know
or,
most
raid, as
likely,
due
subject, they cared not to discuss the matter.
some
know nothing
state, strains credibility.
to the sensitive nature of the
One
of the most astute observ-
when he read The Raider Marines of World War II, and
Lieutenant Griffith, claims he only learned of the matter
ers,
1995 book, Bless 'Em
Peatross’s
All:
neither Private Milligan nor Private First Class
render issue until back
“We
didn’t
learn about ning.
They
it
in
Hawaii
until
1
came
back.
Nugent heard of the
surrendering,” stated Milligan.
We didn’t know what
whole bunch.” Private
There
is little
it
didn’t
the officers were plan-
Nugent added, “As
First Class
I
don’t
until a lot later.’
far as
know where
from. There must have been something, but the group
never heard about
“1
and we were down there on the beach. Carlson
got in a group,
know, talking about surrendering never happened.
came
sur-
after the raid.
know anything about
didn’t consult the I
—whether
escape.” 36
try to
Carlson purposely met with selected
so,
stated in postwar writings that
the Raiders should do, then took a vote. “Carlson ran a democratic show,”
Roosevelt wrote. “This night
to
He
of his wartime career.
beach one of the most dra-
I
was
in,
how
we
M
doubt the topic arose. However, the matters of who
brought up the notion and
that
seriously Carlson
first
pondered the matter are
Hoffman and George W. Smith
open
to debate.
The
that,
with
input from other officers, Carlson chose to surrender, with
little
historians Jon T.
Smith even claiming that the decision was so abhorrent
to
Carlson
intentionally hidden from the public for almost half a century.’’
can be possible, ter in his
in light of
38
assert
it
How
“was that
the fact that Michael Blankfort included the mat-
1947 biography of Carlson,
bitterness caused by the controversy.
is
mystifying, but
it
shows the depth and
AMERICAN COMMANDO
136 Other
historians, like Tripp Wiles, claim that Carlson never ordered his
Raiders to surrender, hut offered
much
sider,
as
it
as an option that each
some Raiders contemplated
man might
con-
fighting while others deliberated
over another attempt to leave the island.
“Carlson was thinking about surrender," said Private First Class Bauml,
make up
“but he didn’t officers or
whomever
his
mind
to
do
He was
it.
just discussing
the hell he was talking with.” Sergeant McCullough,
one of Carlson s most avid supporters, claims the commander was than ten yards from him, and he never heard Carlson “Carlson might have considered
der.
brought up out loud. heard any discussion
was
I
it,
hut
at all.”
son told the
men
I
will
man
he
left
men
will
know
men
that
to surren-
was ever
it
I
to
surrender
live.
came from
I
never
right to
a Raider
Roosevelt added that Carl-
the beach and found any Japanese to
might surrender, “then you have the
and the
his
more
39
never reveal as long as
if
don’t
I
tell
rarely
him the whole time, and
pretty close to
James Roosevelt claimed the suggestion “whose name
with his
it
come back here
have the opportunity to express their views.
whom
the
to tell
me
When
the indi-
vidual supposedly returned without locating any Japanese, Carlson asked, “Is
there anyone else
who
we ought
thinks
to surrender?
When
no one
did, the
matter was settled. Roosevelt explained that Carlson resorted to his long-standing belief in a
democratically run outfit whenever possible, even on the sands of Makin.
“Carlson never suggested that
we
surrender," stated Roosevelt.
an entirely different person. But Carlson handled
which was not ever
to overrun
—
anybody
give
He was pretty certain that he was render. And the idea was thrown away.’” 40
views.
Then
there
the beach
is
Blankfort’s
it
them
came from
way he believed
in
the
a
chance
right, that
"It
in,
to express their
no one wanted
to sur-
1947 version, which has Carlson walking along
when he overheard
a
group of Raiders heatedly arguing.
When
one man mentioned surrendering. Platoon Sergeant Maghakian bellowed, “Shut up!” T
he Raider, obviously frightened, countered that the submarines had
abandoned the Raiders miles from help, the
to their fate
men
ought
to
and that since they stood thousands of
consider surrendering.
"Shut up!" Maghakian said again.
When
the Raider shouted that he was going to find Carlson and convey
his thoughts,
Maghakian slapped him.
said the irate sergeant.
“I
told
you
to shut up.
I
warned you,"
Another man vowed that he would never surrender,
to
It
Will
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
which Maghakian added, "And don’t either.”
worry. Carlson
137
and Roosevelt
aren’t
41
“The Spiritual Low Point” It
appears certain that Carlson,
As commander he had
issue.
ling reasons
inflicted
made
minimum, contemplated
at a
a duty to
examine every
capitulation a viable,
if
may have brought
killed
nor
charge, Carlson
enemy had
fight left.
armed
Raiders. Should they
assumed he would
later face a
A daylight evacuation
to the
he could hope
and a return
to avoid
to reach the
to Pearl Harbor,
exposed his
day, but this
or,
for a
in
the next day or two.
first
risk.
worse, being trapped on
to
remain
being caught on the surface.
would thus not be to
The same
day would return, most
submarines, the Raiders' sole
men
dawn
repulse that
numbers, on day two. The submarines would have
underwater throughout the day
forces
a responsible
somehow
submarines carried too great a
had harassed them that
aircraft that
As
more potent attack by the
Japanese reinforcements certain to pour into Makin
likely in larger
The seaplane
survived.
assume the Japanese would he preparing
to
attack against his meagerly
second
men had
additional reinforcements, and the eleven p.m. skirmish
commander, he had
safety
and compel-
His
distasteful, option.
how many Japanese
with the Japanese patrol indicated the
earliest
eventuality,
heavy casualties on the Japanese throughout the day, hut he neither
knew how many they
Japanese
the surrender
until after
The
lifeline to
dark of the
piecemeal attacks by Japanese land
Makin by Japanese surface
vessels inter-
dicting their path to the submarines. If
Carlson,
who Captain Coyte claimed was
from the island, concluded that additional fighting
extricate the Raiders
would only
result in
more
casualties,
able. Lieutenant Griffith thinks
rendering. "He had the
he couldn’t
fight. All
far
from alone.
Kenneth
J.
Tommy gun
"I
it
is
he may have seen the step as reasonpossible that Carlson considered sur-
wounded, and there was no place
the
Carlson must have
was
disturbed over his inability to
weapons were
felt as if
had only
gone.'
to go.
He
42
he stared into a bottomless chasm.
a knife
realized
If so,
and one hand grenade,” explained
Seaton of B Company. “Someone else had a
rifle
he
Pfc.
and another
but most were cold, wet, exhausted and weaponless.
Seaton
added, ‘“We were miserable and scared. There were no personal heroics, just
an effort to hang on until the next day.
We wondered
if
we would be captured
AMERICAN COMMANDO
138
or killed by the expected Jap reinforcements." Sergeant
went through
the Raiders
and
that they
that night.”
in the
absolute depths of despair on the beach
43
Though Carlson joked with some boys.
1
told
you
He
"The situation
The
He
gazed about him,
and the
fact that
or
didn’t
I
his surface
warn you,
calm masked
in his report.
was extremely
new day without weapons
agony. “Rain
44
grave,” he reported to
at the
hope of
most of the
120 wet, shivering
aid,
Admiral
and stripped us of our
battle in the water “had disorganized us
fighting power.”
faced a
men, “Don’t say
in the Raiders,
much
stated as
at this point
of the
”
would be tough
it
a turbulent interior.
Nimitz.
that
of emotions and experiences
a “roller coaster ride
“bottomed out
Stidham stated
men who
and empathized with
men had
their
even stripped themselves
of their clothes in the surf added to the general misery. This
was the
spiritual
low point of the expedition.” 43
Of
course, there
was
thousand-pound
also the matter of the
room, the issue everyone knew existed but hoped
Jimmy
of
least
Roosevelt. Carlson had pledged to his
by implication,
to look out for his son.
to avoid
gorilla in the
— the presence
commander
in chief, at
Carlson had checked on his ex-
ecutive officer during the day, and had even inspected the beach area that night, after the boats returned, to verify that Roosevelt
treacheries of the surf. dent’s son.
He was
visibly relieved
had
when he
safely
escaped the
located the presi-
46
"He implied
that he felt personally responsible for the safety
and well
being of the President’s son,” Peatross wrote of Carlson, “and indicated that
he
felt
the death of
and was ready
to
Jimmy Roosevelt might
seriously
effort
go to any extreme to save him." 4
Carlson and his officers conferred about what
two alternatives
hamper the war
to safely leaving
Makin were
to
do with Roosevelt. The
Roosevelt’s death or capture.
Capitulation might avoid Roosevelt’s death, but in captivity he was certain to
he used as a propaganda straints for the
world to see. “James’s
anyone’s," said his widow, it
ploy, possibly
would have been
Maty
Carlson knew Roosevelt enough
sevelt off the island alive.
was probably more
in
in re-
danger than
Roosevelt. "If the Japanese had captured him,
a real problem.’’
spurn a surrender simply
life
being paraded about Tokyo
to save his
48
to realize that his executive officer
own
life.
They somehow had
would
to get
Roo-
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
Will
It
139
“Carlson Would Never Have Surrendered” Then
there
private
the issue of the surrender note.
is
who helped
Most
Raiders, including the
deliver a surrender note to a Japanese soldier, accept the
version written by Lieutenant Peatross in his 1995 hook. According to that
account, around three thirty a.m. of the second day Captain Coyte and Pvt.
William McCall, both unarmed and acting supposedly on Carlson’s orders, the beach to find a Japanese officer to
left
When
Coyte located
a
they might surrender.
Japanese soldier inside a native hut, he composed
commanding
the document. Addressed to the
Dear
whom
officer,
the letter read:
Sir:
am a member of the American forces now on Makin. We have suffered severe casualties and wish to make an
I
end of the
bloodshed and bombings.
We wish
to
surrender according to the rules of military law and be
We would
treated as prisoners of war.
our dead and
also like to bury
care for our wounded.
There are approximately 60 of us
left.
We
have
all
voted
to sur-
render.
would
I
like to see
you personally as soon
as possible to prevent
future bloodshed and bombing.
The
signature on the note
Coyte
told the
enemy
is
strangely illegible.
soldier he
and McCall would wait
to return with a response. Shortly after the
brought Coyte outside.
who
a pistol,
men had
Two
Japanese soldier
the hut for left,
a
him
gunshot
Raiders approached from the road, one armed with
explained that they had just shot an
killed the
at
enemy
Assuming the
soldier.
messenger, Coyte returned to the beach and told Carlson
49 he had been unsuccessful. That supposedly ended the matter with the note.
Private
and
told
them
McCall
me
to
a note,"
who wrote
it,
later
accompany Coyte and look he stated after the war.
hut Coyte had
go with Coyte. As far as curate.”
50
endorsed the above-stated version. “Carlson came
I
it.
I
don’t
"I
for
some
live
Jap soldiers and give
did not read the note.
know
if it
was signed.
1
don’t
My job
know
was
to
know, Peatross’s account of the surrender was ac-
McCall declined
would somehow disappear.
to
comment
further, as
if
wishing the entire matter
AMERICAN COMMANDO
140
Questions surround the incident. The unusual note contains information
one would assume would not be found
document. Why,
a
for in-
later
and sent
mous Tokyo mained
Tokyo
to
for use in
propaganda broadcasts by the
Why
Rose, impossible to discern?
silent
on the
even many years
issue,
Why
which Japanese reinforcements supposedly
the signature on the note,
found
such
would the writer divulge how many Raiders remained on Makin?
stance, is
in
have so
Why
later?
many
infa-
Raiders re-
McCall
did Private
agree with Peatross’s version, then lapse into silence on the issue?
Raiders
cannot agree on what happened. As with the entire surrender
still
controversy, one group accepts Peatross’s version, another rejects
group remains
largest
silent.
“The word started around here that we would surrender [and] this didn’t set so very good with anyone," PI. Sgt.
He
his diary after the raid.
who
highly respected officer
Quirk explained
yielding,
“I
think
it’s
in
My
What
guess
is
Mel Spotts wrote
our attempts
at getting off."’*
in
He
1
stated that Peatross, a
retired a general, relating the issue lends
2007
that while he
are you going to do, say, Hell,
we
re
cred-
because he was a very
it
He
to figure his position.
there were very few guys
it
found unpalatable the idea of
possible Carlson considered
compassionate man. You got ons.
lost in
Quirk agreed with Spotts.
Private First Class
morning
in the
added, however, that "there appeared no choice.
Most of the weapons had been
ibility.
while the
it,
any weap-
didn’t have
who had weapons.
lost
I
mine.
going to fight the sons-of-bitches
with our hands!’? No. You don’t have an alternative. Are you going to bite
them? What was he going Quirk admitted he had "I
never saw
to
alternative."
difficulty accepting the issue earlier in his career,
as clearly as
it
do without weapons? He had no
I
hut
do now.”- 2
Another faction argues as fervently on the other
side.
“That wouldn’t have
happened," states Sergeant McCullough of the surrender note. “Roosevelt
was
still
on the
do something dent’s son Pvt. that.
was
island.
to jeopardize Roosevelt.
he would,
As
either. I
Why
till
he was dead before he’d
would he surrender ”
w^as
nervous about
far as
I
it,
hut
I
think the surrender idea
would never think of
fighting, not surrender.
I
came from some one I
didn’t think
was going
said he
don’t think Carlson w'ould ever have surrendered. ”
the presi-
53
wouldn’t surrender.
was concerned, he
if
it.
agrees, claiming, “No, Carlson
of the guys thought of
for us to get off. 1
He
right there?
Dean Voight
Some
Carlson would have fought
to stay
and
person, but
w^as ready to go dowrn
S4
Years after the event
Mary Roosevelt expressed her husband’s
belief. "I
It
think
Will
Jim was
if
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
where
sitting
am
I
141
talking to you," she told the author in
2007, "he would say Carlson would never have surrendered. Despite the contrary reminiscences and opinions, thing occurred that
ganda
tool of the
was the
he surrendered, the president’s son became
If
enemy.
If
a propa-
Carlson and the Raiders fought to the death, he
who, despite written assurances
officer
obvious that some-
is
night at Makin. Carlson’s biggest quandary rested
first
with James Roosevelt.
it
S5
to the president,
had
lost
the
president’s son.
The
latter alternative
would seem more
death, in which James Roosevelt
became
home
palatable with people back
a casualty,
him
enemy hands
to fall into
Removing Roosevelt would
last-ditch fight to the
would have been more
than a surrender. The American public
could have accepted, even found noble, the death son, hut allowing
A
logical.
in battle
alive
was
of a president’s
a different matter.
resolve the dilemma.
“Everybody’s Been Having a Helluva Time” The men spent himself badly
men
a
miserable night on Makin. Lieutenant Le Francois,
fitful,
wounded and
in
need of medical assistance, described the
near him as “the most disheartened, forlorn, bloody, ragged, disarmed
group of
men
it
had ever been
my experience ”’
low,
and despair frayed
around
their spirits.
Miller’s bottle of
>6
to look
upon. Their heads hung
Platoon Sergeant Maghakian passed
aged whiskey to wounded
men
so they could dull
their pain.
Aboard the Nautilus, Lieutenant Peatross asked Commodore Haines permission to lead ten
men
ashore to aid the Raiders
at
for
the beach. Haines
turned him down, stating that the best course was to wait until daylight and assess the situation.
“For remainder of night maneuvered to remain as close to the beach as possible within a mile," stated the Nautilus’s
received on hoard indicated that
experienced great difficulty considering surrender.
all
in riding
optimism.
Marines
boats had apparently tried to leave hut
over the surf and that the Colonel was
sleep back at the beach.
and huddled near brush one hundred should they
Diary. “Stories of
s
Few men enjoyed any daylight,
War
last
until
feet
They gathered
in clusters
from the water and hoped that
then, would
somehow
bring
newfound
AMERICAN COMMANDO
142
As dawn approached Carlson announced
Makin
that day with the
men
take his
however, that any
morning had
wounded, move across the
submarines
to the
man who
in native outrigger
felt
his permission to
A
canoes
added,
strong enough to challenge the surf that
make another
attempt. Groups of Raiders surf.
Among
was Jimmy Roosevelt.
to leave,
activity,
submarine by moving dangerously close
to risk his
He
at night.
mile offshore observers on the Nautilus spotted the
Brockman
and
island to the lagoon,
coalesced along the beach, grabbed a rubber boat, and braved the
them, following Carlson’s order
on
that he intended to remain
prompting
to the reef to
shorten the distance. To avoid being trapped in shallow waters by a Japanese air attack,
Brockman backed the Nautilus toward the
reef so the submarine
pointed toward open sea and deeper depths.
Taking advantage of a benevolent Nautilus
at 7:19,
the seven see or
men
the
surf,
first
Raider boat arrived
at the
followed eighteen minutes later by a second boat carrying
in Private
Carson’s boat. Lieutenant Peatross,
make contact with Carlson
who had
main force of Raiders since
or the
yet to
early the
previous morning, raced over to one of the occupants of the newly arrived boats, Sgt. Frank
Lawson, and asked
J.
for
an update of events onshore.
“Sergeant Lawson, what’s going on back there?” Peatross asked. "Lieutenant, everybody’s been having a helluva time getting off the beach,
and when we
left
the Colonel was getting ready to surrender.”
Peatross replied incredulously,
Lawson explained ons and
little
and that
"What
are you talking about? Surrender?”
that the exhausted Raiders ashore possessed
ammunition.
He
few weap-
said that Carlson worried about his
wounded
might be the only humane course of action.
a surrender
Lawson then expressed
his
concern about Roosevelt and pointedly asked
Peatross the question that had concerned Carlson before leaving Pearl Harbor. “If Roosevelt’s first
death would be so bad,
place? Besides, wouldn’t
be better
it
why
in hell’s
he on the raid
for the President’s
in
the
son to be killed
than captured and used for propaganda?” Peatross relayed this information to
Brockman, and recommended that they
Commodore Haines and Captain try to
send a rescue party ashore.
“Peat, that crusty old boss of yours isn’t going to surrender; he’s just too
tough for that,” Haines emphasized. "But help, so here’s
He
what
I
want you
told Peatross to
message
do believe he could use some
to do.”
choose
would take one of the boats
I
five volunteers,
that just arrived
strong
and return
to Carlson. Peatross briefed the volunteers
—
swimmers
all,
who
to shore to relay a
Sgt.
Robert
V. Allard,
It
Sgt. Dallas Pvt.
John
I.
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
Will
H. Cook, Pfc. Richard N. Olbert, Kerns,
all
Company
from B
would return
at
7:30 p.m. for the
final
if
are going to stay here until
we have
to,
we
ll
and
Carlson
to tell
to avoid air attacks, but
evacuation. Peatross then relayed
come we get
Haines’s words, a stirring promise to
“We
R. Robertson,
—and instructed them
submarines would submerge during the day
that the
and,
Donald
Pvt.
143
to the aid of the
Marines.
every living Raider off that island
send every able-bodied
man
ashore, sailors in-
cluded.” 58
The volunteers
the Nautilus at seven
left
just outside the reef,
where they shot
comrades depart. One then swam
in to
While the volunteers risked the waters rubber boats,
filled
a line
forty.
They paddled
shoreward
to a point
to help their tired
convey Haines’s message
to Carlson.
to help the Raiders ashore,
two other
with fatigued men, bounced through the surf toward the
One carried a reluctant James Roosevelt, ordered off the island by who wanted his executive officer aboard a submarine while he re-
Argonaut. Carlson,
mained on Makin sevelt’s objections,
down
in
until the last
and
later
Raider was safely
off.
Carlson cut short Roo-
wrote President Roosevelt,
had
“I
to lay the
order to get him to go back to the sub so as to assure that
at least
law
one
”'
of us would be in position to carry on with the battalion.
Raiders in Roosevelt’s boat not only side as the
filled
waves tossed them from side
fully battled the surf only a
>9
the inside hut clung to the boat’s
to side. Roosevelt,
handful of hours
earlier,
who unsuccess-
now found
himself again
drenched by more waves. Watching from shore, Lieutenant Le Francois held his breath as the boat carrying Roosevelt
and Lamb tipped over and tossed
occupants into the water, nearly drowning
Lamb
in the process.
its
The men
returned to shallower water, uprighted the craft, and embarked on their sec-
ond attempt minus Lieutenant Lamb, who concluded were better ashore with Carlson than
his
chances
in Roosevelt’s tiny boat.
for survival
Lamb
helped
shove the boat toward deeper water, waved good-bye to Roosevelt, then
lowed the group’s progress as
it
headed toward the breakers.
Roosevelt battled surf and sea creatures.
Sergeant Stidham compared
in size to a
An enormous manta
ray,
anyone uttering
beside Roosevelt, “but dles picked
up
a single word, I
which
barn door, flipped out of the water
two or three times not more than twenty yards from the occupants. recall
fol-
"I
don’t
recalled Stidham, sitting in the boat
couldn’t help but notice that the rhythm of the pad-
a beat or two.
60
AMERICAN COMMANDO
144 Stidham
man he knew
also noticed that Roosevelt, a
combat due
to his
could have avoided
poor physical condition, paddled with the best of them to
help his group smash beyond the breakers and reach open sea. "He was just a good egg,”
Stidham
said of the president’s son.
was 4F material with bad complained.
He
pitched right ”
back
to the sub.
According water
eyes,
to
in
bad
feet,
and
and pulled
a
his
"He was
a first-class guy.
He
bad stomach, but he never
own
weight, helping to get us
61
another occupant with Roosevelt, Private First Class Bauml,
the boat to the gunwales, adding weight to the craft and slowing
filled
The men
the Raiders progress.
strained against the extra burden but, assisted
by good fortune and their own extraordinary a.m. alongside the Argonaut only ,
moments
efforts, finally arrived at eight
before Japanese aircraft appeared
overhead.
Crew members
scurried on deck to assist Roosevelt and the others out of
the boat before the
enemy
planes targeted the submarine.
harder and harder," said Bauml, “and then shout, ’Hey, Marine, get your ass up here! I
was holding the boat next
pull away.
The sub was
could see
it
in
to the
conning tower and
just
I
in
was getting
the conning tower
was the only guy
down because
jumped on
left in
front,
a plane
was
the boat.
starting to
was coming.
1
the sub and got to the top of the
dove down. You could see the red flashes of the plane’s ”
machine guns
I
heard guys
sub and the prow, the
starting to go
the distance.
1
“It
as the sub
went down.
62
By the slimmest of margins Roosevelt and the men with him escaped harm. The Argonaut slipped beneath the surface as explosions rocked the surface.
Another
fifty
Raiders had reached the submarines, leaving Carlson
on the island with seventy Raiders.
Luck did not
men
favor the five volunteers, though. In
coming
to the aid of the
ashore, they exposed themselves to danger in the open waters between
the beach and the submarine two hundred yards away. arrived, the five
skipper, Lt.
were caught defenseless. Roosevelt asked the Argonaut's
Comdr.
J.
R. Pierce, to
remain on the surface
drawn alongside, but Pierce could not place the that of his crew, the Raiders aboard, ident’s son.
“We went
saw the men from The
five
When enemy aircraft
under,
and
until the boat
fates of five
his boat, to say
Marines over
nothing of the pres-
Roosevelt recalled after the war. "And
that raft again.
had
we
never
63
Raiders in Sergeant Allard’s group disappeared amidst a shower
It
Will
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
of enemy bullets. Sergeant
McCullough observed the
145
struggle from shore
and
waited without success to see his friends again appear on the surface.
Lieutenant Le Francois watched the aircraft race across from the lagoon side,
swoop low
bomb
as they neared their targets, then strafe the helpless
men and
An explosion engulfed the Argonaut as she dove for men onshore think the submarine had been hit. "Poor
the submarine.
safety,
making the
gobs,'
muttered a Raider near Le Francois. "There goes our transportation
too .”
64
The
tired
men
faced the grim prospect that their sole ticket home, the
submarines, had been destroyed.
bomb exploded upon impact with the water and caused little damage to the Argonaut. Had the missile been a depth bomb instead, Roosevelt and more than one hundred men would have wound up at the bottom of the ocean. Fortunately, the Japanese antipersonnel
While the Nimitz
later
air
attack missed the two submarines,
described as the “piecemeal evacuation .” 65
mained under the surface figure out
how
ended what Admiral
The submarines
for the rest of the day, leaving
to extricate his
men from
felt
re-
Carlson on land to
a tricky predicament.
thousand miles away from America and Winters.
it
"I
was over two
helpless ,” 66 stated Pvt.
Dean
7
A Poor
Fit
with the
Map
“A Child’s Version of Pirates” \
The previous twenty-four hours had seen
little
but hardship, unexpected de-
velopments, and tenuous leadership from Carlson, but the dawn of day two brought startling changes. Coyte and McCall had reported seeing few Japanese soldiers about the island, leading Carlson to wonder enty
men
if
he and his sev-
might, instead, actually hold the advantage rather than facing a
superior enemy. Revitalized by both the
news and
Carlson issued a series of orders to energize his
on schedule. might, after
It
appeared that while waiting
all,
a
new
men and
day, to
an invigorated
put the raid hack
for evacuation later in the
successfully complete the missions assigned
him
in
day he the op-
erations plan.
According
to Sergeant
McCullough,
a
more assured Carlson gathered
Raiders in an impromptu gung ho meeting and informed tions.
He
them of
his
his inten-
explained that they would cross the island and relocate near Gov-
ernment House, closer
to possible food
and water supplies, that he was
sending patrols to both ends of the island to determine the exact nature of their opposition,
dark,
when
rendezvous
and that they would wait on Makin throughout the day
until
the submarines could once again surface and he could arrange a to leave via the lagoon side.
Carlson wanted to replace the demoralizing night and talk of surrender with aggressive, optimistic actions and thoughts. According to Private
146
Mc-
A Poor
with the
Fit
Map 147
Call, with the arrival of daylight Carlson asked
him
to refrain
from mention-
ing that they had considered surrendering.
"By a
few
He
time
this
had learned that the enemy force ashore consisted of only
I
men who were
widely scattered,” Carlson wrote 1
in his action report.
sent patrols out to confirm the information, then led his Raiders to the
Emboldened by
lagoon side.
new enthusiasm swept Government House, dug in at new posi-
their leader’s optimism, a
who crossed to tions, and waited for new orders. Once at his new location, Carlson through the Raiders,
which was
took steps to complete his mission,
Japanese installations and materiel and
to destroy
formation of value. Raiders, acting more trip,
On
destroyed the radio station near
rels of aviation gasoline,
the enemy.
and anything
like
Boy Scouts on
body
canned meats,
the Japanese commandant’s office,
identified as Sergeant
fish,
and biscuits
found blue and pink men’s
silk
camping
else they thought might be useful to
Some rummaged through a
a
Chong’s Wharf, a thousand bar-
where they seized documents and charts and removed watch from
to obtain in-
a pistol
and
wrist-
Major Kanemitsu. Others collected
where they
at the trading station,
also
underwear. Within minutes, a handful of
hardened Raiders donned the undergarments, producing such a spectacle that
Le Francois
gang of
pirates.
said,
"They looked
like a child’s
picture-book version of a
2
Islanders greeted the Raiders with shells filled with juice. a proffered drink, “but
"I it
don’t
welcome drinks
know what
it
of water and coconut
Dean Winters
was,’’ said Pvt.
tasted pretty good.
It
lit
me
up.
hadn’t eaten or
1
drank anything since we were on the sub."' Private McCall walked over the
wounded Lieutenant Le Francois and handed him
of
a bottle of
to
Japanese
beer he had taken from a pantry.
Another islander gave A Company’s Capt. James Davis
a
sarong to replace
the pants he had lost to the surf, while other Raiders scoured buildings and
rooms
for souvenirs.
cois. “In years,
souvenirs.
4
if
“Many
men were
trophy happy,’ stated Le Fran-
not in experience, they were boys and, like
Compared
with a zest that
of our
came
to the previous day, the Raiders
straight
While the men executed one’s fighting to collect
thirty
hoys,
wanted
hounded about Makin
from their commander. their orders, Carlson visited the
weapons and
to
determine the number
and the men with him counted eighty-three enemy dead and another
all
along the lagoon road.
Combined with
at
scene of day ol killed.
He
the battlefield,
the supposed Japa-
148 nese killed
when
AMERICAN COMMANDO
the Raiders destroyed the two Japanese aircraft, estimates
ranged from 100 to
1
50
killed.
Carlson noticed that some Japanese
when Raider
refuge behind palm trees appeared to have died
machine-gun
who
took
.50-caliber
wood. At the same
bullets pierced directly through the soft
time, Carlson discovered the bodies of fourteen Raiders, eleven on the battlefield
and another three who had been with Lieutenant Peatross.
During the day Raiders hunted down and
Though
killed
two enemy snipers.
Carlson’s orders called for seizing a prisoner, few took
his report,
Carlson shrugged off the lack of prisoners with, "We wanted to
we
take prisoners, but
1
couldn’t find any.”"
aircraft
bombed
They focused
their ef-
As expected, between 9:20 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Japanese and strafed Makin four separate times on August forts
on the lagoon
The
final
side,
Japanese
“Buddies
where the Raiders dug
in
18.
and waited out the
We Never Expected
to
See Again”
and counting the dead, Carlson started prepa-
rations for evacuating his force. If the surf prevented
submarines on
this
him from reaching the
second night, Carlson knew that he and
most probably be stranded on the
reinforcements certain to soon
his
men would
island, staring at a fate that offered, at best,
incarceration in a Japanese prison
risk
attacks.
without harming any of Carlson’s men.
aircraft left
In the midst of gathering food
Makin and
seriously. In
it
camp
for the war’s duration.
arrive, neither
being destroyed, especially
Nimitz had precious few ships with which
to
With enemy
submarine could wait around
at this stage of
the war,
when
check the Japanese.
Carlson chose the lagoon side as his best chance to extricate his force. Natives had assured Carlson the surf was gentler there than on the ocean side
and that the Japanese had not emplaced any
large
guns
at
the lagoon
entrance.
Carlson again dispatched patrols to make sure at
the lagoon.
Though
every'
Marine had gathered
the patrols reported that everyone was accounted
for,
Carlson had no way of knowing for certain. The previous day’s intermingling of companies, and the fact that part of the force had already reached the
submarines, made an accurate count impossible. In
exchange
for
some weapons, ammunition, and $50, Carlson arranged
with the island’s chief of police, Joseph Miller, and his brother William to have the dead Raiders (now eighteen, up from fourteen) buried. Before leav-
A Poor
Fit
with the
Map 149
Carlson personally turned each deceased Raider on his hack and said a
ing,
prayer over the man.
Carlson sent Lieutenant
Lamb and two
men Lamb
other
sloop anchored off Stone Pier. Gunfire greeted
He
sloop in a rowboat.
to inspect a forty-foot
as he
approached the
pulled alongside, tossed a grenade through a porthole,
then boarded the boat and killed a Japanese
soldier.
A quick inspection
found
the shabby sloop taking on water, meaning Carlson would have to turn to his
other alternative
Out
— rubber boats supplemented with two
Raiders ride back to Hawaii surfaced at 6:10 p.m. and
at sea, the
headed toward the scheduled rendezvous point submarines arrived
at
where they awaited
a signal
In the
in
off the
ocean beaches. The
seven thirty about three-quarters of a mile offshore,
from Carlson.
absence of working radios, Sergeant McCullough provided com-
munication with a tion,
native outriggers.
McCullough
flashlight.
Climbing
palm
a
tree to gain sufficient eleva-
flashed out a signal informing Haines of Carlson’s change
plans and asking the submarines to meet at Flink Point at the lagoon’s
south entrance
at
eleven p.m.
Carlson started the evacuation
when
at six,
the Raiders dragged the four
remaining rubber boats across the island to the lagoon side and strapped
them
together, with a native outrigger attached at either end.
working motors Gotten
—
—brought back
to life
to the outer rubber boat at
ers with paddles
by the mechanical
each
of Captain Coyte
ers started into the water.
Men
rigger.
and Lieutenant Lamb, the Raid-
gently lifted the
cross seats of the rubber boats, then
of Corporal
skills
and posted the strongest Raid-
side,
on the outside of each native
Under the supervision
They placed two
hopped
into
wounded onto one of the
six
the center
sections and
prepared to head out.
Once
the Raiders had assembled, everyone held their breath while Gotten
and another Marine
tried to start the
gasped, then kicked to vessel, looking ter
much
life
like
in a
two motors. The engines coughed and
welcome
roar.
At eight
thirty the
makeshift
one fashioned by castaways, plunged into the wa-
and veered toward Flink Point and, hopefully,
a
rendezvous with the sub-
marines. Progress matched the previous night’s agonizingly slow pace.
motors needed
to
be refueled
consuming procedure
in
when
it
somehow
kept the boats,
being propelled by one motor, on proper course by aligning the “It
of the
sputtered out of gas, a tricky and time-
the waves. Carlson
bright star along the horizon.
One
seemed we would never
raft
now
with a
get past the point
150 and
into the
AMERICAN COMMANDO
open sea where the subs were
waiting,’’
6
Sergeant McCullough
recalled in 2007.
According
boat on the far right side complained that the
asked Carlson
if
chance
if
moved
at first,
in the
rubber
They
too slowly.
make
back
it
thinking the
to the
men had
a
they remained with the main group, but granted permission
a short time later
men
raft
they could cut loose and attempt to
submarines on their own. Carlson declined better
men
Sergeant McCullough, the eight to ten
to
when
the improvised vessel had
made
progress.
little
The
cut loose and drifted away, but were never seen again.
It
was not
trance.
A
until after ten p.m. that they finally arrived at the lagoon en-
recognition signal from the submarines in the distance caused the
Raiders to slap one another on the back, but they
still
had two miles
to
churn
through the waves, two miles that Lieutenant Le Francois described as
He added
“packed with terror and fraught with agony.’
that the raft “pitched
and tossed, and the rubber boats groaned as they beat and tore against one another. Lines snapped and were replaced.
wrong
direction,
The
current twisted us in the
and the oarsmen strained and pulled us back on the
right
course again.”
The submarines, bobbing up and down vironment. "Can you imagine being seas, in the black of night,
signal
was
in a
in the dark,
blended into the en-
rubber boat, with
and you’re two miles away and
a flashlight?” asked Corporal
cating the submarine weren’t good.
Cotten
in
five- to six-foot all
you’ve got to
2008. "The chances of
The conning tower
rose only fifteen to ”
twenty feet up, and them trying
The Raiders found
to locate a pinprick light
their submarine, though.
lo-
was
small.
8
As they neared the Nautilus,
searchlights illuminated the scene and forced the Raiders to shield their eyes. Finally, at first
1
1:08,
Carlson and his tired
men
pulled alongside. Submariners
helped the wounded aboard, then offered a hand to the other relieved
Raiders.
Sergeant Stidham and Lieutenant Peatross waited with other Raiders
had
left
the
first
night to greet “buddies
we never expected
Peatross could hardly believe the spectacle that walked by Raiders,
now
him
who
to see again.”
as
9
once proud
haggard, arrived.
"Never before or since have
I
seen such a motley looking group of humans
or such an outlandish looking craft as that
which came alongside the Nautilus
who came out the watched Carlson come aboard, first night would have looked healthy. As was astounded at the change in his appearance. He had always been somethat night,” Peatross wrote. "In comparison, the Raiders I
I
A Poor what
lanky, but
now he was gaunt
had passed since
I
with the
Fit
—
a
151
walking skeleton. In the 43 hours that
put him aboard the
beach, he seemed to have aged
Map
at least
Company A
boat for the trip to the
10 10 years.”
Carlson and the other officers embarked upon a head count if
every Raider was accounted
was
all
for,
determine
but as was true on land, an accurate count
Men from A Company mingled with
but impossible.
to
their
B Company
men had
companions, and no one on the Nautilus could determine which safely arrived aboard the Argonaut.
Peatross
felt
better
when
make
corner of Makin to
the Raiders told
patrolled every
sure every living Raider reached the lagoon that
“hence there was no reason
night,
him they had
to think that
anyone had been
left
ashore."
Peatross added that had there been any doubt about Raiders being on the island,
Commodore Haines would
never have reneged on his
vow
to stay until
every Raider was back on board. “Later, after interviewing nearly
all
of the
my best estimate was that the only men unacmen in the rescue party, and we had good reason to
Raiders aboard the Nautilus,
counted
for
were the
five
believe that they had been killed.”
11
Sergeant McCullough explained that once they arrived
he figured the eight it
to the
to ten
men who had headed
command had been
own had made
was
all
surviving personnel of his
evacuated from the island.” 12 Since the submarines had
maintain radio silence for the
certain
out on their
the Nautilus,
Argonaut. Carlson agreed with both Peatross and McCullough, and
reported to Haines that “he was satisfied that
to
at
trip
back, the only
way they would know
to wait until they pulled into Pearl Harbor,
for
where an accurate
muster could be taken.
“And Once
It
Was
for
Us”
every Raider was back aboard a submarine, crew
rubber boats and punctured holes
in
members
slashed the
the native outriggers to send
them
to
the bottom. At 11:53 p.m. the Nautilus and Argonaut set course for Hawaii,
while Raiders
made themselves
that suddenly did not
seem
as
as comfortable as possible in the confines
cramped
or inconvenient as they had
seemed
on the way out.
Some of the men needed time to calm down from the two-day ordeal. A crew member offered Corporal Cotten a cup of coffee, which he had to grab with both hands because he shook so severely. "I think just let down after I
I
AMERICAN COMMANDO
152
submarine and
got into the security of the
the security of the people,
felt
the weapons," Cotten recalled. “You’re living on adrenaline so long,
both hands to get that cup up to
were hungry.
I
my mouth. We had
found a secluded corner,
knees, said a prayer. to the last part,
I
One
of
my
favorites
sat
took
it
only eaten rations, so
we
down, put my head between my
— the 23rd Psalm. By the time
probably dozed off or something.
got
1
had good intentions,
I
anyway.” 13
The
next day, while Dr.
straight hours, other Raiders discussed the positives
Most concluded not
all,
it
had been
men
for twelve
and negatives
of the raid.
MacCracken operated on
While aboard the submarine,
if
Ben Carson supposedly overheard
a
much
Pvt.
had been able
most,
a success as they
of the garrison, and destroyed
five
to
kill
valuable material.
conversation between Carlson and Captain Coyte during which Carlson told his officer to forget that the surrender note "if
you want
to be a hero
you can’t
was
written. Carlson
talk surrender."
When
added
the pair noticed
Carson and another Marine nearby, Carlson ordered Carson
to leave, hut
before the private was out of range he heard Carlson mutter to Coyte,
you think he heard what we were talking about? feeling they didn’t
want us
to hear
what they
Carson
said.’’
14
that
stated,
Private
"I
“Do
got the
McCall
also
stated that Carlson preferred to keep the surrender issue under wraps.
The
implication
is
that Carlson intended to eradicate
mention of the
sur-
render issue. Carson has no one to corroborate his story and McCall, currently in poor health in a nursing issue, forcing historians to rely
home, declines
on
his
agreement between Carlson, Coyte, and us about the surrender note.
out
—what’s done and
needs straightening.
said
is
1
to
comment
further on the
1999 statement, ‘There was I
that nothing
more be
do not have anything that
I’d like
said
a tacit
between
to straighten
over with. Carlson and Coyte are dead. Nothing
IS
What occurred among
those four individuals remains unclear. That a
pri-
vate might accidentally overhear a conversation between a colonel and a captain
about hiding details of such a controversial subject
is
suspect, hut one
cannot completely discount Carson’s claim. The researcher must find an an-
swer elsewhere, an answer Colonel Carlson himself provided when he
re-
turned to Pearl Harbor.
After traveling another 2,029 miles, on August 25 the Nautilus pulled into Pearl Harbor,
one day ahead of the slower Argonaut. As they passed each ves-
A Poor sel in port,
Fit
with the
Map 153 “From the Halls of
ships bands played “Anchors Aweigh" and
Montezuma" while other
some
military units, including
from the Raider Battalion, stood
Raiders collected on the deck
at attention.
to witness the astonishing turnout. "All of a
of their brethren
sudden
were playing and the people were cheering, and
it
I
bands
realized that the
was
for us,"
16
said
Jimmy
Roosevelt. Dr.
Stephen
between the spit-and-polish
Stigler noticed the contrast
men
Marines ashore and the
dressed to be saluted or salute hack because most had
w hen
the surf was so heavy.
Most
memory really
we were
of the war.
deck.
a pretty ragtag bunch.”
felt
outfit, jet black, all at
we were
all
it,
I
He
still
folks loaned us
added,
so
humble
1
was
“It
us;
it
some
my most vivid
felt like
we had
'
Cotten’s cheeks as he stood on the Nautiin
my
life.
topside lined up.
We were all on deck,
We came down
raggy, black
Row and
Battleship
out there, and here’s the battleships, heavy cruisers, destroyers,
support tenders half mast.
our clothes
was so moved they were cheering
down Corporal
never
"I
lost a lot of
of us had to divest ourselves of our clothing
done something meaningful and good.”
Tears coursed lus's
1
not exactly
and swim. The Navy
just to handle the heavy surf
clothes, but
“We were
returning from action.
I’ll
—everyone was out
tell
you, you had a
get heavy mist.”
in dress
uniform, the flags dropped to
bunch of old men
crying. Today,
if
I
dwell on
18
Disbelieving Raiders stared at the replete with the trappings of office,
many top-ranked
who
officers,
uniforms
turned out for them. Reporters and
photographers captured the occasion for people hack home.
When
Carlson
s
boat pulled up, Nimitz stepped aboard and shook hands.
Carlson handed him Kanemitsu’s sword, which Nimitz promised would be sent to the Naval Academy’s
museum, then attempted
background. Nimitz would have none of
to shrink into the
it.
"They’re waiting to hear from you back in the States,” he remarked to
Carlson. "Makin has
made you and your
Marine aware of the
a veteran
raid’s
Raiders famous.” Sergeant Stidham,
mishaps, received affirmation that their
we dumb-
actions benefited the country. “The realization was slowly sinking in that
had gone from the status of
dumhs
to
heroes."
a
courageous and fortunate bunch of
what Kipling would probably have defined
‘a
bloody bunch
of
19
Nimitz stepped aside as the wounded were carried Carlson and
Commodore Haines
off.
He
then escorted
to his office for a preliminary report.
AMERICAN COMMANDO
154
“We Mourn the Loss The
Each”
of
next day Carlson gathered his Raiders at
Camp
Catlin for two purposes
men the opportunity to discuss the operation, and to honor the comrades who did not return. After listening to the remarks, which mirrored much of what he included in his official report, Carlson delivered an impasto give his
sioned eulogy for their fallen comrades.
Carlson began. “Being
among us, and human, we mourn the
men who
so eagerly, so willingly
“Each had his special place
these gallant
would not have us weep and bemoan comrades of
ours.
They were
that place
loss of each.
went
imperishably
But
forth to
They
their passing.
vital, eager,
is
I
his,’
believe that
meet the enemy loved
life,
these
thoughtful and realistic."
Carlson next addressed the issue of sacrifice and duty. “They had convic-
even to the point of sacrificing their
tions
country of ours
is
to
be saved, the job of saving
the benefits of our institutions. task for them.
They went out
to
Rather than weep over their
would ask them
man
each
They do
to rejoice over the
didn’t ask
it
that
belongs to those
someone
else to
who
if
this
enjoy
perform the
themselves."
it
loss,
They believed
lives.
Carlson believed each deceased Raider
example they
set
and the type of person
was. These men, Carlson reminded the crowd, would always be
with them
in spirit. “Allard,
with his boyish smile; Johnson, with his strange
scowl; Jerry Holtom, with his lumbering stride and eager, half-embarrassed
manner; and the others. You know the characteristics of each as well as
Who will
say that the spirit of
all
these
men we know
I.
so intimately does not
remain with us?" Carlson explained that lacking the
on the
and
1
battlefield.
“I
with the natives. "And Pacific isle,
render
full
honors to the slain
placed each on his back that he might rest more
said a silent prayer over each."
South
ability to
so,
they
lie
He
easily,
then arranged a more proper burial
there today, in the soil of that delightful
beneath the palms under which they
won
their victory."
Carlson ended with a reminder of what their sacrifice meant for the survivors. lies
“It
behooves
ahead.
memorv
The
us,
who
remain, to rededicate ourselves to the task that
convictions of these comrades are our convictions. With the
of their sacrifice in mind,
let
us here dedicate ourselves to the task
of bringing into reality the ideals for which they died
—
that their sacrifice will
20 not have been in vain.”
After Carlson completed the eulogy, a Marine officer from headquarters
A Poor wondered
if
As at
a
Carlson had missed his
reward
calling.
Map 155
He remarked
to
an associate that
“should have been a chaplain." 21
commander
the Raider
with the
Fit
for the Raiders’ exploits, for the next
week
the
Navy posted them
the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, a plush resort normally reserved for submari-
ners.
Superb cuisine, free-flowing alcohol, and the nearby Waikiki Beach
made
for a
memorable
time, a respite that
ended with preparations
for train-
ing camp.
who joined
Platoon Sergeant Maghakian, hospital, first
missed the
man
to visit
festivities,
Lieutenant Miller,
Makin, then shared
and getting along because of
formed
his
she most
swell.
my
mother
likely
if
You know
hand.
had
knew he was all
you don’t hear from
was supposed
I
Which was
that he
in
in the
fully
whiskey
details of the raid.
disappointed that he missed the
still
and Makin appearing on
me
his friend for the
mother about the post-action celebration. “Well
to his
wounded men
but idled his time with Lieutenant Miller, the
Maghakian. Transport thanked
that proved such a help at
me
the other
all
raid, sent a letter
the boys are back
to go but they wouldn’t let
tough break for me."
really a
He
in-
recovered from his injury and told her
Hawaii, what with the reports of the Raiders
the front pages, and asked her not to “worry about
me
for
some
time.”
22
Lieutenant Miller had an inkling the Raider Battalion would soon again
he
in
the mix, thereby providing
him
a
chance
to contribute to the
war
effort.
“We Enjoyed Basking On
in All
the Glory”
August 25, the Marine Corps announced
volved in actions in both the Solomons, where Tulagi, as well as at
Makin. This
first official
that the Raiders initial
elements had landed
at
at
long
last,
hitting the
land as well as at sea, ignited a whirlwind of media coverage and
commentary,
all
highly flattering to the Raiders, to Carlson, and especially to
James Roosevelt. The adulation increased that Carlson
The
in-
mention of the Raiders, com-
bined with the news that the United States was,
enemy on
had been
at
an August 27 press conference
and Roosevelt conducted with the media
release could not have
come
at a better
in
Hawaii.
time for people back home.
AMERICAN COMMANDO
156
The
and a triumph
Doolittle Raid in April
some good news, but people With
his raid at
“The public was
a
May had
in
Solomons, Carlson
in the
huge psychological boost.
them the
bad news,” Carlson
later told a reporter,
news they wanted
sort of
in
one way.
“If
the Japs want a war, I’m for making
I
home
realize that this
for the sake of morale," said
after Pearl
is
was
part of the strategy of
the evidence of the tide turning."-
magazine and the
going to
of
this opera-
citizen in the country." Photogra-
from every esteemed publication, including Time
New York Times,
Raiders were more than obliging,
inundated
Camp
Catlin, eager to obtain a
some
Many
to the point of exaggeration.
consequently was blown completely out of proportion as effort,
down
“We had no concept
morsel of information with which to regale home-front readers.
war
is
so
4
some good war news and
had attracted the attention of every reporters
“We were
to sort of set the tone that the tide
the hunger the American people had for
phers and
winning something
after the war.
Sergeant Stidham noticed the same phenomenon.
tion
so ruthless that
surprised the Raiders. “Not until a long
James Roosevelt
Harbor that we had
turn and here
should
it!
jubilant reaction from
time later did
it
23
they will have no stomach for
The
it
He
to hear."
added that while he detested war, when combat became necessary be fought
brought
awaited a land assault against the enemy.
still
tired of hearing
raids gave
little
Midway
Makin, combined with the action
handed home-front morale
“and our
at
and we unashamedly enjoyed basking
it
"
of the
The raid
related to the total
in all the glory,’-"' stated
Stidham. Publications relayed information provided by the taining to the raid’s accomplishments. tion of radio stations, gasoline,
origins hit
home. “They
the trucks had been
mark of
also
made
and
Navy Department
per-
Time magazine reported the destruc-
trucks,
and the seizure of supplies whose
found many a record of pre-war U.S.
in the U.S., the gasoline
a U.S. refiner, the Jap garrison’s
policy:
containers bore the trade-
corned beef had
a U.S. label
on
the cans.’’ 26
The
press exalted Carlson’s Raiders as the nation’s superheroes. Flowery
phrases depicted them as
men
led by “hard-bitten veterans”
who
"fought,
gangster fashion, for 40 hours,” while a Marine press release stated, “The lads of Carlson’s Marine Raiders can give plenty of hot lead and cold steel to the Japs,
and can
tell
them why while they
are doing
2
it.’
Newspapers and magazines happily reprinted the words tunes supposedly sung by Carlson’s
men
—
to
Raider songs,
"Lustily singing fighting
men
are
A Poor ’
‘Carlson’s Raiders
was
popularity
Fit
— not only
set to the
Map 157
with the
in training
hut before action.
connection
a
“American guerrilla fighters
to the
from pioneer times,’ and warned that the enemy was “sure ”
many
song gaining
tune of the University of Notre Dame’s “Victory
March. Accounts trumpeted
technique
One
times before the Pacific war
Carlson and Roosevelt basked
the
in
is
over.
same
to taste their steel
28
adulation.
One
writer de-
scribed Carlson as a character "almost out of fiction” 29 while others praised
the man’s enthusiasm and originality. Carlson’s gung ho philosophy gained
credence
at
the hands of reporters,
who saw
in the
unusual system a fascinat-
ing counterpart to the ordinary military routine.
One
reporter decided to hold what he uncovered.
The news correspon-
dent Samuel E. Stavisky interviewed some of the wounded Raiders, eager to learn of their stirring exploits. Instead, he listened as the
sion
and
despair.
told by the
men
he was there elite of the
“I
in
I
was dumfounded, then, by the interviewed.
I
talked to
six,
men
talked of confu-
startling, differing version
and each individually swore
the council of war that decided on surrender.
Corps, willing to surrender rather than
The
Raiders,
fight to the death!
Unbe-
30
lievable!”
Stavisky
so he put
it
knew
that
no military censor would allow the story
to
he released,
aside until after the war.
“Our Son Acquitted Himself Well” Like the rest of the country, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt learned of
from reading the morning newspapers.
On
August 22, while
Makin
his son rested
aboard a submarine, President Roosevelt scanned the brief accounts, then asked his White House secretary, Stephen
where Jimmy was in
in a
T. Early,
whether he had “seen
show.” 31 As they chatted about the raid Eleanor walked
and asked her husband
if
he could
tell
had occurred. The president had no more read, hut the information
was enough
Their satisfaction increased
when
to
her anything more about what details other than
make both proud.
they perused the flattering accounts. In
Massachusetts, the Springfield News remarked that Jimmy’s
“now
eat their words’’
gerous action proves ”
to work.
and asserted that Jimmy’s participation “that
democracy
what he had
is
working
in
America
critics
in
as
it
such is
could a
dan-
intended
32
In a direct reference to the
1938 Saturday Evening
Post article that harshly
158
AMERICAN COMMANDO
rebuked the president’s son, on August 24 Iowa’s Sioux City Journal published another article titled "Jimmy’s
Got
this
It,
time using
Washington, D.C., columnist and a longtime
influential
sevelts, tossed
an olive branch
at the
man
as a reference
Drew
than a slam against profit-mongering.
to his grit rather
it
Pearson, the the Roo-
critic of
he once had castigated as being
nothing more than a self-serving individual taking advantage of his father’s
immense power. "This
column threw plenty of harpoons
Boston insurance days, so
now
it
Jimmy Roosevelt
into
in the old
takes pleasure in evening up the score.
Pearson called the Raiders "the most dangerous branch of the marine corps,"
and stated that “Men who have served with Jimmy pay him great he has the courage of a
unshaven
for days, looking
Newspapers admonished Jimmy’s lest a
quoted Marine hear
dent’s son,
An
Sgt.
said that
it
tell
Marine be
44
be wary about disparaging
critics to
New
near. In
James Alverson
Jersey, the
as saying, "If
it
rather softly
editorial in the Boston
if
Newark Evening News
you are ever around and you
Jimmie Roosevelt got where he
'em to say
one seeing him
gaunt and hungry on the battle front, would ever
recognize him as the son of the President.’’
Roosevelt
No
real leader, inspires confidence.
tribute, say
is
because he
is
the Presi-
there are any marines around.”
American included words from
44
proud Eleanor
a
Roosevelt as well as praise for her son. “For long months past, people have
many
written
things
which were not
particularly pleasant reading about vari-
ous of our children," the paper quoted Mrs. Roosevelt as saying. "Now, suddenly, over the radio
and
in the press,
they say something good has been done
by one of our sons.
am
“I
glad, of course, that our son acquitted himself well.
me that anything else would happen. am men whom saw in that California camp, which
have occurred to
one of the they
left,
The for
—
I
I
It
would never
sure that every I
visited before
acquitted himself equally well.
editorial
then added,
as the country well
knows
“We
think she has good cause to be proud,
—her sons have not elected
to sit at
mahogany
desks and ornament the Washington scenery, but have freely chosen to go into the thick of things
of other
men who
and share the
had the chance
perils of
war with the millions
Jimmy summarized
a bloodstained Japanese flag
it."
45
from Makin
to personally brief his parents later that
when Carlson dispatched him island,
and
love the United States sufficiently to fight for
James Roosevelt, who had taken for his father,
risks
to
Washington. Using an
aerial
month,
mosaic of the
the operation’s details as Franklin and Eleanor
A Poor
Fit
Map 159
with the
The son then handed
interjected questions.
his father a lengthy letter
when Carlson and
Carlson, reminiscent of those China days
from
the president
often corresponded.
Carlson began with an admission that the president great anguish for
taking
him
him [James]
decided that
as a
commander. “Naturally
along,” wrote Carlson, "but he
was apprehensive about
was eager
as tough as
it
I
and
to go
would provide an admirable opportunity
this job
indoctrination in the mysteries of battle.
would be
I
son had caused
s
for his initial
did not anticipate that the fighting
turned out to be.”
Carlson explained that he intended to recommend James for a dation, then spoke of battalion. “It
now but
is
what the
a source of
meant
raid
deep
to his novel
was so unorthodox
commen-
concepts of
a
Marine
satisfaction to both of us to see our labors
receive general approbation. Jim and
it
finally
I
I
knew we had
the right formula,
months was both
that the opposition for
virulent
and
persistent.”
Carlson mentioned that the raid had given his in their ability to
“We
men newfound
triumph over an enemy that had been seen as unbeatable.
are far from being boastful as a result of this raid. But
experience with the
dence. They
assurances
know
enemy has
filled
the
men
that in an even fight they
they have also learned that
Makin was Jimmy
it is
it is
true that this
of this battalion with confi-
can
possible to outwit
him hands down. And
lick
him
.’
M6
Roosevelt’s triumph. After enduring
enormous
pres-
sures as a younger man, growing up as he did in a household where lofty goals
and success were the expected rather than the extraordinary, James
compounded that
his
problems with
handed ammunition
a series of disastrous
to his father’s political foes
commercial endeavors
and humiliation
to the
family.
Change began when he entered the Marine Corps and worked with Evans Carlson. James flourished in his
men and from
Carlson
alike.
new
role as
an
officer,
gaining praise from his
Rather than being marked by poor grades or
economic miscues, James relished
his part in a raid that stirred the imagina-
No one could justifiably claim he gained this adulation on his own. James had convinced father. He accomplished
tions of the nation.
because of
his
it
one of the most skeptical groups that he
was worthy of
James,
later
in the
nation
—the United
States Marines
their esteem.
promoted
to lieutenant colonel, received a
Navy Cross
actions at Makin. According to the citation, he continually risked his
unhesitatingly working while under
enemy
sniper and machine-gun
for his life
fire,
by
and
160
AMERICAN COMMANDO
A Poor
with the
Fit
he "displayed exemplary courage
drowning
in the
heavy
surf."
in
Map
161
personally rescuing three
3
Three people certainly read those words with pride and Franklin, Eleanor,
men from
gratification
and James Roosevelt.
“Everyone Didn’t Love Us” James Roosevelt and the other Makin Raid Marines could indeed be pleased with the results of their mission. They had accomplished most of the objectives,
and while
it
was doubtful
from the Solomons
that they caused any major diversion of forces
area, they
undeniably caused great consternation
Tokyo, where Japanese military leaders fretted over which location far-flung Pacific empire
make
would be next on the American
hit
list.
in
in their
"They
will
surprise attacks on other islands in this way,” chief of staff of the Japa-
Adm. Matome Ugaki wrote in his diary on August 18, "and we must never relax. The next week the admiral urged that garrisons he nese
Combined
Fleet
speedily dispatched to other island locations as
case be repeated.
“We should never
let
Makin’s
38
Carlson stated after the war that he believed the raid held great value to the military and the public. “As a military venture this raid was not of any great import; fensive; that
its
significance lay in the fact that
America had taken the
of-
American men had out-witted, out-fought and out-maneuvered
the Japanese at their
own game.” He claimed
that while the ensuing publicity
spread word of his gung ho philosophy, he also, according to Peatross, wished
he had carried a backup plan into in
battle.
“No commander ever expects
to fail
an operation,” Peatross quotes Carlson as supposedly saying to Sergeant
McCullough, “but he should have
With the nation
number of medals to Sgt.
in
a plan ready, just in case
he does.” 39
need of heroes, the Navy graciously awarded
to Carlson’s
a large
companies. The Medal of Honor was awarded
Clyde Thomason, while twenty-three Raiders, including Carlson,
Roosevelt, Le Francois, and Maghakian, received
Navy Crosses.
Japanese wartime communiques painted the raid
in different
hues.
The
statements claimed that a "small and numerically inferior Japanese garrison
on Makin had repelled an assault by two hundred Americans
in "furious
hand-to-hand combat,” and that the “dismal defeat of the American landing party proved that
it
is
virtually impossible for the Allied
measure of success against the Japanese Navy." 40
Navy
to achieve
any
AMERICAN COMMANDO
162
Despite the outward praise and acclaim, criticism of Carlson’s slowly gathered steam. Critics castigated the raid as a waste of
money
succeeded only
that
in utilizing a
isolated outpost, an action that
had
Makin Raid
the
when
1943,
on the war. Some
more American
suggested, in hindsight, that the raid actually cost
November
manpower and
handful of Marines to destroy an positive impact
little
command
lives in
the Marines hit the beaches at Tarawa. Because of
the Japanese fortified Tarawa, another atoll in the Gilbert
chain, into a near-impregnable island bastion that cost the Marines three
thousand casualties
in three
days of brutal combat.
Gen. Holland Smith, one of the top Marine tended of Carlson that his
his raid at
Makin “was
2nd Marine Raider Battalion but
it
was
no useful military purpose and served only tions in the Gilberts. ”
raid.
The
strategists of the war, con-
a spectacular
also a piece of
performance by
folly.
Japanese
to alert the
The to
raid
had
our inten-
intensive fortification of Tarawa dates from that
41
men who earned a Lamb penned a harsh
Carlson's most acerbic critic proved to be one of the
Navy Cross
at
Makin,
Lt.
Charles Lamb. In 1956,
rebuke of Carlson as background notes for a history Historical
Branch of the Marine Corps.
taste for Carlson
and
his
methods dated
Lamb
freely
to the early
Carlson and concluded he was “a martinet,
who
at
1
be published by the
to
admitted that his
930s,
dis-
when he observed
times enforced discipline
with mass punishment methods, and that he would not tolerate inefficiency or unmilitary conduct
and appearance.’
Lamb’s animosity deepened by the time he joined the Raiders. believed Carlson’s gung ho approach negated
Marine Corps and brought anarchy wrote,
all
that
Lamb
was good about the
into a situation calling for discipline.
Lamb
developed an extreme personal dislike for Carlson and was very
“I
distrustful of his
Lamb command
words and methods.
He was
cognizant of
my
attitude."
does not challenge Carlson’s courage, reserving his rebukes for tactics.
strolled around,
At Makin, Carlson’s audacity “was beyond question.
smoking
his pipe, with
the colonel erred by exercising "poor at all times."
mand from
He added
later,
no apparent concern of danger." But
command and
"However,
He
it
is
control of his organization
debatable
if
there was any
com-
the time of landing until the return of Carlson to the sub-
marine."
Lamb him
does not rebuke Carlson for considering a surrender, but chastises
for not
manding
knowing enough about the enemy’s
officer deserves criticism
if
situation. "Certainly a
his estimate of the situation
is
com-
so errone-
A Poor
Fit
with the
Map 163
ous as to condone the writing of a surrender note and then discover that there is
no opposition."
With the favorable
publicity the battalion received after Makin,
Carlson "exploited a battalion
feels that
to glorify
Lamb
himself in the eyes of the
public .” 42
Most Raiders ignore Lamb’s remarks
or attribute the episode to jealousy
over Carlson’s public notoriety. Peatross rushed to Carlson’s defense over this issue.
“I
daresay that had almost any other lieutenant colonel in the Marine
Corps been
in
command
whisper of criticism
.
44
at
Makin, there would not have been so much as
Peatross also argued that any criticism or praise for
organizing the raid should go to Admiral Nimitz and his
appeared
be
to
a
satisfied,
wondered what
Peatross
all
As they
staff.
later
the shouting was
about.
Richard Washburn, though not involved with the
Lt.
made
valid points in a
move, but
I
think
its
called the raid "a real gutty
aftermath was the beginning of some real problems for
The media made
the Raiders."
He
postwar interview.
nevertheless
raid,
Carlson’s battalion
its
new
darling.
Each
story
heralding the raid or Carlson’s gung ho approach created more animosity to-
ward the men, especially among Marine
officers already irritated with Carl-
son’s
connection to the White House or his supposed
“But
now
the brass
is
ties to
the communists.
These Raiders are taking the
really upset.
from the thousands of other Marines struggling
in that
spotlight
damn
jungle. ”
what
is
this
gung ho business anyway? Everyone
“Examples
of Extraordinary
became the
Carlson’s official report
didn’t love us.
away
And
44
Heroism”
subject of controversy before he had writ-
ten the final draft. In the version he wrote while aboard the Nautilus, Carlson
included an account of the surrender issue. Carlson wrote that after the calamitous attempt to leave the island that for daylight,
move
side.
by a superior enemy force
selves .”
night, his intent
was
to wait
to the north side of the island, locate outrigger canoes,
and leave by the lagoon
would he
first
to surrender
He
then added the words,
in the
meantime
I
"If
we were
attacked
believed that the wise course
because we had no effective means of defending our-
45
This sentence establishes three surrendering.
It
shows
that Carlson
facts.
It
proves that Carlson considered
had not decided
to surrender
during that
AMERICAN COMMANDO
164 night, only that
first
forces.
When
he would consider
he was not trying
McCall
to
became
a
moot
to
do
so,
point. Finally,
it
he would not have mentioned
all
hut
confirms
in this
it
report.
man who censored
Rather than Carlson, Admiral Nimitz was the
ence
attacked by superior
if
conceal his actions, as Private Carson and Private
he wanted
assert. If
August 21
the next day
the second day produced evidence that his Raiders had
eliminated the garrison, surrender that
it
to a possible surrender.
When
Nimitz read Carlson’s
initial
all
refer-
report after
the Raiders had returned to Hawaii, he called his senior Marine staff officer, Col.
Omar T.
he walked
in
Pfeiffer, into his office.
read
sir,
“I’ve
never heard of anything
is
I’ve
iron in that
like this in all
man
and get ahold of that young man and
mand
will
as
my
him
balked.
in
my com-
it!"
and relayed Admiral Nimitz’s wish, but
Carlson argued, “and
"It’s true,’
Nimitz snapped.
no report from
that
have any word, or even idea, of surrender
commander
life,’’
thought. You take this report back
I
tell
Pfeiffer called Carlson to his office
the
his desk.
it."
much
not as
when
asked Nimitz.
this?’’
“Yes,
“There
to Pfeiffer’s oral history,
Admiral Nimitz had the report open on have you read
“Pfeiffer,
According
it
will stay in the
report.”
“Oh, no
With to tell his
it
won’t,
replied Pfeiffer.
“It
comes out
or you
come
out.’’
46
that threat firmly established, Carlson agreed to alter his report
company commanders
The remainder day raid and a
list
to
do the same.
of Carlson’s report
of suggestions about
recommend
better motors
Marines had
to
and
was
a lengthy
how
examination of the two-
to improve.
Carlson was quick to
and means of communications, and added that
he better prepared
to deal with snipers
camouflaged
in trees.
"Japanese sniping w'as excellent and their snipers were so well concealed that it
was necessary
to shoot off
most uneconomical
branches of trees
in
order to get the snipers
—
operation.’’
Carlson recommended that the Navy continue using commando-style raids, as this first
mission appeared to disrupt and confuse the
more convinced than ever Pacific, especially raids
enemy
"I
am
war
in
the
of the value of raids in the conduct of
from submarines.
He
claimed the Japanese com-
mand in the Marshalls was surprised by the operation and that "It did not know how our force got ashore, at what points it had landed, whether it was merely a raid or an occupational force or whether larger force
which intended
it
was the spearhead of
to drive into the Marshalls.
Such
raids
a
can be
A Poor used
to
Fit
with the
Map 165
confuse the enemy, pull him off base and open the way for the drive
and
of a larger force against vulnerable
vital points.
Despite the fact that the raid contained miscues, Carlson praised his Raiders for performing well under duress. During the action the
men were
often intermingled, "yet each individual displayed initiative, resourcefulness
and
a willingness to
work
None had been under with the enemy. In to
enemy
fire in
effectively in
Bre before, but there was no hesitation about closing
fact,
most of our casualties came from careless exposure
order to take out’ the opposition. There were
of extraordinary heroism which will be
mendation
whatever team he found himself.
made
many examples
the subject of special recom-
at a later date.”
Carlson concluded with a harsh self-appraisal. Without using the exact words, he hinted that he was far from pleased with his first
day
at
Makin.
“Finally,
to the illustration provided
I
would
how bad your own
sibility that
by our situation
“The Importance Carlson
s
is
at
Makin on the
night of August
as old as the military profession:
may appear to be, there enemy is much worse.” 4
situation
the situation of the
the
invite the attention of all military leaders
17th which emphasizes a truth that
matter
own performance
is
no
always the pos-
of the Offensive”
self-examination paled compared to what other officers wrote. Carl-
son could handle condemnation from his peers, but rebuke from a superior officer
was another
the words of
men
thing. In the pages of the official reports of
Makin were
with intimate knowledge of the raid and judgments by su-
perior officers, especially Admiral Nimitz, that carried import to a
man
like
Carlson. Their praise would be welcome; their censure would sting.
Commodore
Haines’s report contained a mixture of praise and criticism,
hut generally concluded that the raid succeeded. Haines contended, mission, the
first
of
its
kind so far as
successfully accomplished troops and installations on
its
is
known,
in history, is
primary mission,
Makin
Atoll.”
i.e.
that
This
considered to have
the destruction of
He added
“
enemy
because of a series
of factors, including a lack of training and faulty communications, the suc-
cess was “not as great as had been hoped,” that the losses “were greater than
had been anticipated," and “had not an accidental discharge of one of our firearms occurred thus alerting the enemy, a complete surprise would have
been attained.” He contended that similar
raids
would be
beneficial against
AMERICAN COMMANDO
166
some
of the smaller, weaker Japanese bases, and praised Carlson “for his
splendid leadership and untiring efforts in organizing, training, and taking
enemy
into successful action against an unexpectedly powerful
force, the
Marine Raider Unit.” 48 Admiral Nimitz was not as kind. In a report that had son
Nimitz rebuked Carlson eight times
to read,
in
to
be hard
seven pages.
for Carl-
He
praised
the raid’s results and assessed Japanese losses at two vessels, two seaplanes, radio stations
and other
recommended some such as improved
installations,
of the
and 100
150 Japanese
to
killed.
Nimitz
same items mentioned by Carlson and Haines,
tactics against snipers,
then moved to the main portion of
his report.
Nimitz minced few words
beach on the
and
day.
first
installations
in faulting Carlson’s
“Although the mission of destruction of enemy forces
had not been completed,
commander decided
decision to pull back to the
to
after the last
withdraw according
if
such
is
raider
— he praised Japanese resoluteness while disparaging Carlson’s
appears that there were only a few Japanese soldiers
commander
at this
time that he was
settled into a set-piece battle with raids of this nature
must maintain
enemy
which depend above
ecution, the raiding force cannot
enemy
men
the effect of boldness in a few resolute still
that
opposed by
Nimitz then evaluated Carlson’s tactics that
It
to start pulling his
he were to meet the prearranged time to withdraw with a two-
sided criticism timidity. "It
raider
to plan.
Nimitz dismissed Carlson’s argument that he had
men back
bombing the
first
day,
it
left alive, yet
seemed
to the
a large force.
where
his Raiders
snipers and machine-gun nests. "In all
let itself
on surprise and swiftness of
be tied
down by
ex-
position fighting.
mobility, striking rapidly, seeking to surprise
and rout the
before they can recover and organize defenses. Should the force be
pinned down by a
‘fire fight,’ it
must continue offensive reconnaissance
stead of retreating or remaining static. After the
first
part of the
in-
engagement,
the raider force did not strike aggressively; for example, the platoon on the left
flank suffered no casualties and
made slow
progress."
Nimitz’s third rebuke concerned the native reports pertaining to the size of the Japanese garrison and to
put too
much credence
in
enemy
reinforcements. Nimitz
felt
Carlson
the reports, which Nimitz stated could have been
exaggerated by rumors or tainted by
enemy
design. Nimitz
idation over Japanese reinforcements might have
wondered
if
trep-
been planted among the
natives by the Japanese to "influence the decisions of the raider
commander.
A Poor
with the
Fit
Map 167
Active patrols would have given him sound information as to the location and strength of the enemy.”
Nimitz reserved
his harshest
assessment
in
addressing what he saw as a
lack of aggression. "The old story in war of the importance of the offensive
[emphasis Nimitz’s] was again demonstrated.” Nimitz contended that had the Raiders sent reconnaissance patrols on the afternoon of August
17 and
"pushed forward instead of withdrawing, they would have discovered that the apparent heavy resistance was the death.
They could have destroyed
at their leisure,
fire
of only a handful of
installations
Carlson and his force on August
1
7
fighting to the
on the island and re-embarked
probably saving most of the loss of
from strafing by planes on 18 August.
men
life
from drowning and by
In other words, aggressiveness
would have saved Raider
lives
on August
harsh words for an officer to read.
18,
Nimitz also stated that Raider firepower was weak and their aim poor, and that faulty dispositions of troops
bunched the Raiders
together,
making
it
easier for the Japanese to inflict casualties. “With equal courage, approxi-
mately equal numbers, and equal boldness of leadership, our Marines
will
defeat the Japanese every time.” In a
due
backhanded compliment, Nimitz claimed
to the "courage
succeeded
that the raid
and endurance of the Marines and cool headed coop-
The omission
eration of submarine personnel.
of Carlson’s
name speaks
volumes.
The admiral continued by
asserting that fortune both helped and hin-
dered the operation, but that “Losses were somewhat larger than they should have been,” even though the goals of the expedition were achieved. “Considerable
damage was
inflicted
on the Japanese, and
Solomon Islands operations they were forced to the relief of
Makin
at a crucial
to divert
in
the
men, ships and planes
Island."
Nimitz even used Carlson’s own words against him. statement that the
time
enemy might be
in a
He
included Carlson’s
worse predicament, but compounded
the insult by adding another sentence of his own. “To this might be added
another truth that a few resolute
men seem
”
like battalions.
44
Carlson had worked assiduously to craft the Raiders according to his gung
ho philosophy, often gest Nimitz’s
to the derision of fellow officers,
damning words. Even worse
— since the
and he now had report
every top Pacific and Marine commander, including the eral
to di-
would be sent
to
commandant, Gen-
Holcomb, Carlson’s comrades would read every caustic word.
AMERICAN COMMANDO
168
“Not Exactly Like a Whipped Dog” To properly judge whether Makin was from three perspectives
it
From the
military point,
—the
a
success or failure, one must examine
military, the
Makin had
little
home
front,
and the personal.
impact on the enemy. The Japanese
diverted a few troops from Guadalcanal, hut nothing that affected their operations in the Solomons. plies lost at
By then,
Makin, an
The Japanese
atoll
to the
fortified the Gilberts, particularly
for
November 1943
its
Makin
Raid, the Japanese had so strongly
Tarawa, that the Marines paid a dear price
seizure. In hindsight historians
at best, a helpful military
can judge the
raid as,
experiment.
Hindsight, though, overlooks the immediacy of the
home
sup-
they continued to control until late the next year.
measure due
in large
men and
speedily replaced the
front. Carlson’s raid
knocked the enemy on
its
raid’s
impact on the
heels and, along with
the Doolittle Raid and Midway, halted the long line of Japanese successes that
dominated
One need
7
was
restored.
only read the newspaper and magazine articles of the time to
understand the registered
their front pages. People’s faith in their military
a
raid’s effect in
the United States. Carlson and his Raiders
resounding triumph when viewed through the home-front
prism.
Though Carlson must have appreciated
the flattering accounts that
commander knew he had
flooded across the nation, on a personal level the
underperformed.
An
introspective person inherently
has adequately executed the tasks
knows during the concert a
game, yet have turned
if
he has
in a
knows whether he
or she
A singer may receive acclaim, but hit a sour note. A baseball pitcher may win
at
hand.
subpar performance.
much when, years later, he assessed the raid. home front's reaction], however, was tempered
Sergeant Stidham stated as
This prideful feeling by the fact that fered of
we
many more
[in
the
got ourselves in that predicament in the
casualties than expected, and
our weapons and equipment. In other words,
whipped dog coming home with all
ended up
boastful of
his
how we executed our
tail
between
added, ‘We were surprised to be greeted Pearl Harbor.
We
like
not exactly like a
his legs, hut
we were
and rehearsed
heroes
place, suf-
losing a large share
we were
carefully laid
first
when we
not at
plans.’
He
got hack to ”
thought the operation had been one big foul-up.
M)
Carlson, whose gung ho philosophy espoused the critical examination of one’s performance,
would be hypocritical
if
he did not apply the same stan-
A Poor
own
dard to his
actions.
He
ment, that Makin was not
Why?
with the
Fit
Map 169
knew, even before reading Nimitz’s harsh assessperformance.
his best
Carlson seemed to
events dictate his reactions, rather than
let
shaping events himself. In the jungles of Nicaragua and the vast reaches of China, Carlson witnessed the efficacy of guerrilla operations, but at
he found himself quickly involved set lines.
more conventional
in a
Makin
battle involving
Rather than orchestrating a freewheeling flank attack, Carlson
supervised a battlefield operation, one in which he lacked expertise and confidence. In
Michael
Makin was not
J.
Zaks astute 1981
where they needed
with unexpected conditions.
enemy
Marine
a suitable mission for the Raiders.
for guerrilla warfare,
the map.
thesis, the
Makin had
argued that
Carlson had trained them
self-sufficiency
Then came Makin," Zak known
officer
and
initiative to deal
wrote, "a poor
fit
with
and
a predictable
which conflicted with
his past expe-
specific objectives,
terrain,
situation.”
Uncomfortable with
his assignment,
riences, “Evans Carlson paid the ultimate price
organization disintegrate before his
eyes.”'’
on Makin; he watched
his
1
Did Roosevelt’s presence affect Carlson, consciously or unconsciously? In
commander
response to a request from his
man he had known
President Roosevelt, a
in chief,
a
Carlson had promised
since the mid- 1930s, that he would
look out for his son. Did the thought of the president’s son being killed or
captured so weigh on Carlson that he became a different
one who had earned day,
a
Navy Cross
when Carlson engaged
confronted by
enemy
in a
snipers,
and
night.
He
appeared
it
Nicaragua? Hesitancy marked the
time-consuming set-piece
and became mired
Though most Raiders dismiss sevelt affected Carlson,
in
commander than
in the
battle, stalled
first
when
surrender issue.
the notion that the presence of James Roo-
might explain his timid direction on the
to act
the
with more vigor after Roosevelt
left
first
day
the island.
After the president’s son was safely hack aboard the submarine on the second
day a bolder, more decisive Carlson returned.
As Carlson’s executive cern to his
commander than an
to look after
a letter
officer,
your executive
Roosevelt might have been more of a con-
executive officer normally
officer.
It is
from the president asking you
completely different
is.
It is
one thing
when you
to take care of that officer.
receive
AMERICAN COMMANDO
170
Adm. William Later in the war,
Halsey, as feisty a battler as there was, could understand.
when Eleanor
he objected
canal,
mon
Islands, yet
the
moved away from Guadalcanal
Admiral Halsey worried
men on Guadal-
Pacific.
to the
The
fighting
northern Solo-
for her safety.
2008, two of the few surviving officers from Carlson’s battalion,
In
Robert Burnette,
Lt.
visit
commander of the South
in his role as
had, for the most part,
Roosevelt wished to
veteran of both the
who
fought on Guadalcanal, and
Makin Raid and the Guadalcanal
Lt.
Joseph
Griffith, a
fighting, said they
un-
derstood Carlson’s anguish. Burnette claimed that Carlson “would never have
surrendered Roosevelt to the Japanese
and that
of having the president's son under his
command was
want."'’
as an officer the specter
“not something
I’d
2
Lieutenant Griffith related an anecdote that occurred aftermath of Makin.
One
night, as
the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Griffith,
in
the immediate
he and the other Raiders recuperated
in
Commander Brockman, and Commodore
Haines relaxed with a few drinks and casual conversation. Suddenly, the topic turned more serious and someone asked Haines
submarines
to leave
Makin
that
first
night,
when
why he
did not order the
things looked bleak. Haines’s
blunt answer lends insight to the dilemma Carlson faced. "I
didn’t
president,
we
“So
“One
want
and
to
tell
go hack to the United States, be taken directly to the
him why
left his
son on the island,” answered Haines.
stayed.”^
of the
Things That Really Burns Me”
Makin provided plenty emerged that
I
of controversy, but
that nine Raiders
had been stranded
someone may have been inadvertently
ers held
muster
record which
had been
in
Hawaii, the
men had
killed
none more so than when
first
returned.
left
at
Makin. The
first
details
indication
behind came when the Raid-
opportunity Carlson had to accurately
The muster confirmed
that eighteen
men
on Makin and that twelve were missing and presumed
drowned. However, the native A. George Noran spotted four Raiders days after the
raid.
He
in a
hut a few
gave them food and contacted a Catholic missionary,
but the Americans were eventually captured. Noran does not suggest
men happened
to
he
in the
how
the
hut while the other Raiders had departed.
Natives and a French priest witnessed the Japanese capturing nine
A Poor
men
week
within a
of the raid.
with the
Fit
On August
Map
171
30, a ship transported the captives
where on September 2 they were imprisoned
to Kwajalein,
in tiny cells.
The
Japanese commander, Capt. Yoshio Obara, intended to convey the nine to
when
Japan, but
commander
shipping was not available, Vice
of the Marshall Island bases, ordered
Adm. Koso Abe, Obara
to
the
execute the
Americans.
who had
Obara,
relatives in the
United States, reluctantly selected an
execution detail and set the date for October 16, a day that recognized Japa-
nese war heroes. The Japanese took the nine Americans to a clearing, forced
them
to kneel
The
story
on the ground, and beheaded each man.
emerged
war when
after the
a native
who had
witnessed the
executions, Lejena Lokot, testified about the details at a war crimes
Corroboration
came from an American
who
Zamperini,
Army Air Corps
officer Louis
stated that while a prisoner in Kwajalein, he had seen
scratched on the his captives
prisoner,
trial.
cell wall the
names
of nine
Makin
Raiders.
When
he asked
what became of the men, they informed him they had been be-
headed. In 1946, three Japanese officers were found guilty
in
the incident.
Two, including Obara, received prison sentences, while Admiral Abe was
hanged
in
When
1947.
James Roosevelt returned
to
assault against the Gilberts, natives took
Makin during the November 1943 him
to a
common
edly held the remains of eighteen Raiders and told
been captured. The
grave that suppos-
him another nine men had
men were at the time unknown. 1946 when the Associated Press ran
fates of three other
Matters worsened for Carlson
in
story about the nine missing Raiders. Carlson replied that
some men may have reached anyone was
still
alive,
From where
he would never have
two of them on the
side of the boat
was
he believed that
Makin.
Sergeant McCullough points
Carlson on the second night. left
if
was possible
"If
one of them guys or
a little stronger than the right
then they veered to the right and went right straight into Little Makin
Island.”
54
Others claim that either the nine made
attempt to leave Makin the
body
left
men come?
did those nine
to the boat that left
side,
a nearby island, but that
it
a
in time, or
first
it
ashore from an abortive
night and simply failed to return to the main
had been sent
to the northern
end of Makin and then
forgotten.
Raiders friendly to Carlson point to the overriding confusion, the harsh surf,
and the impossibility of knowing which men reached which submarine
until they
reached Pearl Harbor.
Some
absolve Carlson of guilt in the matter.
172 James Roosevelt stated
AMERICAN COMMANDO
that every
man on
the island
knew they were going
evacuate and that they had a responsibility to return to the beaches
to in
time.'’'’
“Another thing,” said Sergeant McCullough. "On the second
knew we were going knew.
One
of the nine
They weren’t
side.
to the other side of the island
left
would have behind,
said tell
I’ll
and getting
day, they all off.
something about getting
you.
We
They
all
to the other
were close together, and how
could they not know? That’s one of the things that really burns me, where they blame Carlson.’’ 56
Other Carlson defenders point
to the patrols the colonel dispatched to
check both ends of the island before departing. Private
First
studied every record he could locate and concluded “there ing
Marine Raider was
left ”
ence, or incompetence.
and
size
knew
5
He
supports this by pointing to the island’s small
making
it
easier to scout,
He
and that each man
a
believed that the Raiders in question
submarine
strafing
Japanese
Some
aircraft the
historians, notably Tripp
commander’s prime
man under
gruesome
fate,
his
Wiles
in
in his
They
responsibility
men
trapped by
2007 book, Forgotten Raiders
assert that despite the chain of is
to
know
command. Since nine men were
they lay the guilt
the whereabouts of
left
behind
to suffer a
at Carlson’s feet.
resolution occurred in 1999
Laboratory
five
second morning.
of 42, censure Carlson for the mishap. events, a
came from
one of the departures and landed on
in
another island before returning to Makin, as well as the
when
the Army’s Central Identification
Hawaii sent a team of forensic specialists
to
Makin, where they
identified the remains of nineteen Raiders, rather than eighteen, in the
mon
liv-
the withdrawal location and should have experienced no difficulty in
men who had missed
A
no way one
behind’ on Makin because of negligence, indiffer-
a lack of jungle terrain,
joining the main body.
every
is
Class Quirk
grave. In addition to the eighteen already listed as
com-
deceased by Carlson,
the specialists confirmed the identity of Pvt. Carlyle O. Larson, one of the
missing and assumed dead. Their efforts established the teen Raiders killed on Makin, nine executed, and two
sumed dead, most
likely
by drowning
final tally at
still
nine-
missing and pre-
in the surf.
Largely through the efforts of the United States Marine Raider Association,
On
an active survivors’ group, the
August
17,
thirty Raiders
have not been forgotten.
2001, on the fifty-ninth anniversary of the Makin landing,
thirteen of the nineteen Raiders
were
laid to rest in a
touching ceremony
A Poor at
Fit
with the
Map 173
Arlington National Cemetery. At the request of family, the remains of the
other
six
were buried
in their
On Armistice Day 2003
hometowns.
twenty-two members of the association traveled
plaque
to Kwajalein to dedicate a
in
honor of the nine executed Raiders. In
a sign of the volatility over the issue,
when
an earlier plaque had
to
be altered
Raiders objected to the inscription as stating that the nine Marines
were “mistakenly
left
behind."
The new
inscription read that they
were
"captured.” 58
Makin thus was
a bittersweet episode for Carlson. This first
that his Raiders, a unit cast in the guerrilla
chance
mode he had witnessed
ragua and formed according to the gung ho practices he had seen
would work, went
awry.
A
raging surf knocked
him
off balance,
to in
in
show Nica-
China,
and instead
of being in control, Carlson appeared to be one step behind as events rushed at
him.
While he gained fame
for his Raider Battalion
and praise
for the
men’s
unquestioned courage, an inner voice whispered that he had underperformed.
The
next mission, whenever
it
occurred, would prove beyond question the
value of his system and of his Raiders. His gung ho given the right opportunity.
method could succeed
if
8
We Rode to the Sound
weeks
arlson received his opportunity ten
later,
of the
Guns
when he and
his Raiders
C
disappeared into the dense jungles of Guadalcanal. For a month he staged a deadly
game
of cat and
mouse with the Japanese, and when
Carlson led his ragged Raiders back inside the perimeter protecting Henderson Field nearly
five
weeks
tacular mission behind military career
later,
enemy
and redemption
he had routed the enemy forces
“That was the great adventure of
Company of what has become known Leeman selected Guadalcanal despite and
battling for his
“A
Little
On
September
and
his battalion,
life
Makin
my
life,"
in
1
operation.
Leeman
stated Pvt. Virgil
Marine annals
as the
Long
of
C
Patrol.
later fighting in Bougainville s jungles
on Iwo Jima’s sands.
Taste of the War” 6, less
than two weeks after returning to Pearl Harbor, Carlson
now up
to six
USS Wharton
companies, boarded the
3,500-mile voyage to Espiritu Santo
in the
New
piritu Santo, the
home
main staging area
for troops
for the
Hebrides, a chain of islands
550 miles southeast of Guadalcanal and 1,400 miles east of
be their
spec-
proved to be the capstone of his
lines that for the
in a
bound
for
Australia. Es-
Guadalcanal, would
until they received their next assignment.
Platoon Sergeant Maghakian almost missed the
1
74
trip.
Because of
his
We Rode wounds, doctors
at Pearl
Sound
to the
Harbor tagged Maghakian
States, but the hard-bitten sergeant
was not about
whom
Lieutenant Miller, with
ticularly
Guns
of the
175
for transport
back
to the
to allow his buddies, par-
he had forged
bond, to see
a tight
action while he stayed behind.
The
trip
—
included three stops along the way
September
Island group on
New
1,
the
Fiji
Islands five days
Phoenix
in the
and Noumea,
later,
Caledonia, three days before their September 22 arrival at Espiritu
Santo. Along the at
1
Canton
at
Makin
way now Captain
Griffith
and other
who had
officers
fought
delivered lectures on what they had learned from the August raid,
as well as talked to the Raiders about the nature of jungle warfare they likely to face in
Guadalcanal. James Roosevelt conducted sessions on the
ship’s fantail to discuss events in the war’s other theaters.
the
men
were
to take the daily doses of atabrine, a
medicine
of malaria, and explained the ravages of jaundice,
to
Doctors cautioned counter the effects dysentery,
filariasis,
and
other illnesses endemic to Guadalcanal’s jungles. Officers mostly focused on the current situation in Guadalcanal,
where
fellow Marines held a tenuous toehold in their efforts to seize the island
from the Japanese. cluded
tips
niques and
pamphlet
Lessons Learned in the Philippines in-
fought there about Japanese military tech-
The pamphlet was supposed
tricks.
battle,
mined, ruthless,
titled
men who had
from
coming
for the
A
but
it
to better prepare the Raiders
so graphically portrayed the
skilled fighter that
it
had unintended
enemy
results.
as a deter-
‘The Japanese
themselves could not have produced a document better designed to further their cause,”- stated the recently
promoted Captain Peatross.
Their apprehension increased on September 22, rived at
its
when
the Wharton ar-
destination and unloaded Carlson’s six companies at Espiritu
now
Santo. For most of the Raiders, until
an inconvenience
the war had been
more than
had fought.
Now the
that lapped against their shores also
touched
in their lives, a distant specter others
same waters of the Coral Sea
little
Guadalcanal’s beaches less than
hundred miles
six
—one
day’s sailing
—
to the
northwest.
Carlson led his
men
to
Camp Gung
Ho, the Raider quarters
coconut
in a
grove situated on a bluff overlooking Espiritu Santo’s harbor, and began im-
plementing the measures
"The
flies
were
to prepare his Raiders for
terrible, terrible!
There were dropped coconuts
chow you had
to wait
all
and get the
combat
in
the jungle.
said Lt. Robert Burnette of
E Company.
over the place and that drew the
flies
out of the
way
to take a bite.”
flies.
At
Burnette
AMERICAN COMMANDO
176 added
“We got a little taste of the war because come over and drop bombs/’ 3 ble.
As
if
their stay misera-
single airplanes
would sometimes
to
mirroring the war that raged not far to the northwest, their training
intensified. Sessions with live
hand-to-hand combat
drills.
While no one was harmed
men
make
what they could
that the Japanese also did
more
trained with
ammunition and hand grenades alternated with Japanese submarines twice shelled the island.
in the
seaborne attacks, officers noticed that the
efficiency and concentration following each shelling.
“Any News from Jimmy?” Whatever the future held it.
In early
new
for the battalion, Roosevelt
October he received orders
The Raiders
Raider Battalion.
to
felt
San Diego
they had
would not be
and
train a
Their
initial
to organize
lost a friend.
a part of
misgivings had been swept away by Roosevelt’s professionalism and willing-
ness to share the same discomforts and hazards as the men. “Jimmy us and
going back to the States,’ Lieutenant Miller wrote his parents on
is
October
“and he offered to mail a letter or two for
10,
”
take advantage of the opportunity. “I
loved that man," said
man. He was
down
leaving
is
his face
one of
just
PI. Sgt.
us.
The
because he wanted
me
so
I
thought
would
1
4
Rhel last
to
Cook of F Company. “He was
time
I
saw him he had
a
good
tears running
go to Cuadalcanal so bad.”’
Carlson would miss him even more. His right-hand
man had become
a
cohort as well as a valued assistant. Before Roosevelt had been gone two
weeks Carlson wrote, for a brief
"1
miss you keenly. So does the
meeting the other day
came along
the
As much
first
as the
his superiors for
highly skilled battalion to
believe in
them.
when
No sense
training over
a
want
man
sitting
sit
gathered
Any news from Jimmy?" 6
at
the enemy.
He
did not
want
to allow his
idly by.
to lay around," said Pvt. Darrell Loveland.
“He
didn’t
trained to as high as he can be, that you don’t use
is
around. From
and over and
Every Raider chafed
all
quizzed Carlson about Roosevelt, Carlson pestered
another crack
“Yeah, he didn’t
We
— most of us—and when the question period
question was:
men
outfit.
at
Midway
in
June
until
now,
we had been
over.
the inactivity.
ing on Guadalcanal to their north and
“The entire battalion was itching
They followed the progress
wondered when
to get
up
to
their time
Guadalcanal
at
of fight-
would come.
once but instead
We Rode we chewed our
Sound
to the
off
and strained
nails, fretted
the Guns
like a
177
bunch of thoroughbreds
ready to bolt out of the starting gate,” 8 explained Pvt. Lowell Bulger.
On
October 22, Carlson proposed
eration in
to superiors at
Guadalcanal an op-
which two or three companies landed on Guadalcanal’s south
coast, crossed the mountains,
Though
guerrilla operation.
commander
and
hit
the Japanese from the rear in a classic
the idea had merit,
Adm. Richmond
Kelly Turner,
of naval forces in the Solomons, instead ordered Carlson to land
two Raider companies
at
Aola Bay forty miles east of the perimeter to provide
security for construction units building another airfield.
Though
Turner’s plan
only called for the Raiders to be at Aola for a day or two before relieved
on the
them and they returned
island.
Who knew what
to Espiritu Santo,
it
at least
Army
units
placed Carlson
might then happen?
“We Are Losing the War” Since June,
when
intelligence
first
detected that the Japanese were con-
structing an airfield in the Solomons, Guadalcanal dominated
enemy
tention. Admiral Nimitz could not allow the
Japanese hands
aircraft
American
at-
to retain control, as in
from the island threatened the crucial supply
lines
connecting the United States and Australia and further entrenched the enemy in
the southwest Pacific. Conversely, in American possession the Solomons
could become the staging ground for the ocean offensive to Tokyo and,
Henderson
Field,
hand Nimitz an unsinkable
aircraft carrier that
in
compen-
sated for the four American carriers already lost in the war. Starting in August,
the antagonists
nal,
when Marines
waged
a hitter
carved out a tiny toehold on Guadalca-
six-month contest to determine mastery
the southwest Pacific. Marines were given the task of holding
in
Henderson
Field until Nimitz could scrape together sufficient forces to push the Japa-
nese off the island.
The
situation in
October appeared grim. Assailed by enemy land forces
on Guadalcanal and the Japanese navy offshore, the Marines mounted an inspiring, hut fatiguing, defense.
Their
commander begged
for
more troops
and additional supplies, hut pressed by equally demanding needs from Europe, the United States
One with
officer
enemy
the hoys on
had precious few
wrote that
forces
in
to divert their way.
the besieged enclave around Henderson Field,
moving about
at will,
Wake and Bataan must
have
he
now "knew 9
felt,’’
to a certain extent
how
two locations where defenders
—
1
AMERICAN COMMANDO
178
eventually had to capitulate.
The hleak outlook caused way
release surprisingly realistic estimations as a
the government to
of preparing the public for
a potential loss.
"We are losing the war,” 10 Time magazine quoted Army B.
Somervell
September
in its
7,
1942, issue.
to alter the situation, President Roosevelt
The
Lt.
Gen. Brehon
next month, in an attempt
ordered the Joint Chiefs of Staff to
send every possible weapon and soldier to Guadalcanal. Adm. William Halsey, the freshly appointed
keep
Navy
his
in
commander
vowed
of forces in the South Pacific,
the Solomons and to rush every last
weapon
to the
to
men
ashore until victory had been attained.
The Japanese viewed Guadalcanal with Maruyama, commander of Sendai
the
same urgency. General Masao
Division, spoke to his
tober 22 attempt to take Henderson Field. “This
tween Japan and the United States
Empire lands,
will
be decided.
If
we do
no one should expect
in
which the
is
men
before an Oc-
the decisive battle be-
rise or fall of the
Japanese
not succeed in the occupation of these
to return alive to Japan.
is-
[We] must overcome the
hardship caused by the lack of material and push on unendingly by displaying invincible teamwork. Hit the proud
able to rise again.”
Sturdy fingers
enemy with an
iron
fist
so he will not be
1
made up
that iron
fist.
As the
historian Joseph Alexander
has stated, at Guadalcanal the Japanese had displayed disciplined fighting, night combat, an ability to construct elaborate sunken fortifications,
skill in
and
In addition, they possessed an
a willingness to fight to the death.
astounding talent for
filtering
men and
gles into a semicircular position about
The Japanese scorned manual
their
stated, “Westerners
supplies through Guadalcanal’s jun-
Henderson
opponent
as
Field.
weak and
ineffective.
conceive night to be a proper time for battle these weaknesses
man was
training
— being very haughty, effeminate and cowardly
intensely dislike fighting in the rain or mist or in the dark.
ing. In
A
lie
— though
it is
They cannot
excellent for danc-
our great opportunity.” 12 The American fighting
reputedly lacking in spiritual strength, vulnerable to flanking
tacks, indifferent,
and
petrified of
at-
hand-to-hand combat.
Americans held equally demeaning images of the Japanese. One Marine told the writer
human,
John Hersey that he wished he faced the Germans, who “are
like us.”
them you have
The Marine added, “But
to learn a
whole new
the Japs are like animals. Against
set of physical reactions.
You have
to get
used to their animal stubbornness and tenacity. They take to the jungle as
if
A
smiling Colonel Carlson exudes
confidence in
this
photograph taken
after his service From the Karl
on Guadalcanal. E.
Voelter Collection,
Marine Corps Research Center. Quantico, Virginia
ames Roosevelt supports his father during a train stop n the 1930s. The son offered significant help to his ather
at
key times, hut
later stated that his
time with
he Marine Corps proved to be the most rewarding >art
of his career. From the Franklin
1).
Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York
Capt.
Richard Washburn, the
fessorial
manded
officer
who
the Raiders
at
so
pro-
com-
ably
Asamana and
answered the question w hether American troops
were up
to the challenge.
From mi Frank Cannistrac Coi i
i
i
chon
Victor "Transport" Maghakian. Jack Miller
wrote on the reverse
Jack Miller strikes an impressive pose as he enjoys a Texas
summer day
before the war.
From the Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, lEXAS.A2004.0001
kian
—
best friend
side, "Victor
when we
Magha-
are out in the
boon docks. From the Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, A2004.0001
Transport Maghakian {left)
on the
set of the
{right)
stands with Evans Carlson and
movie Gitug Ho!
i
Lt.
Wilfred Le Francois
rom the Virginia C.arabedian Collection
jenneth
McCullough
at a
Raider reunion in 2007. From the author's collection
Brian Quirk, here in his
Illinois
home
in
2007,
counts his time with Evans Carlson, during both the Makin Raid and the Long Patrol, as highlights in his long
Marine I
During the 2007 Raider reunion enjoys a light
moment
in
career.
ROM THE AUTHOR S COLLECTION
San Diego, Ervin Kaplan From the author s collection
Carlson and Roosevelt at
Camp
Catlin, Hawaii,
before the From
A group of
thi
Makin
Raid.
Robert Burnette Collection
Raiders enjoys a brief
on the bow of the USS Nautilus on August 1, 1942, on their way to Makin. exercise period
1
National Archives #34493
Raiders rehearse for the
Raid while aboard the
Makin
USS
Nautilus, August 12, 1942. National Archives #11714
Sgt.
Walter Carroll
Pvt.
(left)
and
Dean Winters prepare
to leave the
USS
before the
Nautilus
Makin
\ ITION M
Raid.
\R( HIM S U 11-22
A photograph
of
Makin
Island
taken through the periscope of the
USS
Nautilus shortly
before the Raiders headed
toward shore. National Archives #34494
At Makin the Raiders used rubber boats
shown before for the I
like these,
here
filming a scene
movie Gang Ho!
ROM THE PEDER GUSTAVSON COLLECTION, Marine Corps Research Center, QUANTICO, VlRCINlA
Colonel Carlson aboard the
USS
Nautilus
moments
he returned on August
after
18.
signs of strain are evident. National Arc hives #zoss5
The
Edward Wygal and Sgt. C. L. Golasewski show off weaponry Cpl.
aboard the
USS
the raid.
Pvt.
Dean Winters holds
Japanese
rifle
a
Nautilus following National Archives #11724
captured
following the
Makin
Raid, August 18, 1942. National Archives H 1728 \
I
he
USS Argonaut o
after the
Makin
returns to a military J
Raid.
welcome
at the Pearl
1
larhor
Submarine Rase
National Archives #11746
A jubilant Carlson
and
Roosevelt after their arrival in Pearl
following the
Harbor
Makin
Raid. From the Robert Burnette Collection
Carlson, James Roosevelt, and Lt.
commanding
Comdr. Jack
Pierce,
officer ot the
USS Argonaut
a laugh
aboard the boat upon
return to Pearl
1
1
arbor.
National Archives U 11736
Adm. Chester W. Nimitz the
USS Argonaut upon
(back
to
camera) greets Maj. James Roosevelt aboard
his return to Pearl
1
,
larbor following the raid. National Archives
//
1
1738
share its
Two
of Carlson’s
commandos pose
after returning to Pearl Harbor.
Their youthful appearance belies the lethal talents both possess. National Archives #11747
Colonel Carlson and
Major Roosevelt hold a (lag taken from Japanese headquarters during the
Makin
Raid.
National Archives #40182
A
smiling Jack Miller {second from right) relaxes with {from
Le Francois,
Lt. I
Merwyn
left:) Lt.
W ilfred
Plumlev, and Lt. Charles Lamb.
rom mi Jack Miller Collection. DeGolyer
Library.
Southern Methodist University, Dallas. Texas, A2004.00C1
Many of Carlson’s
Haider
officers are pictured in this
group photo found
in
the
Jack Miller Collection, including Peatross, McAuliffe,
Schwerin, Coyte, and
Early.
From the Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, A2004.0001
A
Haider poses for a photo near a
native hut with one of Jacob Vouza’s scouts.
The
scouts’
of the terrain
knowledge
and jungle proved
invaluable to Carlson. From the Kenneth McCullough Collection
Natives and their shelters practically blend into the dense
jungle. At times the Haiders
could see only yards ahead. toM the Kenneth McCullough Collection
5HL.
I
lappy that the fighting has
ended at Asamana, a few Raiders wash in the Metapona River near the village. A few huts stand in the upper right. From ruE Robert Burnette Collection
Carlson ( middle wearing glasses) discusses tactics with other officers during a ,
break on the Long
Native carriers cross a
kunai grass
field to
bring
supplies to Carlson’s men. From the Robert Burnette Collection
Patrol.
From the Frank Cannistraci Collection
Raiders on patrol cross a kunai grass
four feet in other locations, making the
among kunai
The knee-high grass shown here grew to Long Patrol an arduous trek that alternated
field.
grass fields, dense jungle, rivers
and streams, and mountain
ridges.
From the Kenneth McCullough Collection
A
native scout leads a Raider
one of the many streams. Thick jungle looms patrol across
in the
background.
From the Frank Cannistraci Collection
Raiders, wary of
what might be hiding
advance along a
river sandbar.
in the
dense jungle blanketing the shore, carefully From the Frank Cannistraci Collection
Raiders encountered
wooden
many obstacles during the Long
Patrol.
I
lerc a patrol balances its
way
across a
bridge spanning one of Guadalcanal’s marshes as they leave the Aola area. From the Frank Cannistraci Collection
wash his feet and socks in one of the numerous streams that dissected the jungle. With him are Capt. John Apergis (left) and Australian Maj. John Carlson uses a break
Mather.
During O Carlson
a
O’
break on the Long Patrol,
(left)
poses with Jacob Vouza
and Major Mather
(right).
From the Robert Burnette Collection
in patrolling to
From the Robert Burnette Collection
Raider
^
ts
company winds along
patrol S.
a ridge’s crest
during one of
From the Frank Cannistraci Collection
Raiders often
came
decaying bodies of as
across the
Shoji's forces
they pursued the Japanese
away from the Marine perimeter at Henderson Field. From the Kenneth McCullough Collection
daiders set up a hirty-day patrol L
camp
one
of their locations
as
From the Kenneth McCullough Collection
"Wild Bill Schwerin
mans his Long Patrol.
observes while a Raider Soys
along the
on Guadalcanal. Notice the lean-to used
shelter.
A bearded
at
gun during the
rom the Kenneth McCullough Coi lection
A
group of Raiders climbs
a steep, jungle-clad ridge
Patrol. Nature’s obstacles like this
Raiders,
many
of
whom suffered
during the Long
combined with disease
severe weight
to ravage the
loss.
From thk Kenneth McCullough Collection
The
Raiders had to scale tree-covered ridges similar to this
during the
final stage
of their
Long
Patrol. National Archives #108549
A
cross similar to the one pictured
was used site.
to
mark Jack
Miller’s grave-
Jungle growth quickly obliter-
ated signs of the
site,
making location
of his remains almost impossible. From the Jack Miller Collection. DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, A2004.0001
The Long for a Life
Patrol complete, Carlson {sitting, right ) poses with a
magazine photographer. They hold
month behind enemy
a
From the Frank Cannistraci Collection
lines.
his son, Lt.
the
Long
moment
Jacob Vouza received many accolades after the war, including honors from the
ties
1
le
maintained close
with the Raiders until his death.
From the Herbert C. Merielat Collection, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia
with
Evans Carlson,
Patrol.
National Archives //2163— A
of England.
men
few souvenirs seized during the
Carlson enjoys a
Queen
group of his
after
Film actor Randolph Scott as
Evans Carlson addresses
his
Raiders during a scene from the 1943 movie
Gung Ho!
From the Pedf.r Glstavson Collection, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia
Marine Raider Pete Arias, a veteran of the vicious fight at Asamana, here poses with a Raider buddy, Frank Cannistraci, during the 2007 San DiegO reunion. From the al thor's collection
The Marine Corps
reveres the
men who
helped establish
its
Marine band serenades a group of Raiders and families during the 2007 Raider reunion.
tation.
1
lere a
reputheir
From the author's collection
We Rode
to the
they had been bred there, and like are dead.”
By
Sound some
the Guns
off
179
beasts you never see
them
13
early
November
the American
commander on
the scene, Marine Maj.
Gen. Alexander A. Vandegrift, canceled scheduled operations Guadalcanal
to
and of the
island’s interior,
swamps but
only crocodiles and
moved
their
western
in
counter a growing threat east of the perimeter around Hen-
derson. Vandegrift lacked knowledge of both the his east
until they
men and
supplies.
number
of
where jungle-shrouded
enemy
troops to
masked not
terrain
which the Japanese
also the trails along
He needed someone who
could push into that
jungle and determine the location and strength of his foe.
Another unknown faced only answer
in his
own
men who
kind of
He
Guadalcanal, one that each Marine could
it
novelist
James Jones, himself wounded “But did
in his history of the war.
we have
the
could stand up eyeball to eyeball and whip the Jap?”
added, “The Japanese, with their warrior code of the hushi, had been in
active
combat warfare
civilians.
suicidals? did.”
man
Americans had been peacetime
for ten years,’’ while
"Could we evolve
could meet them
we
at
The noted
way.
Guadalcanal, best posed
at
men
man
to
Enough weird
a soldier, a civilian [italics Jones’s] soldier, in the field?
who
Did we have enough crazies and
types of our own, to do that?
Not everyone was sure
14
Jones posed the same question Captain Washburn (Joseph Griffith, Peatross, Apergis,
and Washburn had since been promoted
when, traveling by up it
to the task.
rail
the previous December,
Washburn,
Miller,
to captain)
commuters asked
Maghakian, Carlson
—each had
had faced if
he were
to
answer
on Guadalcanal.
“We Were Nervous Coming
In”
Carlson selected Capt. Harold K. Throneson’s
Washburn’s E Company
to
accompany him
to
that
once
his
men were
and Captain
Guadalcanal and alerted the
other four Raider companies to be prepared to
He hoped
C Company move out on
in place, superiors
would
short notice.
find a
more
suit-
able task for his battalion.
On
October 31, Washburn and Throneson
companies
Manley
—four
at Espiritu
officers
Santo
led the
and 129 enlisted men
to begin the trip north to
in
266 men
each
in
the two
—aboard the USS
Guadalcanal. Carlson
fol-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
180 lowed with the seven
officers
and twenty-five enlisted men
headquar-
in the
company.
ters
The
Washburn was about
quiet
combat experience. He
to gain his first
men, labeled "Junior Raiders’ by the
trusted that his
because of their
late start,
were ready
original four
companies
show they were Raiders
to
in fact as
well as in name.
Washburn
did not have as
War
the World
ified
much
I—vintage destroyer into a troop transport by placing be-
lowdecks hunks stacked four and the
Manley. The Navy had mod-
faith in the
five tiers high.
cramped conditions, and wondered
stifling,
Raiders sweated heavily in the thin hulls provided
if
adequate security against an attack or heavy seas. Captain Washburn figured
“we
all
when
Later, V.
knew
Rulger of
like corks.
that they a
would be caskets
if
they ever took a hit or a torpedo."
C Company recalled
that "those
The bow dipped under These
little tin
and green Raiders
Practically every
man
violent conditions, all
in
thin shelled, old
lay in their
which caused
calm waters of Indispensable
to shore.
Most
to avoid
I
destroyers
crashing into nearby
bunks and vomited into
their helmets. to the
Private Rulger to state, “Needless to say
when our
Strait of Aola.’’
The November 4 landing could
down
World War
Captain Washburn’s company succumbed
ready to storm any beach
they climbed
cans were tossed about
twenty-five-foot waves and doused the
shuddered, creaked and moaned" as they tried
were
^
storm engulfed the ship on the voyage’s second day, Pvt. Lowell
entire ship with seawater.
vessels,
1
convoy hove
tiny
we
to in the fairly
16
not arrive soon enough. At five thirty a.m.
netting into Higgins boats and settled in for the short ride
carried only a few essentials, as they had
been
told they
would
be ashore for onlv or two. a dav j J
As nal,
daylight filtered in, the
men
obtained their
first
glimpses of Guadalca-
an island that had, by now, gained almost legendary status for the vicious
combat since
early August. Multiple blue
that lapped against golden sands. fields
and
hills
Palm
hues layered the tropical waters
trees
and green jungle covered the
inland, serving as sentinels for the sharp ridges
and mountain
peaks towering behind. Beneath the beauty, however, lurked horrors that had, until
now, existed only
in
the Raiders’ imaginations. Nature, in the guise of
incessant rains, thigh-clutching odiles,
mud and jungle
and disease, waited with the Japanese
As the Higgins boats John Apergis,
a
steadily
member
reduce Raider ranks.
moved toward shore
of Headquarters
reception. Supposedly Martin
to
vines, insects, spiders, croc-
Clemens,
in a
pouring
rain,
Company, wondered about
a British official
who
Capt. their
organized the
We Rode Solomon
to the
Sound
of the
Guns
would be waiting ashore. For
Island scouts,
181
Apergis knew, the
all
Japanese hid just behind the beaches, waiting to deliver a counterpunch to the landing.
A
scheduled bonfire
up the semidarkness
lit
as a
marker
the incoming Raiders, but what lurked beyond that tiny circle of light?
undoubtedly recalled the Japanese slaughter of the Goettge
officers
group of Marines hacked
to
for
Some
Patrol, a
death the previous August. Could the
enemy
have another atrocity waiting for them? Pfc. Ervin Kaplan,
calm as cover
one of Washburn’s men, thought everything appeared
his Higgins boat
neared shore.
He crouched
low
to take
advantage of
any gunfire from shore greet them, and was reassured by the look
lest
of confidence exuded by the other
Others were not as
men
in his craft.
"We had no
positive.
idea
what
our Higgins boats,” said Washburn’s close friend
to expect
First Lt.
coming
in
Robert W. Bur-
we might.’’ 17 Not far from Burnette, Pvt. Darrell A. Loveland of C Company battled nerves as well as uncertainties about what waited onshore. "We thought we would have to fight our way onto the beach. Definitely. Sure, we were nervous “We
nette.
coming
didn’t
know
if
we would
get opposition.
I
thought
Sort of like going into a football game, only you’re
in.
the guy across the line from you was 230! That kind of
know what
to expect. ’
saying ‘Hail Marys.
They need
Some
them
nearest Raider.
We
really didn’t
guys said prayers. You could see crosses going,
Clemens and Maj. John Mather, an Austra-
not have worried.
the beach.
at
30 pounds and
18
with Clemens, an organizer
lian intelligence officer and,
greeted
fear.
1
“I say,
ol
the native scouts,
what kept you chaps? Clemens asked the
One Marine wondered where
the Japanese were, while an-
other asked a native what disease caused the scars that covered his skin.
"Bomb bomb
disease,”
19
answered the scout.
Mather examined the Raiders which
to
as they rushed ashore
be impressed. The weaponry, especially the
the BARs, would give
them
a distinct
advantage
in
could shred foliage with the heavy firepower. Their
and youth
young
and found much with
—even
—augured
Tommy
guns and
the jungle, where they
stellar physical
condition
the officers, except for the leather-faced Carlson, looked well for whatever lay ahead.
As Carlson spoke with Clemens and Mather, Throneson and Washburn
men one mile inland to the banks of the Aola River. Washburn wondered why anyone could think of Guadalcanal as one ol those romantic moved
their
South Sea islands, as he and quitoes, rain, stink
his
—everything
company that
ran
makes
smack
into "heat, sweat,
a jungle repulsive.”
20
mos-
—
”
AMERICAN COMMANDO
182
bank
Private Bulger’s platoon occupied a high spot along the river’s east
as part of a line that extended inland in a semicircular defensive perimeter.
Impassable swamps and jungle cut between different groups of Raiders, so that Bulger
and the men could barely see the Raiders next
while dense foliage reduced their fields of
mud and
shallow foxholes in the
ons Platoon set up to the
machine guns
light
beach and mortars
to
them,
Bulger and the others dug
fire.
slime along the
in line to
while Burnette’s
river,
cover the
at the flanks to
guard the river crossings and
trails
trails
Weap-
leading
leading to the
river.
They remained
when
on Guadalcanal,
at their positions into that first night
“pitch black darkness
descended and
left
individual
fire
teams alone
with their thoughts. Every Raider faced this unnerving initiation to the night-
time jungle, where noises that sounded innocent by day suddenly took on a
more ferocious
who
nature. Private Bulger,
Ml, passed
carried an
the night
BAR man Pvt. Kenneth Meland and Pvt. Darrell Loveland and his Tommy gun. The trio waited upon a twenty-foot knoll along the river, flanked with
by swamps on either
side,
and hoped
to
make
it
to
dawn. They
sat in their
shallow foxhole, trying to determine the natural jungle sounds from what
could be
man-made and attempting to
adjust to the “eerie jungle noises, huge
crawling land crabs, two-foot long tree lizards, crocodiles
hundreds of
rivers, creeks,
and slews, and millions of
quitoes, carriers of a variety of jungle fevers
. .
swimming
in
insects, voracious
the
mos-
21
.
“The Jungle Was the Enemy’s” Dawn
not only brought
for Carlson.
An
relief for the
Raiders but an altered mission
airdropped message from General Vandegrift handed Carlson
the task he wanted talion
welcome
all
along, a chore perfectly suited for the skills of his bat-
and the purposes of the Jacques Farm training
campaign
in
—an unconventional
Guadalcanal’s interior consisting of hit-and-run, surprise as-
saults. For the next
month Carlson was
to scout
west toward the perimeter to
determine the strength of enemy forces between Aola Bay and Henderson Field, as well as to interdict
escaped
a trap set
any of the
by other Marine and
fifteen
hundred Japanese who had
Army elements
to confine
them along
the coast at Koli Point ten miles to the west. Success on both counts would stabilize the situation near the
Carlson had no idea
how
Henderson perimeter.
difficult or
dangerous the mission might be
We Rode
to the
Sound
Guns
of the
183
Capt. John Apergis wrote that the Marines were “‘blind’ as to the disposition
enemy
of the
troop formations’ and that “the jungle was the enemy’s” 22
that only heightened his anticipation. Unlike tion with
hand
to
predetermined objectives,
Makin,
— hut
a rehearsed, staged ac-
Guadalcanal Carlson enjoyed a free
at
implement the lessons of Nicaragua and of China.
Carlson “was
at
home
such blind
in
tactical situations,”
wrote one of
Captain Washburn’s men, Pfc. William D. Lansford. “He’d trained our battalion precisely for
job
when we met
unorthodox warfare, so he was confident we’d do the
the enemy. Guadalcanal would be our acid test
opportunity] to test his tactics in terrain so wild that
it
was
largely
.
.
[the
.
unknown,
even to the coastal natives. The downside was that we’d be greatly outnumbered by the enemy.” 23 Carlson would depart on November
by
6, assisted
1
50 native scouts and
supply carriers under John Mather and Martin Clemens.
Tasimboko
eight miles west, scouts that
When
they reached
were more familiar with the
around Henderson Field would replace the
territory
group and take the Raid-
original
ers to the perimeter.
Carlson needed the native scouts. Possessing only inaccurate, outdated
maps, Carlson willingly accepted valuable aid from
men such
guided them during the early days, and the heroic Jacob Vouza, ready earned epic status for his work earlier
in the fighting.
who
as Tabasui,
who had
al-
Mather instructed
Carlson that rather than money, which was meaningless on an island lacking stores, the scouts
would work
for food
and tobacco.
Fascinating characters, such as Platoon Sergeant Maghakian, Capt. William “Wild talion,
Schwerin, and Carlson himself, abounded
but none
Japanese torture
Bill”
in
may have been
to divulge
American
as Vouza.
bayoneted the islander after find-
flag in his possession.
Despite the agony, Vouza refused
refused to
talk.
for hours.
slashes tore Vouza’s throat, chest, arms, and stomach, he
The Japanese
regained consciousness,
eventually
left
chewed through the ropes
and crawled three miles back
to
Marine
lines.
him
for dead, but
that
bound him
Weakened from blood
the ordeal, Vouza looked so ghastly that Martin at
Captured by the
soldiers repeatedly
any information, even though being questioned
Though bayonet still
amazing
Raider Bat-
the early stages of the fighting on Guadalcanal, Vouza survived
when Japanese
ing a tiny
as
in the
Clemens could
Vouza
to a tree, loss
and
barely look
him.
Carlson met with Washburn and Throneson on November the details.
He
left a
5 to
rear echelon at Aola that every four days
map
would
out
ferry
AMERICAN COMMANDO
184
From
supplies by landing craft to coastal spots along his route.
would hike the food and ammunition
carriers
meantime the
the
transport
and F companies.
Much
would return
to Carlson’s jungle location. In
to Espiritu
Santo
to bring in B,
D,
to Lieutenant Miller’s chagrin, already antsy over
A Company
was
next morning Carlson took his
first
missing the Makin Raid,
there, native
to
remain
in
the
New
Hebrides
until further notice.
The
266 men of Washburn’s and Throneson’s companies. Driven by
the
to prove his battalion’s worth,
Carlson was a
ing out the enemy, an officer
opportunity
“I
steps into the jungle, followed by
in
man
who, according
to
intent on locating
Martin Clemens,
a desire
and wip"lost
no
harassing them.’’ 24
Stink Like a Billygoat” may
Carlson
not have
have taken a word
known much about Guadalcanal’s
hut he could
caution from the master storyteller Jack London. After
ol
the author visited the island, he wrote that ish his chief
interior,
if
he were a king and had to ban-
opponent, Guadalcanal would do just
fine.
Ninety-two miles
long by thirty-three miles wide, Guadalcanal rests ten degrees below the
A
equator.
line of
volcanoes and ridges forms a spine across the island’s mid-
section, while lower-lying areas sport lush jungles broken by
razor-sharp kunai grass. jungle,
Numerous
rivers
and streams traverse the
whose canopy towers one hundred
swamps,
ridges,
and
rotting vegetation
wide
feet
fields of
fields
and
above the surface. Vines,
house a zookeeper’s cornucopia of
leeches, scorpions, snakes, crocodiles, lizards, fist-sized spiders, centipedes,
and three-inch-long wasps. Hot and humid when sunny, miserable during the near daily torrential rains, Guadalcanal’s succulent appearance dissipates
upon
closer observation.
At daylight on
November
6,
Carlson led his two battalions and accom-
panying native scouts into Guadalcanal’s
interior.
He
intended to scout
west toward the perimeter into areas of reported Japanese presence, halting briefly at villages along the
way
—
first
Gegende, then Reko, Kima, Tasimboko,
Tina, and Binu. Carlson issued for a four-day supply of rice, raisins, bacon,
and
tea.
Within a few paces Washburn had already noticed the jungle’s festering,
dank
smell.
Behind
a point consisting of a
scout, at three paces apart the Raiders
squad accompanied by a native
moved along
native trails so narrow
We Rode
they permitted only a single
which stretched
line,
to
humidity bathed each
Sound
to the
in
Guns
in length,
185
and swamps impeded the
Rivers, creeks,
file.
one mile
man
of the
while the torturous heat and
sweat before they had traveled a quarter mile.
Liana vines, festooned with what Private Bulger described as “thousands of fish-hook barbs, ” reached out from
Men
lying in wait to slow their progress.
knives, but
forming
sides,
all
hacked bushes with
one cleared foot of jungle path led
"Those vines would
irritating tentacles
to a
second cluttered one.
and tear your face or hands or arms
rip
their Raider
right
through
your dungarees,” stated Private Bulger. "These lacerations would quickly
fes-
and become a running sore which remained during our entire stay on
ter
Guadalcanal.”
By the end of the
moved only
five
first
day,
impeded by vines and streams, the Raiders had
miles through the thick jungle. Despite advancing only that
short distance, Bulger stated that “we
On
the morning of
November
7,
exhausted asleep
fell
in
men
Carlson chastised his
the rain." 2
^
for their tardy
pace of the day before. In hopes of improving the performance, Carlson
trav-
eled with the point, and despite advancing through near impassable rain forest
and checking each side of the
trail
for Japanese, the
companies picked up
the pace.
The morning sun leaves
made
quickly heated the jungle, where steam from
the Raiders think they had stepped into a Turkish hath.
rain at first unfolded in a
sides of rivers
the
monotonous pattern
and streams before opening
— broad jungles
to fields of
way the Raiders crossed and recrossed winding
lages.
D
and
dampened The
ter-
skirted the
sharp kunai grass. Along rivers
and inspected
vil-
Captain Peatross, the commander of B Company, which, along with F
companies had joined the battalion on November
10,
marveled
at
the
difficulties of traversing the island’s rivers. "It
than
had rained
five feet
risky,”
fairly
deep
in
hard during the night, and the river was running more
some
places;
hence fording
it
was time-consuming and
Peatross wrote of crossing the Berande River, one-third of the
Aola Bay to Henderson Field. "Although banks, the shorter
even had
men
still
had
we
to struggle to
to tie their toggle ropes
around
way from
strung a lifeline between the
keep their footing, and
their waists
Raiders on the bank for an assist out of the stream.
and
toss the
a
few
ends
to
The running water cooled
our bodies, washed the sweat and stench from our clothes, and made fresh
men
of us
Days
—
at least for a
few minutes.” 26
fighting the terrain
ended
in nights struggling
with fears, both
and imagined. Even when the Raiders spotted no enemy
real
soldiers, the Japa-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
186 nese certainly waited close
by.
Gunshots from nervous Raiders frequently
punctured those early nights. “Although
we were
well trained for jungle operations," wrote Captain
Peatross of his company’s to
night on Guadalcanal, “we
be particularly careful on our
first
many
that
we had
be more
after having
heard
2 horror stories about the wily Japanese on Guadalcanal.”
Carlson’s
first
Bokokimho River squad
knew
men would
night, since our
spooked than on any night afterwards, particularly
easily
so
initial
arrived,
engagement occurred five
at
Reko, a tiny native village along the
miles west of Aola Bay.
empty Japanese
When
Carlson and the point
and cigarette packages
ration boxes
littered
the otherwise deserted village. Carlson posted sentries and allowed the other
men
to
bathe and wash their uniforms while the main body, some four hours
behind, caught up to the point.
Around two p.m. the strange sounds. Within
myna
parrots and
moments
Bokokimho. Raiders grabbed
their
birds suddenly stopped their
shots rang out on the opposite side of the
weapons and jumped
into the river,
slowed
by the neck-deep waters that pressed against them as they headed for the other side, weapons and packs held above their heads.
up splashes about them, Private Loveland In an
opening not
ning a dead wild
all
and
a
reached the
far
bank
few others fanned out
far
from the
pig.
Raider
river,
they later
fire killed
to the trail, with the
to search for the Japanese.
came
across ten Japanese skin-
two and scattered the
man’s intestines dragging
Carlson sent for an interpreter, but before the
A humorous in
soldier
in
could
the
in his
dirt,
and
uniform.
come forward
to
first firefight.
Warren G. Alger leaped
Upon
hear-
for cover hut instead
the midst of the vicious liana vines. While the fighting raged, Alger
tried to free himself
from the barbs, which held him suspended three feet
above the ground. After ten minutes of reached fellow Raiders,
miny of being trapped his
with the
succumbed.
incident broke the tension of that
ing the initial gunshots, Pfc.
landed
enemy
man
rest,
wounded Japanese and
found an oilskin packet containing money and papers sewn
interrogate the Japanese, the
bullets kicked
safely.
Raiders in hot pursuit. Private Bulger discovered a
yanked him
Though
in
who came
fruitless struggle, Alger’s cries for
to his aid. Alger
had
to
help
endure the igno-
such an ungainly place as well as the laughter from
comrades.
When
the skirmish ended. Captain Apergis strolled over to where the
dead Japanese
lay
on the ground. The image of the young
soldiers,
even
”
We Rode though they belonged viduals with hopes
to the
and dreams
for the future,
few
a
Guns
of the
187
enemy, bothered him. Those hoys were
to the
had suddenly ended with
Sound
might just as easily have been
his.
bullets.
much
But
indi-
like
him. Their ambitions
for fate,
one of those bodies
Apergis gazed
enemy
at the fallen
for a
few
moments, then walked away. Following the village
skirmish, Carlson established a base
first
between the Balesuna and Metapona
camp
rivers three miles
Binu, a
at
from the coast.
His patrols had already established that the twelve-mile area between Aola
Bay and Binu sheltered few,
would allow him
to
move
Binu and Henderson
any,
if
Japanese troops, and working out of Binu
his operations
Field.
west and scout the jungles between
As Binu was the
last
inhabited village between
the Balesuna and Henderson, Carlson also had a ready supply of scouts for the next phase of his operation.
More
important, Carlson might soon have plenty of Japanese to pursue.
By November
10,
Marine and Army units had moved against the
hundred Japanese reinforcements
in the jungle three
the Marines and
Army
miles to the village
enemy to
northwest. Vandegrift had hoped to confine the
battalion in the
briefed
battalions could gradually destroy them, but a thou-
Metapona
the other
with sizeable
enemy
As the Raiders
He
feast of turkey
was
all
cautioned that they were
meal of
ate their normal
Frank
J.
me
and don’t have
The men
rice
now. Tonight, I’m a single
one of
of Washburn’s
commanding
Carlson that
likely to collide
and bacon that evening,
momentarily nudged aside the
167th anniversary of the Marine
one year
recalled that
earlier
and dressing, ham, mashed potatoes, and
in the next day’s battle,
their
Lawson
Men
10, the
spit-shined and decked out in
just look at
his
forces.
thought by celebrating November Pit. Sgt.
fled
his Raiders to aggressively patrol the area
the likelihood of battle dominated talk.
Corps.
to intercept these troops.
company commanders and emphasized
on the next morning he wanted west of Binu to the Metapona.
and
1
By occupying Binu, Carlson placed
River.
most advantageous place
Washburn and
s
the coastline, where
sand Japanese eluded his trap during the night of November 10-1 inland toward the
fifteen
all
my dress
dirty,
blues,”
ice
he enjoyed a
cream. “Then
I
Lawson remarked, "hut
ragged, unshaven, stink like a billygoat,
those goodies
I
had
E Company, who would
a year ago.
. .
28
.
play a prominent part
acted with an assurance bred from confidence in
officer.
Since training, Captain Washburn had combined
insistence on doing things the right
way with
a
deep fondness
for his
men.
188
He pushed them men could utilize where
difficult
"We few
called
in training,
AMERICAN COMMANDO but also gave them situations in which talented
their abilities
became him
and leadership
‘Jungle Jim,”' related Pvt. Lathrop
His officers agreed. Platoon, claimed that
First Lt.
Washburn "was
tenacious and mission oriented.
He was a
“Very
commander of the Second unassuming man having the
Early,
a great
He was
Gay of Washburn.
29
Cleland E.
Marines who knew him.
all
Guadalcanal’s jungles,
the norm, he shared every adversity with his men.
officers are as excellent as Washburn.’’
respect of
skills. In
a great leader,
calm under
fire,
modest person and did not seek the
acclaim that he gained throughout his career.’ Washburn’s Weapons Platoon
commanding
officer,
Lieutenant Burnette, needed few words to describe his
Washburn “one
close friend, calling
As corpsmen handed out the and
of God’s noblemen.’”"
daily doses of atabrine to
salve to ease the discomfort already being
combat malaria
caused by jungle
not on sentry crawled into their half shelters for a bit of rest.
rot,
Raiders
They would need
their strength for the next day.
“An
Awesome
Barrier to Our Front”
—Armistice Day—sensing They gear and swallowed some cold food — heavy overnight and extinguished the of warm chow — and waited
The Raiders awoke
the next morning
a fight.
gathered their
soaked
fires
rains
possibility
for
orders.
Carlson was on the move and issuing orders to the
manders
at
five
company com-
the crack of dawn. In an attempt to intercept the fleeing Japa-
nese, Carlson fanned out a four-layered patrol to search the terrain
the village of Asamana along the coast four miles to the north.
pany
to
move west
Metapona
He
River and Guadalcanal’s northern
ordered Captain Throneson and
eight miles from Binu to
Asamana, where
reportedly spotted a group of Japanese soldiers.
Company one and a trail along the
a half miles north of
F.
C Com-
native scouts
Washburn was
C Company,
Metapona. Capt. Charles
between
to lead
E
then veer west to explore
McAuliffe and
his
platoon was to scout the area one mile to Washburn’s north and
D Company
make contact
with the Army’s 164th Infantry fighting along the coast, while Capt. William
"Wild
Bill
between
Schwerin’s F
that village
pany would remain
Company marched
and the Balesuna
at
north to Tetere to patrol the area
River.
Captain Peatross and B
Binu as base security and as a reserve force.
Com-
We Rode
to the
Sound
of the
Guns
189
PATROL
LONG
CARLSON’S
Ward
L Jeffrey
©2008
AMERICAN COMMANDO
190
As the sun slowly rose over the horizon, heralding another sweltering day in
Guadalcanal’s withering heat and humidity, four lines of Raiders
file
followed their native scouts out of Binu.
The men
soon
field’s far side,
lost sight of
Little
each other.
The
lull
another kunai grass the column.
low
a sharp
the four companies veered onto separate courses and
happened during the
farther apart.
up
With the jungle waiting
ridge before plunging into a broad field of kunai grass.
on the
shuffled
in single
ended
field
at
first
few hours as the four companies spread
ten a.m.
As Washburn’s E Company crossed
northeast of Asamana, mortar shells crashed near
Washburn evaded
the mortar attack by guiding his
nearby jungle along the Metapona River, but
C
explosions and gunfire emerging from the
Fellow Raiders were under
fire.
in the
process detected mortar
D Company sectors. Throneson’s C Company
Asamana, following
ing to the village. “The heat and humidity
dungarees were soaking wet with sweat,
into a
and
Captain
patrolled the eight miles from Rinu to
men
had
a native trail lead-
was almost overpowering and our
Ml
recalled Private Bulger,
who
oc-
cupied a spot with the point.
By nine a.m. the company had reached
a
coconut plantation two miles
from Asamana. Abandoned Japanese ration packs the Raiders to
move more
cautiously. Bulger
littered the area,
causing
and other elements of the point
the coconut grove shortly before ten and entered a three-hundred-yard-
left
square kunai grass
field
enclosed on three sides by heavy jungle.
At the point Pvt. Pete Arias, a squat, muscular Mexican-American from California, smelled danger.
ing arena for the Japanese,
The jungle-shrouded
who
could hide
the Raiders as they crossed in the open.
The
in
field
scouts that Jacob Vouza had sent
provided an excellent
ambush.
Three point squads spread out as the company approached the right
and
left
flank points walked
fifty
grass.
The
yards behind Arias and the center point
squad, with Throneson and the main body following. tinized
kill-
the bushes while decimating
to the area the night before reported that the field
location for an
provided a perfect
The men
carefully scru-
each yard of the thick kunai grass before advancing another few steps
toward the jungle. Arias’s point
the fifty
fire
squad entered the jungle, while the
left
point, comprising
team of Private Bulger, Private Meland, and Private Loveland, stood
yards farther back. The thick jungle
machine-gun
position,
whose
masked the camouflaged Japanese
soldiers ignored Arias
the larger main body of Raiders to
move
closer.
and patiently waited
for
We Rode
to the
Sound
of the
Guns
191
As Arias neared the jungle s edge, Cpl. John D. Bennett for the others to halt. “That’s as far as
opened up and just wiped him
he
got,’ said Arias.
‘This machine gun
my squad."
Stitched across the
wiped out
out,
hands
raised his
chest by machine-gun bullets from a nest less than twenty yards away, Bennett
fell
dead, while through pure chance Arias and two others dropped to
the ground without being touched. Fifty yards back in the open
field,
Private
Loveland’s group spread out and charged toward the jungle before hitting the
Men
turf.
the main body rushed forward until heavy
in
among
seek refuge
forced
them
to
the grass.
“The sounds of battle increased Bulger as Japanese
fire
rifles,
a frightening array of
deafening volume,” recalled Private
to a
machine guns, hand grenades, and mortars directed
power
their way.
The enemy "presented an awesome
barrier to our front.” 32
“This
Was No Small Enemy
Patrol”
At 10:10 a.m., only ten minutes after Washburn’s report of a mortar sault,
Throneson
notified Carlson at
Binu that he,
too,
was under
as-
attack.
As
information tumbled into headquarters, Carlson discerned a favorable situation.
With the Japanese apparently focused on stopping
kunai grass
field, if
C Company could
burn and McAuliffe
to
hold
head south from
C Company
position long
its
enough
their patrol areas,
for
in the
Wash-
he could bring
and E companies onto the enemy rear and flank and trap the Japanese massive envelopment, just as he had seen the Chinese Eighth Route
do
in
and
enemy
the fore and
wanted
to
as Carlson crisply issued a series of orders to catch
wrote Mather.
"All his previous training
was soon apparent
it
to all ranks that
do and how he would go about
By eleven a.m. preparations were
Asamana, and
hit
the
enemy
Captain McAuliffe was left flank,
attacking
to bring
while Wild
Bill
to reinforce
Throneson
he knew exactly what he
Carlson ordered Washburn to
Metapona
River, cross at the village of
C Company from
the
D Company directly south
Schwerin embarked on
in the field.
to
33
Binu and further orders. Carlson also sent
pany
and preparation came
it.
in place.
veer south along the west bank of the
to
Army
offguard. “Carlson started to do this immediately with confidence
ability,”
nese
in a
the 1930s.
John Mather watched the
D
rear.
Meanwhile,
against the Japa-
a forced
a reserve platoon
march back
from B
Com-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
192
Private Arias, Private Loveland,
C Company
and the other
nothing of these developments as they concentrated on staying alive kunai grass
gun, blazing from less than twenty yards away. Fortunately,
in
the
in that
machine
Arias hugged the ground directly in front of the
field.
knew
Raiders
tall
grass
neither Arias nor the Japanese gunner could see each other. Raiders rolled or
crawled to the shells
left
plowed the
grass.
Here and there
a Raider
would suddenly
zigzag course for ten steps, then disappear again into the grass.
Japanese bullets
and
Sgt.
hit Pvt.
James
E.
Van Winkle
Richard Fye took a bullet
as
he attempted
firing
from
away, Private Loveland and Private Bulger had shuffled
when
unwounded
Woodrow
while Pfc.
he, Loveland,
been
either retreated or
“We knew Bulger.
survivor of his
Three times seek shelter,
less
left
than 150 feet
toward the
field’s
Greenlee, shot
in
gun crew, sprayed the jungle and the hip, attempted to drag him-
Bulger shouted to Meland, but
self to the rear.
assumed
race a
they met Cpl. John Sullivan on a .30-caliber light machine gun.
Sullivan, the sole trees,
to
rise,
buttocks while directing his men.
in his
With enemy snipers and machine guns
center,
and mortar
or right as bullets kicked into the dirt nearby
at
He and
when he
and Sullivan were stranded
at the front.
The
rest
had
killed.
once that
this
was no small enemy
patrol,”
34
said Private
the other Raiders faced the remnants of the 228th Infantry
Regiment, recently arrived from Bougainville, and seven hundred
received no reply he
men who had escaped
trap the night before. Hopefully, aid
the
would
Shoji’s
230th
Infantry,
combined Marine-Army
arrive before the
coastal
enemy wiped
out
the entire company.
As Washburn
led his
own quandary
men
to
C
Company’s rescue. Captain McAuliffe faced
D Company.
men had advanced onlv a short distance across a field toward Throneson two miles awav when J Japanese troops hidden in the jungle opened fire. Two Raiders fell dead from his
with his platoon from
His
J
the
initial flurry
of bullets, and the other Raiders scampered for safety amidst
machine-gun bullets and rifle-grenade explosions. McAuliffe’s men had crawl along the ground as they attempted to pull out of the
field.
McAuliffe erred when he allowed himself to be cut off from the his platoon. Instead of traveling with the Sgt.
Harold Schrier
in
to
rest of
main group, McAuliffe placed
charge so that he could be with the point squad.
PI.
Enemy
We Rode
to the
Sound
Guns
of the
193
opposition quickly sliced McAuliffe and his squad from Schrier’s men,
commander from
effect decapitating the
For field,
much
his platoon.
men remained Throneson in his own field
of the day, McAuliffe and his thirteen
unable to either retreat or to reach
immediate south. The
day’s success
now
in
the
to the
on the shoulders of Washburn,
fell
whose quiet demeanor caused
the officer
in
train
commuters
wonder about
to
the value of the American fighting man.
“The Guys Were Mowing Them Down” Before deciding on his course of action,
Washburn discussed matters with
Lieutenants Burnette, Early, and the colonel’s son, First Lt. Evans C. Carlson.
They had decided
enemy
tack the
rear,
to cross the
when
a
Metapona, move
messenger ran
in
and
swiftly south,
at-
with Carlson’s orders to do
the same.
“Like a Civil
advance
War
outfit,’’
recalled Lieutenant Early of Washburn’s swift
“we rode
to help fellow Raiders,
time Washburn led his company
to the
— spread out
sound of the guns.
in single file
pona, a winding river whose twists and turns would to Raiders in the
halted his report on
When
men
coming
Advancing
days.
”
35
For a
—along the Meta-
become
all
too familiar
as rapidly as possible,
Washburn
only long enough for Jacob Vouza to send scouts ahead and
what they observed. he had taken them partway
cross from the east to the west
to
Asamana, he ordered
bank of the
river.
The
his
men
to
waters, swollen from
recent heavy rains, produced such strong currents that the
men
attached
ropes from one to another to traverse the stream. By ten fifteen Lieutenant Carlson’s First Platoon stood on the west hank, with Burnette’s and Early’s
platoons following close behind. Not far upstream lay the tiny village of Asa-
mana, more
a collection of
mud
huts amidst the jungle than an organized
settlement.
Washburn
led his
men
into a kunai grass field,
section of grass that had been
enemy
abreast.
The
caution.
To inspect the
signs of
where he came across
stomped down by men walking three
activity
village ahead,
caused him
to
deserted.
When
to four
proceed with unusual
he dispatched Vouza’s scouts, who
turned with reports that, other than a few Japanese soldiers inside the
Asamana was
a
re-
village,
the staccato sounds of gunfire from the field
AMERICAN COMMANDO
194 to
Asamana’s east increased
company
to
in
tempo and volume, Washburn ordered
proceed on the double.
At the point, Lieutenant Carlson s platoon reached Asamana
was unusually quiet considering the a
few
men
check the native huts, then waited
to
Two hundred
for
C
soldiers.
selves,”
Washburn’s orders.
at the
yards to the east he saw a line of soldiers,
ing the river south of the village, holding their their heads.
Not having any
Company, but
field glasses,
after a
“They were having
Washburn
recalled.
machine guns and automatic
Washburn
some
village.
stripped, ford-
equipment and weapons above
at first
thought they were
mem-
a holiday, laughing
“We
and shouting among them-
slipped up and
let
them have
it
with our
rifles.
and Burnette
to the side for a
quick
main body of Japanese could cross the Metapona and
discussion. So the
parently blocked
he
edge of the
second look concluded they were Japanese
called Lieutenants Early
cape through the
which
first,
battle raging to the west. Carlson ordered
Action heated up as soon as Washburn arrived
bers of
his
village into the jungle
C Company
es-
beyond, a strong rear guard had ap-
two miles
to the east in the field
D
and
Company to the north. Washburn had spotted this main force with his binoculars. He believed that with the enemy’s attention focused elsewhere, he could move his company closer and attack not only the the Japanese rear guard from behind. to prepare their platoons for action,
Private First Class Kaplan
covered spot
in
and
Washburn
enemy
in
the river but
sent Burnette and Early back
then moved his communications people,
Pfc. Jesse
the jungle alongside the
Vanlandingham, trail
to
to a shielded, tree-
Binu with orders
to
keep
in
touch with Colonel Carlson.
The
terrain
around Asamana offered benefits
to
both sides.
A small cleared
area surrounded the village, which was encased by the jungle.
Beyond the
jungle along the western side stood another kunai grass
while thick
field,
jungle covered both the south side of the village as well as the land on the
Metapona’s east bank.
Washburn
established an L-shaped defensive line, anchored at each end
by Burnette’s machine guns, along the riverbank to enable him to
fire at
the
Japanese while protecting his right flank from an attack out of the jungle west of Asamana.
When
The Japanese
the
in the river,
cases, their clothing, like
shooting birds,
volleys.
"The guys
men were
in
in place
Washburn gave
the order to
caught without their weapons and,
had no chance
in the initial torrent of
Private First Class
Raider
in
fire.
most
fire. "It
was
Vanlandingham stated of the opening
the front lines were
mowing them down.
M
We Rode The Japanese on
the
to the
Sound
bank reacted
place.
As the
toward
A Nambu
machine gun situated
the roots of a large banyan tree on the village side peppered the Raider
Each time Raider
line.
fire.
195
the onslaught, quickly bring-
skillfully to
ing Washburn’s advance platoon under
among
Guns
of the
it,
From
Nambu
hoping
to
fire killed
the gunner, another appeared to take his
rattled away, Lieutenant Early
draw close enough
to eliminate
Nambu
Lorenzo D. Anderson,
Jr.,
hit
it
a
few Raiders crawled
with hand grenades.
Frank M. Kurland dropped
his position at the point, Cpl.
ground before the
and
him, but the Marine directly behind him, Pfc.
was not
The young man had almost
as fortunate.
been sent home with malaria, but had begged Lieutenant Early to
remain on the
patrol.
to the
Impressed by the
to allow
private’s attitude, Early
him
convinced
the company’s doctor that Anderson’s motivation would overcome any prob-
lems caused by
him out of
his illness.
action, died instantly
Japanese mortar
shells,
who
Anderson,
from
refused to allow malaria to keep
a bullet
between the
with their muffled
pieces of deadly shrapnel and tree branches
eyes.
“whoomp sound,
among
who hugged
the Raiders,
lower to the ground in an effort to avoid the missiles.
Kaplan and Vanlandingham that the concussion
scattered
’
briefly
One
hit so close to
knocked out Vanlan-
dingham. Early’s
moved up
group
finally
managed
to destroy the
to inspect the position, they
pesky
Nambu. When
they
found several bodies scattered about
the mangled gun. Early turned over one body and narrowly avoided death
when
a
grenade lodged
escaped with shrapnel Pvt.
in
the soldier’s hand exploded.
was
a
fortunate Early
injuries to his left hand.
Lathrop B. Gay, an ammunition carrier for a machine gun, observed
the value of a veteran presence in
gunner.
The
“One
tall
guy
how
of the gunners was really cutting lose.
who smoked
a pipe,
handled
a sergeant
We had
a jittery
young
this sergeant
who
and he walked up behind the gunner and
tapped him on the back. The gunner jumped about two feet off the ground.
The it
sergeant said, You can’t scare ’em to death. You’ve got to
easy.’
The
sergeant went back to a tree,
bullets going everywhere
and
gunner
to take
it
them. Take
firing.
easy,
Here’s
make your
over the place.”™
two Japanese companies, aided by a second enemy machine gun
from across the
river
and an intense mortar barrage, counterattacked
thirty to threaten his flank,
to reorganize. least
all
and started
his pipe,
he’s telling the
shots count instead of shooting
When
lit
kill
He
Washburn
at
eleven
pulled his Raiders back to the jungle
radioed a message to Carlson explaining that he faced
two full-strength Japanese companies
at
Asamana.
at
196
AMERICAN COMMANDO
Assuming they had scared
sumed
crossing the Metapona.
“One
of the Best Field
The Japanese had
off a
minor Raider
Japanese
patrol, the
Leaders”
not figured on Washburn’s caginess. Instead of pulling out
of the area and waiting for Colonel Carlson to send reinforcements,
burn regrouped
in the jungle,
then launched a second attack
and Carlson’s platoons charged
nette’s
Washburn employed what would become Colonel
tactic If
throughout the Long Patrol the
first
noon. BurEarly’s
the
Carlson’s trademark
—flanking maneuvers.
confrontation had been a surprise to the Japanese, the second
from the humidity. To the north of the
ward the
Wash-
enemy from
momentarily paralyzed them, as more had gone into the water off
at
enemy while
straight at the
platoon skirted north and crossed the river to envelop the east.
re-
village while a
bined with one
machine gun
on the
firing
alike,
bathe or cool
crossing Raiders charged to-
river,
up across the
village side, created a
and Japanese
sliced into the water
set
to
by Early, com-
river
deadly cross
turning the
Metapona
Bullets
fire.
red.
Wash-
burn had again caught the enemy unaware.
Though slower
to react, the
Japanese mounted a vigorous defense that
included the use of mortars. “All this time the intensity of side had increased,"
and mortar
Washburn
shells started
recalled later, “sweeping the
dropping
in
Early back across the river and sent
The
on us .” 39
In response,
him west around the
fighting lapsed into a deadly
montage
—one
in
bullet before
it
from the other
bank on our
side,
Washburn brought village.
side charged
back, then the other staged a counterattack. Washburn,
gun, was hit
fire
who
and
fell
carried a shot-
the foot, but the thick leather of his Raider hoot halted the
creased his ankle and saved him from serious
ant Burnette killed one Japanese thirty feet
away with
injury'.
Lieuten-
from
his shot-
a blast
gun. Burnette’s machine guns prevented the Japanese from using the river crossing, while Early
Washburn’s
men
and Carlson controlled the empty
village.
fought the larger Japanese force to a standstill through-
out the afternoon, but eventually the enemy’s overpowering numbers and firepower took cross the
river,
its toll.
The enemy commander
sent his
men
farther south to
then brought them back to strike Washburn’s exposed right
flank.
By four
thirty
Washburn’s
men had
battled for six hours in the stifling heat
We Rode
Sound
to the
of the
Guns
197
Now low on ammunition and water, the exhausted Haiders had punch left. When a mortar barrage indicated another all-out effort by
and humidity. little
the Japanese,
Washburn opted
withdraw rather than remain
to
an exposed
in
position against superior numbers. "As the sun set,” wrote Pfc. William D.
Lansford, "we could see large groups of Japanese infantrymen closing in
around
us. In
minutes, we’d be trapped against the riverbank in the dark.” 40
Washburn concluded
his
company had done
all
could and ordered a with-
it
drawal and started back to Binu. Realizing that the sole avenue of escape lay through a narrow gully and trail
Joseph Auman, a
Washburn
to the north,
at
stationed a
machine gunner, twenty-year-old
the exit to provide cover.
second stood guard, then the other two
gun
his
until the
We
first
withdrew one platoon
as
Auman remained
at
in succession.
and
killed the
young American.
die,” said Private
Gay of his
friend, but "he kept firing.
Japanese closed
"He knew he would
He
Pvt.
in
took off because the Japanese were getting around behind us and
were certainly outnumbered.” 41
Auman was awarded
the
Navy Cross
we
for his
actions.
Washburn
Severely handicapped in weapons, men, and ammunition,
chose
to retract his
men from danger
com-
rather than needlessly expend a
pany of highly trained Raiders. In the process, on the enemy, with the 133-man company
his
men
killing
inflicted
huge
losses
120 Japanese against
a
handful of losses.
Washburn’s three lieutenants, Burnette, Stars for their roles in the fighting,
Early,
and Carlson, earned
Silver
which constituted the main offensive action
man who shunned publicity. who headed a deadly fighting ma-
of Asamana. So, too, did Captain Washburn, a
"A quiet-spoken Marine Corps
[officer]
jungles of Guadalcanal was recently awarded the Silver Star
chine
in the
Medal
for ‘extraordinary
heroism and distinguished battle leadership,’” read a
Marine Corps press release issued fighters, regard
him
Washburn and
as his
after the battle. "His
one of the best
men had
field leaders in
men,
all
tested jungle
the Marine Corps.”
42
together answered those Connecticut train
commuters.
“I
Wanted
to Cry, but
I
Could Not Produce Tears”
While Washburn battled the Japanese near Asamana
command
post eight miles
away Carlson attempted
village,
to
back
at his
make sense
of
Binu
what
AMERICAN COMMANDO
198 was occurring. With Private sages, he
knew how Washburn
in the field or
At
Kaplan transmitting
First Class
fared, but he
McAuliffe a few miles
C
to
had heard
men
p.m. Schwerin guided his
them
the coast. Carlson ordered
Binu
into
after a
head toward Throneson and the beleaguered
burn appeared
to
village. Besides,
grass field with
and
Company
C Company.
C Company and from
While Carlson determined and
his other
woods encasing Throneson, while Wash-
in that
kunai
D Company. moves hack
his next
men from
would subject them
enemy machine gunners and
in the
what had happened with McAuliffe
to learn
the
field.
to increased
at
Binu, Throneson tried
They could not remain
riflemen.
in
mortar barrages and most
probably a counterattack, but a withdrawal required them to of
to
Carlson figured
have things under control one-half mile to the west
his reinforced platoon
place, as that
wearying forced march from
Carlson wanted to see what had been going on
to extricate Arias
were. At one
and eat while he cemented plans
to rest
that the larger threat rested in the
from Throneson
little
Company’s north.
he knew where Captain Schwerin and F
least
stream of mes-
a
Throneson
felt
retire in full
he had
but to execute a pullback and ordered his mortars to provide as
little
view
choice
much
cover
as possible.
Private Loveland
the opening
and Private Bulger had remained
moments, hoping
to the right,
where jungle
and Bulger
tried they
knew
that any
grass," Private Bulger
to slide
fire.
"We
felt
tall
wrote
field.
the injured
man
wounds and
as a jaybird
and
keeping as low
bellies,
The
pair
came upon one
lack of water, and concluded the onlv
could reach safety was
Loveland and Bulger rose from the
and shuffled
naked
later.
grass to provide smaller targets.
Raider, delirious from his
way
each time Loveland
sniper in a tree could spot our progress through the
Loveland and Bulger laboriously crawled on their as possible in the
which they
sideways two hundred yards
foliage provided protection, but
came under heavy
enemy
kunai grass since
to catch a lull in the fighting during
men had chosen
could pull hack. Most
in the
grass,
if
they carried him out of the
picked up the helpless Raider,
under the burden toward the jungle.
as quickly as they could
They ignored the enemy bullets, as “by that time we simply didn't give
damn ," 44 and somehow dodged enemy safely to the tree line,
Not
far
mortar shells and bullets to make
where other Raiders dragged them
clumps of
dirt
on him.
it
to safety.
from Loveland and Bulger, Private Arias pondered
as mortar shells hurled
a
his next
move
In the confusion of the battle
Arias had not received the message to pull back.
“It
was hotter than
hell,
and
We Rode
to the
Sound
mortars were hitting behind me.
know
it
1
heard somebody
laid there
I
people and started crawling back.
Guns
it
was
199
and said the
was alone now
I
and
else,
of the
in
hell
with these
the grass. Before you
guy from our platoon looking
a
for
We crawled and crawled.” 44 Throughout the course of the afternoon C Company Raiders filtered across the kunai grass field to the jungle along the right flank. When Private something
First
He
to eat.
didn’t have his
weapon.
Class Onstad finally exited the
of cigarettes from another
three of those,” he wrote. drated.
I
field,
the
nonsmoker grabbed
Marine and deeply inhaled.
wanted
“I
to cry, but
was too dehy-
I
could not produce tears.” 45
While Throneson extracted
his
company from
the
faced confusion to the north. After being pinned
McAuliffe led
his
men
rest of the platoon
in
back
dark for McAuliffe to
back
did suck in two or
"I
could not.
I
couple
a
one direction while to the
arrive,
Captain McAuliffe
field,
down with
PI. Sgt.
the point squad,
Harold Schrier took the
coconut grove. Schrier waited
but
when he
until
almost
failed to appear, Schrier started
to Binu.
McAuliffe did not rejoin Schrier because he had trouble navigating the field.
tion,
Each path McAuliffe followed he told the native scout
where they waited
led to
to take
more enemy
them
to his
fire.
home
Near exaspera-
in the
nearby
hills,
for matters to calm.
McAuliffe and nine
men stumbled
into Binu
around three p.m.,
a
few
hours before Schrier’s group, looking so exhausted that they reminded Peat-
weary Raiders who reached the submarine that second night
ross of the
Makin. Peatross headed to
to the
command
post with McAuliffe,
who
at
reported
Carlson that he had brought with him what he assumed were the sole
survivors from his reinforced platoon. Schrier
must have been
killed.
Upon
and the
rest,
McAuliffe thought,
hearing the report, Carlson’s face flushed with
anger, but the colonel controlled his emotions sufficiently to ask McAuliffe for the last
known
Company
from B
location of his platoon. Carlson sent Peatross
and
a platoon
to the area to search for survivors.
John Mather, who stood near Carlson, wrote that McAuliffe was “quite hysterical
and exhausted.” He questioned McAuliffe about
his tactics in pull-
ing his
men
officer
had no idea of what he should have done and that very
off the battlefield,
have been successful
move
it
and
in bringing
"I
formed the opinion that
home
his
by sections and to employ covering
whole force fire to
do
so.
if
this particular
likely
he would
he had known
He
to
certainly did not
AMERICAN COMMANDO
200
appreciate the enormity of his offence in abandoning a portion of his force
enemy.” 46
whilst engaging with the
Peatross had taken his
men
only a short distance before they met Platoon
Sergeant Schrier guiding the remainder of
D Company back to
Binu. Schrier
reported that after being cut off from McAuliffe and the point, he gathered the remainder of the platoon, including two dead and a handful of wounded,
who was
held muster to see
missing, then waited for McAuliffe. In the heat
com-
of combat, while the sergeant had taken every proper step available, the
pany commander had allowed himself At three rest of in
thirty,
left
Carlson arrived
his
men.
Company and
the
Binu. With McAuliffe out of action and Throneson
need of help, Carlson headed
— the
be cut off from
Carlson, accompanied by Schwerin’s F
B Company,
difference
to
to the only place
he hoped he could make a
battlefield.
at
the coconut grove in less than one hour to find a dis-
concerting scene. In Carlson’s opinion,
Throneson walking
in a
C Company
daze a mile behind the front
discern, Throneson’s only offensive action
was
to
was
lines.
employ
parently had not advanced anywhere. Carlson quickly
in disarray, with
From
all
he could
his mortars.
moved
He
to the
ap-
kunai
grass field with Throneson following at his heels.
Around lour strike.
fifteen
Carlson radioed Henderson Field to arrange for an
To ensure accuracy he had
Private Loveland
air
and Private Bulger fash-
ion a rude arrow out of T-shirts pointing directly at the jungle locations of the
Japanese. The privates collected twenty T-shirts, carefully constructed a huge arrow, then
watched
as ten
minutes
later six aircraft
bombed and
strafed
the indicated sectors.
Once
the aircraft
left,
Carlson sent Schwerin and Peatross to scout the
jungle. Except for the dead, no sign of the
Japanese had withdrawn Schwerin’s F
to the south.
Company and one
enemy
existed anywhere.
With dark closing
platoon of B
Company
at
in,
The
Carlson
left
the front while he
took the rest of the force back to Binu.
“It
Was
Due
a Lovely Armistice Day”
largely to
victorv at j
Washburn’s steady hand, the Raiders registered
Asamana. Carlson estimated the number of enemvj
a decisive killed
at
”
We Rode 160
to the
Sound
— twenty-four by C Company,
off
the Guns
201
sixteen by McAuliffe’s
Washburn’s E Company. The Raiders
men, and 120 by
ten killed and thirteen wounded.
lost
McAu-
Displeased with the actions of Captain Throneson and Captain liffe,
as well as with
one of his lieutenants from
the officers three days after the battle.
them due
captains that he removed
He
C Company,
Carlson relieved
stated in his report about his two
“incompetency. Both had dis-
to their
played total ineptitude for leadership in battle, and both were so badly shaken
by their experience as to be incapable of of their men."
Washburn, In his
4
commanding my confidence
At the same time he praised the other
'
or that
officers, particularly
for their stout leadership.
book about the Raiders, Captain Peatross stated
that Carlson’s
dismissal of McAuliffe had destroyed a promising career before the officer
had
a
chance
to learn
from
wondered
his mistakes. Peatross
not acted in the heat of the
moment, and mentioned
if
Carlson had
that Carlson
had con-
veniently forgotten the errors he committed at Makin.
Proper or not, Carlson evaluated a situation and took action to remedy the lapses.
Some
leaders overlook faults in their subordinates, either because they
are unwilling to take action officer
under
their
or,
command
is
more
because they think the
likely,
a poor reflection
on
own
their
Carlson had the good sense to select promising men,
he
to relieve those
felt
were not up
to the test.
When
relief of
leadership
like
skills.
Washburn, and
confronted with the
enemy, Washburn took control of events by immediately organizing
a
confound the Japanese. Throneson and McAuliffe had
terattack to
an
coun-
not, in-
stead allowing events to control them.
On
that day, Armistice Day,
his son,
“1
was
in
what you are doing father
“He used
Robert Sherrod.
because every Typically,
promoted. I
“I
today.
Captain Washburn’s father wrote
his head,”
to learn
“1
he confided
in
the
a
little
to
company knew
I
wonder
his father that
that he
promoted him
to
lime magazine’s correspondent
that
it
was good
for morale,
Washburn deserved
44 it.
he had no idea why he had been
lucky one day and the colonel (mistakenly) thought
had done a good job,’’ stated Washburn. “So 50
11, 1918.
what the son had accom-
promoted him on the spot and
Washburn wrote
Irish, that’s all.”
November
was so impressed with Washburn
man
was
1,
48
would have been proud
plished. Carlson
major.
1
the front lines off Verdun on ”
The
November
1
move up
—
just the luck of the
AMERICAN COMMANDO
202 Later,
when
fellow officers suggested he deserved a Purple Heart for the
Washburn
bullet that grazed his boot,
the officer’s wife, he preferred that his
The
nationally prominent radio
1 1
men
receive the acclaim, not himself.
commentator Raymond Swing,
same day by featuring the Raiders
Carlson’s, chipped in the
Washburn,
declined. According to June
November
in his
broadcast. Swing told his large audience that they could learn
a friend of
much from
such a splendid battalion.
‘The Marines are tough, but there
which
is
These men
especially tough.
“They are
a peculiarly
that
if
what gave the Raiders tried to follow.
these tough Raiders under Evans Carlson. est
and
He
are called Carlson’s Raiders.”
an improved world, “there
for
strive
branch of the Marines added,
repeat that they
I
there can be such a thing.
democratic ways Colonel Carlson
many
a special
American brand of commandos, and
are tougher than Marines,
Swing explained
is
sturdiest of the enemy,
and do
the
uniqueness was the
Swing continued
that while
none more inspiring than
is
They
it all
their
are going to
more
ably,
whip the
crafti-
by knowing why
they are fighting and the kind of world they want. They are a steady invitation to all civilian
Americans
as they are doing
day
in
it
The
hard and
Guadalcanal. Such
the civilians back
if
to think as
home
live as
men
will
November
plained that on a trap, but at
1
a
1
group of
five
Asamana, "By pure luck my
Carlson claimed that his
men
win us
a
genuine armistice
don’t lag behind in their thinking."^
month Carlson thanked Swing
next
hard for true democracy
1
for the fine broadcast.
He
ex-
hundred Japanese had escaped
patrols
were across
fought "with satisfactory results.
It
their path.”
was
a lovely
Armistice Day." 52
He had Makin
to
a right to be proud. In
become bogged down
Asamana proved
different.
in
August he had allowed
what had been
Because he had
his Raiders at
their only set battle to date.
split his patrols into
four arms, he
created a perfect opportunity to execute a flanking maneuver on the enemy.
When
one arm
fell
under
gaged a larger force than skills
of
men
like
fire,
at
week
now
stint in
ho system.
Makin and, due
Captain Washburn, and
and others, had forced them Carlson
the others could swing to
its aid.
He had
en-
to his plan, to the leadership
to the bravery of Private
Auman
to withdraw.
turned to the main portion of the Long Patrol, a rugged four-
Guadalcanal’s jungles that tested every tenet of Carlson’s gung
9
The Law
fter
A
of the Jungle
Asamana, Carlson entered the second of three phases
Patrol,
in his
Long
where the freewheeling Carlson, unhampered by operational
plans or formal orders, orchestrated a dynamic guerrilla campaign.
Flanking moves, hit-and-run attacks, speed, stealth, and surprise earmarked this stage, as
Carlson disappeared into the jungles
Shoji’s retreating forces.
his
independence
sioned.
at
Uncertain and hesitant
at
in pursuit of
Colonel
Makin, Carlson relished
Guadalcanal, where he waged war the way he envi-
Turned loose on the Japanese and guided only by
his
own
rules, Carl-
son tore into the jungle with a vengeance. In the process he proved the value of his gung ho methods and helped shatter the myth of the Japanese
superman.
“Kill or
The day
Be
Killed,
End
of Story”
following Asamana, Carlson returned to the battlefield to
mop up any
Japanese forces that remained. Captain Schwerin had already determined that the bulk of the
enemy had
fled to the south, so
Carlson spent
much
of
the day searching for and burying dead Raiders.
Raiders scouring the across a grisly discovery
site of
when
C
Company’s
fight
with Shoji’s troops
they found the mutilated body of Pvt.
Barber staked to the ground. Pfc. James
F.
Clusker,
Jr.,
who had
came
Owen
spent a
frightening night in the kunai grass avoiding the Japanese, related the details.
203
AMERICAN COMMANDO
204 After being
wounded
into the night.
in
the fight, Clusker lapsed in and out of consciousness
He awoke
after dark,
parched and smarting from a stomach
wound, when he heard voices one hundred yards away. Managing
muted
a
the injured Raider received a chilling response. "Over here, Yankee, over
cry,
here.”
1
Clusker knew that no Raider would speak in the grass
and hoped that the enemy would pass
nese closed to within they
five
moved on without
A welcome
who
yards of the Raider,
manner, so he
in that by.
still
At one point the Japa-
tensed with each step, but
spotting him.
ended when screams pierced the nighttime
relief
lay
The Japanese had discovered and made him the object of
the
wounded
Private
their barbarity.
Owen
Clusker
stillness.
not far from Clusker
lay all night in his
kunai
grass sanctuary, trying to block out Barber’s shrieks as the Japanese tor-
tured him. Private Loveland gazed at Barber’s tred
body
simmered. Knife slashes, too many
anger and ha-
in stoic silence as
to count, disfigured Barber’s
once
youthful face, hut what most disturbed Loveland and the other Raiders was not the lifeless body of a compatriot, nor the lacerations.
The Japanese had
castrated Barber and stuffed his testicles in his mouth. "I
remember seeing him
there,” recalled Private
2008. “He was a young fellow,
OK, no
prisoners.
hut after this
We .” 2
.
.
I
Gay
think only seventeen. That
didn’t really have a
Gay’s voice trailed
chance
made
to catch that
his
off,
E Company
of
silence
in
us decide,
many
before,
completing the
thought.
The Raiders
currently held two prisoners. After observing Barber’s
gled body, Carlson asked a group of Raiders
When
previous day’s fighting. prisoners and told
them
a
few raised
to take care of
the jungle, killed them, and
if
any had a friend
man-
killed in the
their hands, Carlson pointed to the
them. The
left their lifeless
men
led the prisoners into
bodies to rot in Guadalcanal’s
heat.
For the remainder of the patrol, the Raiders showed no mercy to the
enemy. Vengeance alone did not produce into play.
They
this desire. Practicality also
barely carried sufficient food for themselves,
an enemy, and Raiders would have guard the enemy.
“We
to
let
it.
We
Other men,
alone to feed
be taken from patrol assignments to
couldn’t take care of them,” explained Private First
Class Kaplan. "What the hell are you going to do with them? possible.’
entered
like
Lieutenant Burnette, agreed.
couldn’t be watching
them
all
the time."'
It
was
“We just
just im-
couldn’t do
The Law
205
Jungle
of the
Besides, the Raiders risked incurring the scouts’ wrath in keeping Japa-
nese
alive.
Ever since the Japanese had landed
women and
abused the natives
Guadalcanal, they had
in
killed their families.
Vouza and
men
his
sought retribution for that treatment. "Vouza,” said Private Loveland of the
famed
mean
scout, "he had a
"We
that assessment.
look and a sharp knife.” Private
Gay agreed with
didn’t have the food to take prisoners,
and
if
we
had,
the natives would have given us a hard time,” said Private Gay. "The natives
had knives, and they were not peaceful
all
fellows.
One had
a hatchet.
They
hated the Japanese and were really on our side.” 4 Ever)' Raider
own evidence
they had their
or be killed.
kill if
the
had heard of the August massacre of the Goettge
The
to
be a war without
limits,
Now
one of
laws of the jungle, not of man, ruled on Guadalcanal, and
enemy wanted
The
was
that this
Patrol.
to fight that way, so
would Carlson’s men.
who saw
Raiders took their cue from Colonel Carlson,
tradictory in conducting a
war ostensibly fought
for
nothing con-
democracy and
fair
play
while employing brutal tactics. As long as a war had to be fought, he would
wage
it
with the same severity and brutality as his foe. Carlson wrote Ray-
mond Swing
of a time at Guadalcanal
hated the Japanese. “He got the idea,
which
my men
kill all
Japs
I
who appear
when
a reporter asked Carlson
Marine Corps press release
to hate,
and
to fight
—
lease that exists in the
he
presume, from the thoroughness with in their path.”’’
Jim Lucas, a Marine combat correspondent in a
if
who admired
Carlson, wrote
that "Colonel Carlson also teaches his
men
efficiently, effectively." In a
rough draft of Lucas’s
Evans Carlson Collection
Quantico, Virginia, Lucas
quoted Carlson with words that a censor
later
at
removed before releasing
it
re-
to
the public.
“We never to
kill
take a prisoner,” Carlson said. "That’s not our job.
every Jap they meet
to care for
halt
and
help them, so
we
They
killed
try to
6
in his
action report,
only one route led to victor}' in the Pacific. persistent, aggressive, ruthless.
concerned.
may
We
He
must be ruthless
he. In similar
tried to
suppress news of their actions with regard to prison-
and even addressed the issue
tion
my men
We’ve no accommodations
most of our medical corpsmen who
take no chances.”
Carlson did not
is
well.
tell
our prisoners. Carlson added of the Japanese, "They’re too treach-
erous, for one thing.
ers
—lame,
1
that
With the Japanese, "Be tenacious,
has no sense of honor where his opponent in
exterminating him, whatever his condi-
we may expect no quarter. Moreover, power of the enemy is the subject of this war. This
circumstances
destruction of the military
where he asserted
AMERICAN COMMANDO
206
means systematic and
The sooner
Some
persistent killing of the
can be accomplished, the
it
he had a reason when he was
in
or be killed,
Edward
Pfc.
prisoner.
have
T.
story."
end of
I
mean
China. As
but Carlson basically wanted them kill
better."
China. "You have to understand one thing," said
in
Nathan Lipscomb. "Carlson hated,
was
hated, the Japanese.
far as
all lulled.
know we
I
As
sent back two,
describes a time they captured a
He
said, ‘Boys,
Boom. He shot him. He was
ground, and Carlson just shot him.
I
was standing
don’t
right there.
4
the Japanese were going to utilize such brutal tactics, the Raiders would
answer
“We
in kind.
didn’t take
C Company. “Some way
That’s the
it is.
he learned
any prisoners," explained Pfc. Thomas Tobin
people might say
Quirk attended
to recite the
to us
catechism by rote
now had
to do.
They captured and tortured a Raider.
us.
college, to this," a transformation
gotta be your nature.
it’s
didn’t bother
That
is
me, because
I
knew
It
“We
was
from
strict
couldn’t take
a brutal war.
a kid going to junior
toward anyone,
The law that’s the
that’s
of the jungle
way
the
not
—
my
kill
nature. But
or be killed.
game was played ."
—enraged over what the Japanese had done captured the Philippines — could the
why one Raider
parents, civilians
where
each Raider on the Long Patrol had to en-
didn’t have hostile feelings
you learn
10
to avoid retribution
Quirk spoke of "Making that transition from being
“I
.’’
a Chicago-area Catholic school,
nuns, hut he had few qualms about what he
them with
but hey, that’s war.
that’s horrible,
The Japanese had no mercy
Private First Class
dure.
we
laying on the ”
of
"It
8
Hammer of D Company
take prisoners.’
guess
I
Private Loveland said,
took one prisoner to Colonel Carlson.
“I
facilities to
If
that power.
of the Raiders believed that Carlson hated the Japanese because of
what he had witnessed Sgt.
men who compose
so readily
in
slit
It
11
to his
throat
of two Japanese prisoners, while another could later write in his diary in a matter-of-fact
found one all
manner about wading through the bodies
alive but
the while
.’
wounded and
shot him.
He watched me
"I
with his eyes
12
While the Barber incident first
I
of dead Japanese.
set the tone for the
Long
Patrol,
Carlson had
established that attitude during training at Jacques Farm. Carlson re-
minded
his
men
that they
had
to steel
themselves for whatever type of war
the South Pacific offered. Guadalcanal featured
its
own brand
of savagery.
As
the Raiders plunged deep into the island’s jungles for the middle stage of their patrol, they
were prepared
to fight the
enemy on
his
own
terms.
The Law
“The Signal to Give ’Em From November 12 kunai grass
207
Jungle
Hell!”
November
to
24, the Raiders concentrated on clearing
Metapona and Lunga
the area between the rivers,
of the
eleven miles of winding
rivers,
tangled underbrush, and jungle canopies. Hot on
fields,
Shoji’s trail as the
Japanese attempted to join the main force west of the pe-
rimeter, Carlson’s
men engaged
pursued their
in near-daily
ambushes and
they
foe.
November
12 offered a taste of what was to come. Carlson assigned his
companies search sectors along both sides of the Metapona Peatross’s
firefights as
men
River.
As Captain
scouted the banks, they spotted a native boat containing three
Japanese soldiers paddling toward them. Rather than shoot them, which
might
Japanese forces lurking nearby, the Raiders allowed the boat to
alert
float closer,
then leaped into the water to grab the three. In the scrap that
ensued, the Raiders had to
two and held them
kill
one of the Japanese, but captured the other
for a brief interrogation before disposing of the
Washburn
In the field abutting the village,
Auman slumped or his
gunner
to
keep
it
1942.
1,
I
ing, dying,
War
apparently tossed there by
to
end
remember how
&
killing
all
ironical
I
noble deed per-
last
to die.
have a picture of the three graves,” Washburn wrote
dug when we returned, and the date 1
river,
from enemy hands, a
formed by a man who knew he was soon “I
located the body of Private
over the tripod of his machine gun, but the gun was missing.
Raiders later discovered the gun in the
Auman
enemy.
1963, “which
in
[of their deaths], of course,
thought
it
at the
[sic]
November
we were
time that
on that date which commemerated
is
we
fight-
the end of the
13
Wars.’
Later that day the
first
of
what turned out
to
be a steady stream of Japa-
nese stragglers stumbled into Asamana, unaware that the Marines controlled their bivouac. At periodic intervals throughout the night, the Raiders killed
twenty-five Japanese. All they had to do was wait until another one or two
enemy
soldiers appeared,
kill
that Carlson later stated, "It
The
them, and then wait
was
like
ordered
C Company
numbers
of
enemy
and south. Carlson radioed
up from Binu
more.
It
was so simple
shooting ducks from a blind.” 14
next morning scouts reported large
gle to their north, west,
for
to strengthen his
forces in the jun-
for artillery support
numbers.
and
208
The
artillery
AMERICAN COMMANDO
barrage caused the Japanese to rush from their shelter in a
series of attacks against Carlson’s base at
called in the incredulous report that a
from the west. Carlson swung
hundred yards
foliage eight
clump
posted
moved toward them
what appeared
to
he moving
leaves, inching forward.
Japanese advanced one hundred yards, halted for a few minutes Raiders had detected their presence, then
moved forward
to see
machine-gun and mortar
fire
sol-
The
if
the
again. Carlson
waited until the targets drew within one hundred yards, then poured as well as
in a tree
two companies of enemy
and
to toe in vines
A lookout
of brush
his binoculars to
out, only to notice
camouflaged from head
diers,
Asamana.
artillery
on the enemy. Within minutes the
Japanese attack collapsed, treating the Raiders to the unusual spectacle of
watching foliage-shrouded soldiers rushing away. Carlson rebuffed
five
drawing the Japanese effective.
separate
closer,
At times their
where
own
tions that Carlson ordered his to radio the
Tenth
enemy attacks on November his artillery-backed Raiders
artillery shells
1
3,
each time
could be more
landed so close to Raider posi-
communications man, Sergeant McCullough,
Artillery to readjust their fire.
"Are you scared, Mac?" Carlson asked McCullough during one particu-
heavy barrage.
larly
“Well, don’t worry.
The
I
When McCullough
admitted he was, Carlson replied,
am, too."^
spectacle unnerved Pfc. William D. Lansford until he looked at his
commander, Captain Washburn. While the enemy surged forward and snapped nearby, Washburn stood
lets
“Our
leader’s bravery
in
bul-
the open, calmly directing his men.
was most reassuring
to us
nervous privates,” 16 stated
Lansford. After repulsing the series of attacks, Carlson returned to Binu that after-
noon before leading
a patrol to Volinivu
on the west side of the Metapona.
In
conjunction with Marine commanders from other units operating along the coast, Carlson
moved
where he would
his base of operations
patrol the terrain south
from Binu
to
Asamana, from
and west of Binu. Once having
cleared the area from Binu to Asamana, Carlson could leap westward to a
new
sector.
The diers
next morning scouts informed Carlson that a group of Japanese sol-
had sought shelter
to the east in a jungle sanctuary five miles
Binu along the west bank of the Balesuna Bill
River.
At eleven a.m. Capt. Wild
Schwerin, guided as always by the scouts, led a patrol from F
out of
camp
Wild
south of
Company
to the site.
Bill,
lugging a twelve-gauge shotgun and two .45 pistols, scouted the
The Law
enemy position, which could
of the
bungle
only be attacked through a narrow' defile guarded
men
by a sentry. Schwerin and his
waited patiently
camp
hours until the sentry turned hack to the
moved through sat
209
in the jungle for three
for his lunch,
the opening. Eighty feet distant two groups of
around campfires, eating
then slowly
enemy
soldiers
rice balls, while their rifles rested against trees
out of their reach. Schw'erin divided his patrol and assigned each half one of the Japanese groups.
"When you
hear
signal to give 'em hell!”
Schwerin crawled
With
1
my
shotgun," Schwerin told his Raiders, "that’s the
'
closer,
then rose and emptied his shotgun
weapons on the Japanese,
that signal his Raiders turned their automatic
wiping them out
in
under one minute, while the scouts hastened
the throats of any Japanese
still
enemy.
at the
breathing. Schwerin’s
men
in
and
slit
killed fifteen Jap-
anese and recovered weapons and documents, including some of the personal effects of Japanese
Major General Kiyotaki Kawaguchi, who had
earlier led
the charges against the Marines at Henderson Field.
This ambush encapsulated the tactics Carlson had attempted to
instill
men,
wTiile
during Raider training. Traveling
light
and
living off the land, his
carrying heavy firepower, had surprised the
nese
in their
own
enemy by ambushing
the Japa-
stronghold.
T his and other such raids over the next three weeks debilitated Shoji’s forces. Already
weary from evading the coastal trap and from the
Asamana, Shoji now had
to
worry
that, at
any moment, Carlson’s Raiders
would materialize from the jungle. They could never could never remain long
be on their
tail.
now become
in
one spot
What had once been
their liability. Carlson
removed one of
their
most valuable
fight at
let
their guard
for fear that Vouza’s scouts
their ally
down,
would soon
—Guadalcanal’s jungles— had
had penetrated their domain and had
assets.
Knowing he had the enemy on the
run, Carlson intensified the pressure.
For the next two days his Raiders scoured west and south of Binu, seeking out and destroying any
they had shoved the
them
to
enemy
stragglers they encountered.
enemy west
By November 16
out of the Binu-Asamana region and forced
regroup on the Metapona’s other side.
After clearing the region east of the
Metapona
company-size scouting expeditions that crossed the the three-mile-wide stretch of jungle between the
River, river
Carlson organized
and concentrated on
Metapona and
the Nalirn-
biu Rivers, the second of the four major rivers running in parallel courses
between Binu and Henderson
Field.
They engaged
in daily
encounters, rang-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
210 ing from a handful of
running into those
Washburn
men
to platoon-size clashes.
“We were
constantly
18 said Captain characters and having shootouts,"
little
of the fast-paced action.
“The Steel Was Underneath” From
the middle of
pursued
November
until the first
week
Shoji’s troops in the classic guerrilla-style
opponents through the jungle and across streams, hill crests.
With
his tactics
On November had
all
for the
mission he had sought
in
their haggard
kunai grass fields and
and leadership Carlson confused the nu-
merically superior Japanese, corralled
and helped gain security
December, Carlson
The Raiders hounded
since his days in Nicaragua and China.
along
of
them
to the
west side of Guadalcanal,
tenuous perimeter
at
Henderson
Field.
16—17, patrols picked up signs indicating that the enemy
but abandoned the three-mile area between the Metapona and Na-
limbiu rivers for the
hills to
the west.
It
appeared that
if
Carlson were to
continue dislodging the Japanese, he would need to force them out of the five-mile stretch of jungle
and kunai grass
fields
between the Nalimbiu and
the upper Tenaru rivers, then scale the precipitous jungle-clad
mountains that dominated the
terrain south of
Looming above every other
hills
Henderson.
natural feature, standing as an ever-present
reminder that victory could only be claimed when Carlson possessed
Mount Austen,
the lofty 1,514-foot prominence that
view of Marine movements
On November
17,
at
and
Henderson
General Vandegrift
commanded
it,
was
a superb
Field.
summoned
Carlson from the jungle to
discuss the next phase of the Raider operations. Vandegrift wanted Carlson to first clear the
Nalimbiu-Tenaru area, then locate the main
trail
behind
Mount Austen along which the Japanese brought in men and supplies from the west. Once complete, Carlson was to scale Mount Austen and search for enigmatic Pistol Pete, the generic
name
given to Japanese
artillery'
that
had
rained shells on the Marines inside the perimeter. Patrols from Henderson Field had failed to locate the big guns in the dense growth blanketing
Austen and
its
Mount
adjoining summits, so Vandegrift told Carlson and his uncon-
ventional battalion to find and destroy the guns.
Carlson returned to his
command
post and outlined the next stages to his
The Law officers.
From
their base
of the
camp on
Jungle
211
the Nalimbiu, they would scout the
Nalimbiu-Tenaru region. Once that had been cleared of opposition, Carlson
would move
camp
his
erations into the
to the
upper Tenaru River as
his base for further op-
hills.
Within a week he would stand along the upper Tenaru River two miles south of the perimeter, gazing
the slippery slopes of
at
Mount Austen
tower-
ing nearby.
Throughout the Long
Patrol,
whether the action involved squad-sized units
or company-strength detachments, Carlson relied on the feat Shoji’s troops.
nearby
trails,
From
jungles,
camp, Carlson fanned out
his base
and
fields.
same
When
one portion of
tactics to de-
patrols to explore
encountered
his patrol
the enemy, they formed a defense line to hold the Japanese in place while
Carlson swung his other units toward the fighting ing maneuver. Unlike Makin,
where
in a flanking or
a rigid operations plan dictated the
Raider movement, at Guadalcanal Carlson was free to select his
He
an envelop-
own
course.
neither received nor issued an operations plan, instead relying on an im-
provisational, swift
method
of attack that guerrilla
commanders most
loved.
Carlson divided his six-company battalion into three teams of two companies each. While one team remained
at
two teams headed into the jungles or the teams were
Carlson
to contact
as hostilities occurred. In this
at
the base
camp
in reserve,
fields in pursuit of the
the base
camp
the other
enemy. Both
every two hours, or as soon
manner, Carlson maintained the
ability to
speedily shift companies from one sector to another or to order the reserve
company
into action as reinforcement.
“Our strategy was
from a Raider
base,’
to
send platoon and company
size patrols, operating
wrote Captain Apergis. “The companies operated
echelon of columns to the
left
and apart from each
company operated independently and
as soon as the
platoon would establish a base of automatic
fire,
in
other. In other words, a
enemy was engaged one
and the
rest of the
columns
would outflank the enemy formation. Search-find-attack and outflank. With our superior
fire
we encountered The chief of ing,
power, .’
we overwhelmed any Japanese
unit or
encampment
14
staff of the First
Marine Division,
Lt. Col. Merrill B.
Twin-
explained that Carlson succeeded on the Long Patrol because he per-
formed the unexpected. The Japanese had often followed the same
when
attacked
—
dig in
and
fight to the death.
While
tactics
that eventually resulted
AMERICAN COMMANDO
212 in their defeat,
forced the Marines to pay a heavy price.
it
Most Marine
of-
ficers,
according to Twining, hoped to avoid such carnage by utilizing the
“collar
and
—deploying the main place — hold the —while an enveloping — them the
ass”
hold them in my’s right or
approach
force to locate the
collar
left
flank
in
hit
unit hit the ene-
ass.
Such an enveloping maneuver by the jungle, however.
enemy and
was often
a smaller force
The Japanese simply
and focused on the main body that had
ineffective in
ignored the weaker flanking unit
first
contacted them.
Carlson reversed the order and used his main body as the enveloping
While the embattled company held the Japanese
force.
them think they were the main at a right angle to the line of
pected attack in the
in
made
place and
companies converged and struck
advance. In doing
strength against the
enemy
so,
Carlson directed an unex-
flank or rear. "For the
first
time
Guadalcanal campaign," wrote Twining of Carlson’s operations, “ma-
neuver alone operated this
force, other
in
maneuver
effect.”
our advantage." Twining added that “Carlson used
to
several times during the course of his pursuit, always to
good
20
Years later Raiders marveled at the tactics. "They would put up a front, said Sergeant
McCullough, "but then
was keeping them busy
The
at
one place, they’d
hit
’em
at another.’’
tactics provided the script, but Carlson’s fire
punch. Carlson declared their
there’d be a circling action.
Ml
rifle,
Tommy
in his
Long
While they
21
teams supplied the
Patrol report that the fire teams, carrying
gun, and BAR, "worked beautifully” and
"left little to
be desired." 22
One
of the Raiders, Pfc. William
Onstad,
later
compared the
fire
teams
where each individual had certain respon-
to his high school football squad, sibilities
J.
and each man looked out
for the other.
He
stated that their firepower
gave the Raiders an advantage that the Japanese could never counter. "Imagine the surprise of the Japanese
when
Raiders in the dark or on a jungle
would he caught
The
in
an organized
they met up with a ten-man squad of
trail.
hail of
Within
275
fifteen
bullets.”
seconds the Japanese
23
increased firepower instilled confidence in the Raiders.
The enemy
could not hope to match their weaponry, and, armed with that knowledge, the
men headed optimistically into action. "When you’re first fired at, your tendency is to stay still,” explained Private First Class Quirk, "but that’s when you’ve got to move. You’ve got to get fire superiority hv firing back, and we had so much firepower. The Japanese had those single bolt rifles, which was like kid stuff to us. And we were not afraid.
The Law
213
Jungle
of the
because we know from our training that the answer
We
periority in firepower.
confidence. hit
The
tear
had that
there, but
is
you instinctively come hack
defensive and negative
Added
.’
at
drilled into us,
you move. You’re
—speed. As
and the
rear,
fire
like a boxer. is
When
at
swiftly,
fox’s feet,
then hastily retired
one camp. The reason
Speed was being caught
the
in
same
place.
think
I
in guerrilla-like fashion.
we were more
men popped
successful than
on the move every
where lingering
counterattack. Martin
in a
ended
to unpredictable locations, rarely re-
We were
vital in that vile terrain,
re-
the Raiders crept up
our enemies,’’ wrote Private First Class Onstad, “was because
spend two nights
you're
teams was a third element of
usually in small-scale clashes that
unexpected places and retreated
maining long
of
aggressive, not
Similar to those guerrillas in Nicaragua and China, Carlson’s at
lot
columns retreated westward, Carlson
within thirty minutes. Like hounds nipping at a
up
getting su-
gave us a
it
them. The best response
Shoji’s
peatedly struck at his flanks and
on the Japanese, struck
and
is
24
to the divergent patrols
Carlson’s success
to survival
Clemens
in
we
did not 25
day.
one spot was
to risk
credited Jacob Vouza’s
scouts with helping Carlson succeed where another unit might
fail
because
they guided the Raiders along jungle paths through uncharted wilderness and
enabled the Raiders to travel lighter than a more conventional unit could. ”
Carlson “would not have got
He tried to
without scouts and carriers.
applied the lessons of the Eighth Route
make Chinese out
the Chinese could so that’s what
The
far
march
we had
training
at
begun
grass, jungles, ravines,
of
us,’’
fifty
Army
at
26
Guadalcanal. “He
explained Private Hasenberg. "He’d say that
miles in a day on nothing but a handful of rice,
Guadalcanal .” 27
at
Jacques Farm produced greater results
and ridges of Guadalcanal than
at
Makin.
had superior training we just couldn’t have stood the guff ,” 28 said
in
“If
the kunai
we
Pvt.
hadn’t
Edward
Grajczik after the patrol ended.
who not only seemed to become calmer as the situation grew riskier but who also, at his advanced age, outwalked and outhiked the younger Raiders he commanded. Private Gay recalled the time when he almost passed out because he had not taken his salt
They
from Carlson’s presence,
also benefited
tablets.
Carlson checked on Gay, then scurried ahead to he with the point.
"Here was could do
it,
this
guy
so can
I
who outwalked .” 29
us
all.
It
gave us the feeling that
if
he
AMERICAN COMMANDO
214
Men
all
along the patrol lines grew accustomed to seeing Carlson sud-
denly appear, sharing a few friendly words and then moving on. Pvt. Ashley
W. Fisher
of
B Company claimed one reason stood above the
success at Guadalcanal
which was the
—Carlson.
“Our success was due to our leadership,
result of the tone set
and seemed never
be
to
His
tired!
by
was personal.
style
He was everywhere
Carlson.
Lt. Col.
If
something, you could bet that he was doing as much. didn’t eat .”
rest for their
he asked you to do
you didn’t
If
so frequently walking with the point, but he risks prevailed.
wanted
was
that Carlson ”
was underneath.
that “the steel
He wanted
knew
when we were
near a
how
the Oriental mind,
steps ahead of
them
all
Carlson’s instincts a great success
seemed
to
lieve pressure
to do.
The
they operated
helped
militarily,
Dick
Sgt.
Staihr.
"He
and was two or three
“I
think the operation was
He
fearless, inspirational leader.
speak
for themselves.
if
when Carlson paced
did
much
to re-
came back earning
a
Japanese soldier out there
“On one
trail
with them,
world with which he was
in his
We
we stopped and he
heard some gunshots and
the hell he
knew
there was a
vintage Carlson, for he
now
navigated a
never
familiar.
How
"He
the Japanese behaved,” said
occasion, on a march,
Japanese pack. I’ll
how
off into the hush.
The post-Asamana period was observed and utilized
along the
detecting a presence, and blended into the jungle.
have a very good knowledge of
know." 34 Here he could implement the
tactics
he
previous postings.
thought he did quite well
seemed more
We
on the perimeter.” 33
and a couple of Raiders went
"I
tactics
32
statistics
Private First Class Kaplan.
they
Gunny
said
amazed Captain Washburn.
Raiders recall times
to
fire fight,”
the time .”
mind and
moves. "Carlson seemed to he miles away
and Col. Carlson was a
suddenly halted as
seemed
man,” but
have a sixth sense as to where the enemv was located and what j
he was going
Many
Rhel
PI. Sgt.
31
plot counteractions for Shoji’s
mentally
be with his
to
a "surprisingly quiet
Carlson’s impressive knowledge of the Japanese
him
harm by
be where the greatest
believed actions spoke more firmly than did words.
F Company stated
of
to
to
Lieutenant Burnette claimed that Carlson dashed to the front
so often for no other reason than, "He’s Carlson.”
Cook
he
30
John Mather worried that Carlson needlessly exposed himself
men and
eat,
at
Guadalcanal,
firm here than at Makin.
When we
said Pvt.
were
at
Ben Carson. “He Jacques Farm, we
The Law were always taught to
to
know more than
Carson did not seem
be true
to
at
215
Jungle
of the
the
enemy knows,” 35 which according
Makin.
Guadalcanal, though, was something different.
“This
No Place
Is
for
You”
The Raiders awakened on November Long
Patrol. Shortly after
asses!”
Many
dawn, platoon sergeants walked among clusters of
them
sleeping men, igniting
18 like they did every other day on the
to life with
brusque shouts
to
“Get off your
needed no
Raiders, their schedules set to an internal clock,
prodding, and few had enjoyed a sound sleep on the hard jungle ground anyway.
They
arose, heated
some
cracker or
some
tea over the fire
and gathered
rice,
if
their gear.
Unless they enjoyed the aid of a native lugged as
much
as eighty
Onstad packed two
five
hand grenades,
water, four
shovel. Radio
carrier,
hundred rounds, his
a
Bowie
knife,
one
belt of
two canteens of
pack with pup tent and sleeping bag, and a
communications men,
With the command of “Saddle conventional “Fall sors in the cavalry
like Private First
in!" as if
up!”
Class Kaplan, labored
men
or native carriers
— the companies
company
— Raiders
used that over the more
forging a connection with their military predecesfell
search of Shoji and his men.
front of the
line with the
and
into place
The
line.
from the main
When
line
in
squad whose turn
more open
should the
set off single file
along
native scouts were posted to the
while rear guards took position to keep a watch on
company’s
Rifle,
120 pounds.
to carry its
trail in
Private First Class
one Browning Automatic
with the bulky radio, whose four parts required three
the
every enlisted Raider
pounds of equipment with him.
.45 pistols,
ammunition containing
time permitted, swallowed a
terrain, flank
it
was
to
he the point,
movement behind
guards moved
enemy draw uncomfortably
fifty
the
yards
close, while in the
denser jungle spots, where they could barely see ten yards ahead, the flanks
drew within “A
lot
of
a it
few paces or blended altogether
was open, and
I
mean where you could
feet in front of you,” said Private Loveland.
covered over with vines, hut on the side of a as a sidewalk in town.
We
into the line.
"A hill
walked accordingly.
ourselves up and either hurried across or had
lot
see twenty-five to thirty
of times you’re completely
or a riverbank If
fire
it
it’s
as
wide open
was wide open we spaced
protection and got across.”
AMERICAN COMMANDO
216 While the Raiders could terrain, the
pace slowed
webs formed by the
like
move two
easily
foliage
and jungle
vines.
“Branches grabbed
morning or
as
it
do
to
was getting dusk.
the jungle, and wait to see what
marching along the
In
in front
That happened normally
that.
If
we heard
at
a shot we’d
The
and get
all fall
which required the
the line often resembled a slender green
trail
more
to step
Gay
learned the hard
way
and
men
lively to
avoid falling behind, hut
column slowed.
to avoid sitting
during breaks.
"I
was
in
machine gun squad, and we carried eighty pounds of ammunition, using
mortar bags that had compartments in
fits
across kunai fields and open areas,
the point encountered obstacles, the entire
Private a
end
tail
into
happened ." 36
moved smoothly
front portion
It
real early in the
Raiders at the end of the line had difficulty keeping pace with the
ahead.
when
us and
of you.
snake, moving haltingly at times and rapidly at others. Because of the starts,
open
we had
real thick part,
march hand on pack, your hand on the pack of the guy
was so dense you had
in
denser areas, where they hacked through tentacle-
in
slowed us down,” stated Loveland. “As you got into the to
each hour
to three miles
each hand with
gles with eighty first
time
a strap.
I’ll
in front
and another
for a break,
down.
sat
I
Few marks
down.
was a job. The
gear,
When we
had
couldn’t get up. Every time we’d stop for a break after that. tree instead of sitting
back, then a box
you, walking through those rivers and jun-
tell
pounds of that on you, plus your personal
we stopped
in
I
to go again,
I
d lean against a
"
distinguished officer from enlisted. Neither Carlson nor any
other officer wore emblems, and after a few days on Guadalcanal, everyone’s
uniform looked the same
—
ragged, torn, and
dirty.
Jacob Vouza or other scouts, assisted hv the Raider point platoon, led the mile-long procession of Raiders as
kunai grass
wound through
it
Cognizant of the dangers inherent
fields.
where contact with the enemy often
the jungle or crossed
in
being the point unit,
occurred. Captain
first
Washburn and
other officers alternated the point platoons, but they had no control over
Colonel Carlson. The commander frequently walked
company column,
its
back a
Carlson was with us, he and
ahead of
little,
us.
fall
hack
to
relative safety.
Griffith in patrolling with is
the front of the long
ignoring Washburn’s or Griffith’s requests to
the main group and
“When
at
D Company.
but not Carlson.
I
had
I
were the
point,” explained
Captain
"Normally the company commander to go with him.
There’d be one
man
seemed
that
”" s
Carlson gave
fits
to
F Company’s
PI.
Sgt.
Rhel Cook.
It
The Law whenever
handled
usual blustery
in his
made him
whom
hardened Marine veteran,
as
him, Get out of here, Colonel. This
is
leave the point.
at
the exposed
Carlson called Cookie,
style.
As soon
"I
tell
it
had the point, Carlson materialized
his platoon
position, but the
217
Jungle
of the
he came up
no place
I’d
stop the point.
for you. I’m not
the point until you get back to the main body.” He’d say, ‘Cookie,
see what’s going on.’
make
sure you
‘Well,
I'd say,
know
you just get back
what’s going on.’ He’d go
Cook sometimes succeeded, sometimes
to the
moving
want
to
main body and we
mumbling
not.
1
I’d
ll
off by himself."
Even when he did convince
Carlson to leave, he soon reappeared with a query or comment. ‘‘He always
know when we were going
seemed
to
and say
pull the point
hack a
run into trouble.
to
little hit,
We
or extend the front.
between the point and the main body. He was of us.”
He might come up
really a father figure to so
among
Shoji’s troops.
With bodies
came upon
signs of distress
Abandoned equipment and dead Japanese, many
by malaria or some other tropical disease,
often
many
39
As they moved west, the Raiders came across numerous
River.
kept a space
rapidly
little
decomposing
littered the trails near the in
skeletons.
Carlson patrolled each area until he was certain the
battalion base west to a
new
two or three days, location. In this
the jungle toward the Tenaru and
Lunga
Nalimbiu
the oppressive humidity, Raiders
more than uniform-shrouded
cleared. Normally that took
felled
at
enemy had been
which time he advanced
his
manner he maneuvered through
rivers.
“The Jungle Was Jap” Carlson selected one of the most abysmal places to wage war. Guadalcanal’s natural terrain provided challenges enough, but along with the rivers
jungles and ridges
worm sapped and
a
came
other tests
— mosquitoes,
leeches, blisters, and ring-
their strength, while malaria-infested water, crocodiles, spiders,
weird cacophony of nighttime sounds assaulted their nerves. The
Raiders faced more adversities in their tolerated in their lifetimes.
Solomons “was grueling itself.”
and
month on
the island than they had
As Captain Washburn pointed
as hell. Believe
out, fighting in the
me, that jungle could be an enemy
in
40
Like the sand, heat, windstorms, and thirst that challenged T. E. Law-
rence
in the
Arabian desert, Guadalcanal tested Carlson and his Raiders
AMERICAN COMMANDO
218 in
unimaginable ways. They battled two enemies on the island
nese and their out, while the
As the correspondent John Hersey pointed
the jungle.
ally,
American
—the Japa-
military possessed certain advantages, “the jungle
was Jap .” 41
The Raiders entered an
eerie world unlike
any other they had experi-
enced. The slimy, dense foliage emitted an ever-present putrid, dank odor that hovered over the battalion
jungle “had
seemed
alien,
wherever
moved. John Hersey claimed the
it
almost poisonous ,” 42 a statement few Raiders would
dispute.
Thousands of fallen leaves covered the narrow jungle blanket,
would
making walking
lose his balance
perilous.
and crash
Here and there to the
trails
as they trod along, a Raider
ground, weighed
munition and equipment he carried. Sunlight often helped
canopy blocked access
to
much
with a slippery
of the daylight. Scouts
down by little,
the
am-
as the jungle
and the men on the
point had to hack through branches and vines, especially the wicked, hook-
festooned liana vines that handily ensnarled
was
just like
removing porcupine
quills ,”
44
men and
lacerated their skin.
“It
Loveland said of delicately prying
loose each thorn from his skin.
Besides vines, the Raiders had to he wary of tripping over the banyan tree roots that spread out, tentacle-fashion, across the
nineteen-year-old Pvt. Alton
Adams stumbled
trail.
During one patrol
as he walked, an action that
dislodged the safety pin in one of his hand grenades. Rather than endanger
Adams shouted that a hand grenade was about to explode. As he rushed off the trail, Adams reached for the grenade to hurl it away, hut it exploded before he had the chance. The severely wounded Adams had to he evacuated, but his selfless thinking saved other the lives of those around him,
men’s
lives.
Even worse was the shelter the twisted
roots provided for hidden Japa-
nese snipers. “The undergrowth was pretty heavy and you couldn’t see
far,"
explained Platoon Sergeant Cook. “The primary tree was the banyan tree. kept expanding and the roots spread. You could practically get lost
cause the roots were
all
over. In a firefight they
could also be hiding a sniper. I
A Japanese
were great
in
it
It
be-
to hide in, hut they
might be within ten feet of
me and
wouldn’t see him .” 44
While the Raiders patrolled mostly
in
the jungle, they spent about one-
third of their time trudging through kunai grass fields,
own form
of unpleasantness.
which offered
Each step through the chest-high
either heat, humidity, or drenching rain, shook lose
grass,
hundreds of
their
through
insects,
and
The Law
of the
219
Jungle
the Raiders had to be wary lest a Japanese sniper or machine-gun nest lay
hidden
in
the grass.
Whether through jungle
or field, rivers bisected the paths along
the Raiders advanced. Patrols often had to cross and recross the
which
same mean-
dering river as they searched a single sector, at times splashing through foot-
deep water while
seemed
like
we
at
others battling torrents that reached to the armpits.
crossed the same one two or three times, there were so
small rivers," said Cpl. Frank
M. Kurland
E Company.
of
water was up to our chest, and the only way
we
crossed
on the bank, one guy went into the water and grabbed a third
one
would do the same
hand
free
until
to help the next
guy ahead of him ." 45
On
you had a
human
guy coming
in,
it
“It
many
“At this one, the
was two men stood
Then
his cartridge belt.
chain across. Everyone had
and one arm on the
belt of the
other occasions patrols used ropes to bind the
men
together as they crossed swift-flowing streams.
Rude
bridges,
little
them
traverse rivers
came
less stable
more than
logs loosely tied together,
and swamps. As the Raiders inched
and more
slippery, tossing
sometimes helped
across, the logs be-
men and weapons
into
swamps
or
streams, an unappetizing prospect with crocodiles prowling about.
At
least the cooling
waters that swirled around their waists and feet of-
fered temporary relief from the sweltering conditions, but
nuisance. Their footsteps stirred up the into their boots
and
irritated their feet.
river’s
it
could also be a
sand, which in turn weaseled
Lieutenant Burnette’s feet so both-
ered him that he finally removed his boots, slung them over his shoulder, and
continued barefoot. Besides the streams and misery.
“We were wet
all
rivers,
Guadalcanal’s daily rains added to their
the time," said Private Loveland. Uniforms
medieval suits of armor with the extra moisture, and rain coursed faces into their eyes. ity
When
felt like
down
the sun returned, the increased heat and humid-
replaced the rain or river water with perspiration. "The sun would
out and
it
was
their
stifling hot," said
come
Lieutenant Burnette. Temperatures smashed
the one-hundred-degree mark, a landmark
made more
excruciating in the
thick humidity. “You’d pant, and you stopped and sat down, and panted. The
water just dripped right off of you,” added Loveland
Under those conditions
it
46 .
did not take long for the uniforms to
rot. Pla-
toon Sergeant Cook’s trousers and dungaree jacket crumbled to pieces long before the patrol ended, but he had to patrol’s first
make do with what he
had. Within the
few days, Private Gay’s socks decayed, and he tossed away
undershorts because they so badly irritated him.
his
”
AMERICAN COMMANDO
220
This alien world belonged not only to the Japanese but also to the insects
and animals
that inhabited
animal sounds
it.
The Raiders
— the mocking screech of
trees, land crabs
and
conuts unnerved
listened to a stunning array of
a
man
emitted a noise that sounded
during his like a
in the
and wild pigs munching on co-
lizards scurrying about,
many
monkeys screaming
parrots,
week
first
human banging two
A
gether, while another imitated a barking dog.
One
in the jungle.
blocks of
bird
wood
to-
unique bird whistled three
times, then received a similar answer from a second bird elsewhere in the trees.
The
night after the battle at
Asamana,
Private First Class
Onstad won-
dered what caused the scratching and clawing he heard coming from the jungle.
He
and found that
investigated
a
group of
lizards
had begun feasting
upon some dead Japanese.
A up
startled Private
his arm.
Gay leaped up when
Spiderwebs hung loosely from tree
ders just sat in the middle, and you’d see
and they were
didn’t care for,
Gay more than
ered
a four-inch-wide spider crawled
all
over the
to tree, “and these
them swaying
damn
”
place.
4
the leeches that attached to his skin
and swamps. After traversing your
leg.
They were
as long as your index finger
these things like fleas and they got in and
leeches
when you went
just pulled
them
off. ”
just part of living. I'he
hurt,
river.
Them
1
Those spiders both-
him when he crossed into streams
50 centipedes crawling up
and about
belts
irritate
fit.
you.
as fat.
It’s
no
and we’d rub
salt or
pic-
In the jungle there’s
Then
there were the
suckers would get right on you.
came from
We
iodine or whatever. That’s
many damp his
the millions of mosquitoes that inhabited
areas. Private First Class
forearm alone.
Men
Kaplan one day counted
tied the
and draped handkerchiefs from
to their boots
I
48
mosquitoes on
sixty
the
in
It
worst, though,
Guadalcanal’s
wind. Those
in the
when he pushed be
a field, "There’d
What bothered me more was where our
nic.
spi-
the three-foot iguana he spotted once.
Private Loveland hated the centipedes that invaded fields, or
damn
their
bottoms of their pants
helmets down over their
necks to reduce exposed areas, but nothing completely succeeded. " I
he mosquitoes were
"There was not
much you
slapping your arms.
At night,
mets on
it
over,” said Private
Leeman
of
C Company.
could do to get away from the mosquitoes. You’d be
49
men dropped
netting over their faces and slept with their hel-
to protect themselves. "At night they
Private Hasenherg.
put
all
“We had
over your helmet and
a
tie
came out
in hordes,
explained
mosquito netting that covered our head. You’d it
around your
collar.
You’d put socks over your
The Law hands
to
Jungle
of the
221
keep the mosquitoes away and tuck your trousers ”
Otherwise they’d eat you
alive.
your socks.
in
M)
“We Were the Hunters” Raider survivors claim, however, that rather than the animals or heat or vines,
suspense was the worst part of the Long
somewhere
or night, for
soldiers waited to
had
to
remain
kill
Patrol.
They could never
day
relax,
jungle or in those kunai grass fields Japanese
in that
them. From Colonel Carlson to the lowliest private, one
vigilant, for not to
do so could mean death
for
them and
for
their buddies.
“Each step you’re looking, always looking for the unexpected,’’ said Corporal Kurland.
“‘If
Nothing you can
they’re waiting for you, they’ll see
do.
If
your time’s up,
it’s
you before you see them.
up. You try to
push
it
out of your
mind.” 51 “It’s
way
not a good
know when
to fight a war,’’
added Sergeant Lipscomb. “You never
you’re going to run into somebody. You had to be alert
At nighttime you heard sounds, and you don’t know what they ine
most anything.
”^
skill.
In
You imag-
Guadalcanal placed on Raiders
strain
units. In 1944, a
Hailey, wrote that “Guadalcanal
and fighting
are.
the time.
2
Even reporters recognized the and other American
all
was
Neu
’
York Times correspondent, Foster
a testing
ground
no other theater of war were
for nerves
and stamina
men under such
continu-
ous physical and mental strain for so long as were the marines
the
in
Solomons.” 52
They had
to
be prepared, for a
Their purpose was to find and
kill
firefight
could break out
at
any moment.
the enemy. Carlson intended to apply pres-
sure on Shoji’s forces and relentlessly pursue
him
until
he had been chased
out of the region. “A Japanese could be hiding anywhere, but
and they were always hiding out from
were chasing the Japs
—
Carlson knew that
if
go, go,
he
let
we were
always chasing them,
us,” said Private First Class Quirk.
go go.” M up, Shoji
would enjoy
a respite during
he could reorganize his troops into a more effective fighting constantly prodded his
“We were such
men
to
“We
which
unit, so
he
keep on the move. Private Leeman explained,
a mobile outfit, the Japanese just didn’t
We were doing the ambushing." Or,
as Private
know we were
there.
Gay mentioned, “We were
the
AMERICAN COMMANDO
222 hunters.
We weren’t worried about
them, they weren’t going
to get
to kill
Carlson warned his officers strike
and
We were after them, we were going
me ." 55
that, like
whenever the Raiders drew
Shoji, attacking his rear
them.
near.
any wounded animal, Shoji would
As Carlson intended
flanks, the Raiders
to stick close to
expected near-daily brawls
with their opponent. Victory or defeat in jungle firefights often
came down
to
who
fired
first.
Yards usually separated the antagonists, and like the Western gunslingers
from an
another day. "In the times
maybe up
weapon, and
enemy
The
man squeezed
jungle,’’ said Pfc.
to ten feet apart.
It’s
off the first shot lived to see
William D. Lansford, "you
wins .’"16 Should they come under
fires first,
fire
as quickly as possible to
at the foliage in
fighting
hopes of
fight
quick-draw time. The guy that fire
subdue the sniper
killing the
changed many Raiders,
some-
levels his
from a group of
mounted an
snipers camouflaged in trees or bushes, the Raiders
swering
away
whichever
earlier century,
an-
or simply blasted
fire,
enemy.
at least for the
duration of the patrol.
Marines who had, only a year or two before, attended a college football game or escorted their favorite in
some
girl to
prom now
a high school
battled a skilled foe
of the worst terrain in the world. That could not help but alter an
individual.
“These are
all
kids from Pennsylvania,
vate Gay, “and after a
We
observed things
week out
we
Captain Apergis had landing
at
New York,
there in the jungle
He
felt
compassion
for the first
to really hate
when he was
in this
upon them
Both Carlson and
in his disgust
his
men
and
hate.
enemy dead he saw
He
after
told
down and having them
die
after him.
Raider training Carlson implemented
—the
at
and mentally prepared the battalion
men
S8
same thing with helping them
attribute the
awaited. Carlson not only put his in his
1
condition he would pass their dead bodies and
perform so magnificently during the Long Patrol
physically
next to animals.
and loathe the enemy and lusted ”
actually spit
tive,
said Pri-
forth,
Aola Bay. Within a week disgust had replaced compassion.
arms he came
said
we were
never would have observed before.
a correspondent that “after seeing his buddies shot in his
and so
to
rigorous,
and informa-
Jacques Farm, which both
endure whatever
difficulties
through a painful physical regimen but
gung ho meetings he bluntly explained
that in volunteering for the bat-
The Law
should expect hardship and death.
talion they
Guadalcanal
men
of this at
Guadalcanal when Carlson spoke
at
about the distance they would travel during the patrol
from Aola Bay
Henderson
to
Field.
twenty-two miles as the crow
When
He reminded them
to forestall complaints.
Captain Washburn recalled the time to the
223
the Jungle
off
He
going
in
then added, "But, gentlemen,
it’s
only
flies.”
one Raider quickly
we
replied, “Yeah, Colonel, but
crows
ain’t
,’
119
everyone burst out laughing, but the incident was a stark reminder of the harsh conditions they would encounter.
The occasion Roosevelt,
also illustrated the high state of Raider morale. Carlson,
Washburn, and the other
so that the Raiders
would conclude
designed their California training
officers
that they
were the best
outfit in the
"Morale was never a problem,” stated Private Leeman.
rines.
special organization that
we
were.
We
were
all
“It
Ma-
was the
so proud to be part of the
Raider Battalion. His training methods paid off at Guadalcanal .” 60
That benefit of intense training showed up especially as the patrol entered
its
third
in the
men’s determination,
and fourth weeks, when the environ-
ment, disease, insufficient food, and lack of sleep had taken their
were
tolls.
“We
run down, pretty well beat,” described Pfc. Jesse Vanlandingham.
all
“You’re just hoping you
make
down
another one hundred yards
it
the
trail
61 instead of worrying about long distances .”
The men
persisted because
their displeasure, not
would have
recalled “If
they did not, their fellow Raiders expressed
because of insensitivity but because one or two Raiders
to take care of the
That could not be tolerated
sponded
if
to gentle taunts,
demoralized in the
man
a
guy down
although a few
in
fistfights flared. Private
the dumps, you kicked
were some nasty words. Guys got on them when the nose, get
happen too
him
often.
to bawling, to get his
it
Most of our problems came
Some
— look what happened
took drastic measures.
to
When
him
me, or
if
they did, he would shoot
them
yet,
and
that’s
to Paul. That’s the
J.
in
belongs. Didn’t
two Raiders threatened
in the
There
after a battle. You’d get
selves in the foot so they could be evacuated, PI. Sgt. Frank that
off.
in the ass.
it
re-
Loveland
happened. Poke him
nose back where
and regroup, and two or three guys haven’t shown up think
Most men
jungles of Guadalcanal.
more than one occasion where two Raiders squared
you get
start to
he could he evacuated.
until
back
when you
bad part .” 62
to shoot
them-
Lawson warned
other foot and abandon them in
the jungle, where either animals or the Japanese would finish the job.
”
AMERICAN COMMANDO
224
“Thinkin and Waitin
Is Hell”
Patrolling occurred during the daylight hours.
When
the sun set, the Raiders
posted a tight nighttime security arrangement. Each company bivouacked
in
own area near the base camp, where Captain Washburn and the company commanders assigned security sectors to each platoon. The platoon leader in its
turn allocated areas to the squads in his platoon, and squad leaders appointed sectors to their listening post,
made up
The Raiders
The
teams.
fire
the
teams farthest out, on what was called the
fire
first line
of defense.
often stretched string lines connecting three
two men occupied each foxhole or
or
twenty feet apart. after
One man
two hours. They
in
loomed
that
all
you do, you
which stood approximately
made by humans. Bushes
enemy
as
through the underbrush sounded “That’s
One
the jungle, eyes focused, trying to differ-
entiate normal jungle sounds from those
shadowy shapes
teams.
slept while the other kept watch, then reversed
awake
lay
position,
fire
like
cast off
and crabs scampering
infiltrators,
approaching Japanese.
said Private Loveland. "There’s not
listen,’’
much
moonlight or anything because the trees are too thick, hut you do an awful lot
of listening to learn the difference between
A
eating a coconut.
lot
of times
we would
in ’em.
Anything cross over would
things
64
.
If a
jingle
somebody crawling and
string C-ration cans it.
a
hog
and put rocks
Different squads used different
sentry heard anything suspicious, he tugged at the string to
men
quietly alert the
near him.
Since anything moving was considered hostile, an ironclad rule was to never leave your position. Most hunkered knife or bayonet beside them, fully
and waited
down with
for
their
an attack or
would never come. Rarely did the enemy approach
Raiders typically
embark on missions
weapons, a Raider
infiltrator that at night,
hope-
nor did the
after dark in the jungle, but
one could
take nothing for granted. “I
“If
had
you
bear
it.
fear,
said
didn’t, there
B Company’s
Pvt.
Dean
Voight, as rough a Raider as any.
was something wrong with you.
You can’t walk away from
Since Guadalcanal
is
home
it
to
It’s
scary,
but you grin and
.” 64
hundreds of species of wild animals, the
jungle never lacked for sound. Streams and rivers masked the noises, making it
more
difficult for
guards to determine what they heard. To Marine sentries,
the click of a water canteen cover as like
the holt of an
enemy
it
was being removed sounded exactly
rifle.
"You can’t imagine the noise," said Platoon Sergeant Cook. “The land
The Law
225
Jungle
of the
crabs climbed the coconut palms and cut the coconuts
down with
and you’d hear the crabs rustling around and the coconuts bird
was
—
really noisy
a loud screech that d
make
back of your neck. There was always something
had
sounds from what
to learn to separate the
sleep .”
if
they were being attacked.
the sentry.
"We had
On
would make.
a Jap
was
It
the time and got
all
al-
little
to get
Pfc.
“No
to radio the
attack.
advance security and
Troops trigger-happy,” replied
other occasions jittery Raiders fired at wild hogs or monkeys.
used
to the sound,’ said Private Loveland.
the jungle grass at night, you’ll
at
going on, and you
65
Gunshots one night caused Carlson ask
The macaw
the hair stand up on the
like that
most impossible, so you were on edge almost
falling.
their claws,
about the experience.
later
Two
you’re in
anything that moves .” 66
C Company
John W. Studer of
Guadalcanal that he
fire at
“When
composed
so vividly recalled those long nights
a five-verse
poem
titled “Just
Thinkin”’
of those verses convey his emotions.
Layin out here in the jungle,
Lookin ahead
in the
mist
Helmet pulled over my forehead,
And tommy-gun clutched Wonder if Japs are lurkin’ Waitin to rush with a
Close
in
in
my
fist.
yell,
with bayonets flashin,
Thinking and waitin
Thinkin a
lot
of the
is
hell!
home
Tales they’ll expect you to
Memories you’ve
folk, tell,
oft tried forgettin,
Memories of buddies
that
Workin and
easy,
fightin
Thinkin and waitin
is
is hell!
fell.
6
'
Since they had neither the time nor the inclination to set up pup tents, the Raiders improvised. leaves, lay
Sometimes two men draped one poncho atop
down, then pulled the other poncho across them
they lay or sat where they were and
One
made
a pile of
for cover. Mostly,
the best of a bad situation.
night the Japanese attempted to infiltrate Private Loveland’s sector
on the listening post. Loveland tugged the string that wound
to the
man
to
AMERICAN COMMANDO
226
when he
his right, hut
received no response he suspected something had
happened. Loveland grabbed dark, not
knowing what
into his hole.
to expect,
Loveland him, waiting
“I
when suddenly
damn
stabbed him a
Japanese soldier jumped
a
place
I
could feel there was
Loveland
lot.”
silently in the
felt
the Japanese
as blood dripped onto him. lay the rest of the night
case other
in
ing noise, and
man
I
with the dead Japanese soldier beside
enemy appeared.
In the heat, these bodies will start
that the
gung ho knife and waited
stabbed him right away, any
“I
no bone,’ recalled Loveland.
body go limp
his
"You’re scared out of your mind.
moving on you. This dead Jap
wondered how you shut them
to his right
had
his throat cut
up!”
68
Loveland
mak-
started
later learned
and had been stabbed
a
number
of times.
Another
heavy
night, in
rain,
Captain Peatross made
tour of his platoon areas. Finding
hole for himself, but
struck.
"Suddenly
to
order, Peatross started digging a fox-
all in
when he reached
Peatross scraped dirt
solid.
away with
my great
eight inches his tool hit something his
hands
and no
surprise
his usual inspection
tracing out the unmistakable features of a
to discover
revulsion
little
human
what he had
my fingers were
head: chin,
lips,
nose, eye-
sockets.”
Peatross had
on top of
it
come upon
and moved
to
a Japanese corpse.
He
another spot a few yards away, but he uncovered a
second body there, then two more not
far away.
revulsion and a strong urge to vomit,
dug
turbing the bodies and
mud
quickly piled dirt and
1
made my bed on
"Suppressing
as deeply as
I
my
feelings of
could without dis-
top of them, thereby gaining
some
protection from mortar fragments and bullets that their living comrades might
send our way.” 69
“You Can’t Believe
How Hungry You
Are!”
After a wearying night the Raiders would have appreciated a decent break-
but instead settled for rice and raisins.
fast,
Long
Patrol," stated Private First
that “This
sons,
had
compact
to
men as
the
Class Kaplan. Carlson admitted in his report
problem of food supply was
dition, for the
“No one gained weight on
a constant worry throughout the expe-
could not carry more than four days supply on their per-
was the
make do during
ration of rice, bacon, tea
the
first
and
raisins."
70
That food
ten days of the patrol, after which they also
received a daily chocolate bar. Captain Plumley remained at Aola to supervise
The Law
of the
227
Jungle
the assembly and delivery of rations to the Raiders as they advanced west in
the jungle.
When
olate regions,
Not
native carriers could not transport the rations to
Plumley arranged
men
surprisingly, the
for air drops.
soon wearied of eating the same food each day,
but Carlson reminded them he had warned the Raiders to expect tain Griffith recalled
he and the battalion
more des-
little.
Cap-
when another Marine commander told Carlson that if headed down to his sector, he would have his cook pre-
pare a sumptuous meal, but Carlson declined. "He wanted us living tough," said Griffith. In
1963, Captain
within the past few years that
Men a
hunk
I
Washburn claimed
that
have been able to abide
prepared their food by heating rice
in their
has only been
"it
rice.”
71
helmets, then tossing in
of bacon, raisins, chocolate, or whatever else they might scrounge
When
munched on
cold
Their charred, blackened helmets had become the receptacles for a
vari-
from the jungle.
conditions prevented
they
fires,
rations.
ety of provisions, as Raiders
became more
and
creative
they ate. Scouts brought in vegetables and
showed them how
fruit,
bananas, and pointed out which roots were safe to that anything
The and
from the jungle that tasted
jungle
menu
some
offered
less selective in
eat.
The
cook
general rule was
should be avoided.
bitter
respite with wild potatoes, red peppers,
tasty tree lizards. After unsuccessfully chasing a
—“those darn chickens could near the — huts and we couldn’t through one village
2
things”
get
to
what
with three eggs, a treasure that he and his
fly
Private
fire
team
bunch
up on the
Gay
of chickens roofs of the
discovered a nest
lovingly
cooked and de-
voured.
Captain Schwerin shot two cows, which the Raiders with him quickly butchered and cooked, but the rich meat took
hanging from the hunks, held
it
trees,” said Private Gay,
over the
we were gonna
die.
there was nothing
fire,
Too
and loaded up on
rich.
Were we
we could have
Private Arias, a
“and
its toll.
"They had the cows
we went
wild and cut off big
that.
About midnight we thought Japanese had
sick! If the
done.
I
hit
us then,
was nauseous, vomiting.” 73
Mexican-American, loved the hot red peppers that grew caused a problem.
One
night as he lay in his hole,
on bushes, but
they, too,
Arias’s testicles
suddenly numbed. Worried that a spider or scorpion had
him, Arias reached
in
bit
with his hand to discover that juices from the peppers
had been the cause. The vegetables had been crushed during the
day, spread-
ing the hot juices on Arias’s midsection.
Like prisoners of war
who
subsist
on
a
meager
diet, the
one dominating
AMERICAN COMMANDO
228
how hungry you
thought was of food. "You can’t believe “You don’t think of
were going down
a great place to put girlfriend.
No
You don’t think of your mother. You think of food.
girls.
and
a trail
up
a
this
hamburger
its limits,
me and
one guy stopped
We
‘Oh God! What
said,
place!’ You’re not thinking of
way. You’re thinking of food.
Even hunger has
are!" said Private Gay.
your wife or
4
though. Most refused to partake
when
the
native scouts devoured skewered scorpions.
Fresh drinking water was not as severe a problem. Tablets supposedly
made
river
water safe to drink. They learned that the moist, chewable center
portion of a palm tree provided plenty of liquid, or that the certain vines yielded water.
thev J
felt free to
If
bamboo
plant and
the water they obtained from the vine was clear,
imbibe.
During one patrol along the upper Lunga
some water without dropping
River, Private
in his purification tablet.
Carson scooped
The company
cian reprimanded him, as such a practice could lead to malaria or ailment. Carson continued on, and
when he rounded
physi-
some other
a corner of the river
and
spotted the bloated bodies of dead Japanese, asked, “Doctor, does the [tablet] 5
take care of that, too?”
“I
Was Wearing Rags Over My
Feet”
For their monthlong patrol, a vicious circle entrapped the Raiders.
sapped their energy and made them more susceptible
rigors
the various diseases in turn
made
inflicted
from Japanese
Carlson’s report listed sixteen killed and eighteen
losses
— had
mated the
to be
225
—
six
wounded
removing 125
men from
While
Raiders as combattle
the ranks, with ringworm
more harm than
On
Guadalcanal a mos-
a bullet.
Fowell Rulger recalled that "those blood-sucking demons could easily
penetrate any loose woven material and drink their bites
bullets.
and one-half times the number of
(seventy-one) and dysentery (twenty-nine) following.
Pvt.
and
evacuated due to tropical diseases. Malaria most deci-
battalion,
quito caused
to disease,
those rigors harder to endure. Ravages from
Guadalcanal insects dwarfed the harm
bat casualties, another
The many
became running
”
fill.
6
If
scratched, the
sores that, in the jungle’s dampness, never completely
healed until after the patrol.
Since the Japanese controlled the regions providing most of the world’s supply of quinine, a medicine used to combat malaria, company doctors and
The Law corpsmen handed out
229
the Jungle
off
atabrine, but they faced a continuous struggle in get-
and eyes
ting the Raiders to take their dosages. Atabrine turned the skin low.
Others balked because of the medicine’s
rumors claiming that atabrine caused
Tokyo Rose
bitter taste
sterility,
a
yel-
and the unfounded
rumor happily repeated by
her broadcasts to the Americans. Raiders joked that the only
in
medicine bottle the corpsmen did not have
who
the atabrine bottle. Those
from thieving hands was
to hide
failed to take the medicine, however, usually
contracted malaria.
Ringworm, more commonly called jungle invade any part of a man’s body.
ducing such intense
damp
“On some
rapidly spreads in circular patterns, pro-
irritation that
those affected in the genital area could
of the guys
a fly crawling across
it
my
was
the whole
followed by nights
rivers,
We
bite, or a scratch
Private
patrol.’’
rot it
makes
a hole in you.
from
I
sat
and looked
disappeared into the jungle
had no way of treating
Gay
could
really bad,” said Private Gay. “You
hand, and
he anywhere on your body.
mosquito
swamps and
holes, led to a high incidence of ringworm.
most not wear the hoots. Jungle
a
fungal lesion that can
It
barely walk. Days of patrolling through
sleeping in
rot, is a
a thorn.
I
had the
it.
rot
al-
at
could
rot. It
You cut yourself, get on
my hack and
legs
suffered so severely from ringworm that after
the patrol a replacement Marine, after seeing his scarred hack, asked
if
shrap-
nel had caused the disfigurements. If
one were fortunate
which Private strike.
“My
First
to avoid contracting malaria or
Class Kaplan called "the order of the day,” was certain to
stool started crawling away.
Men
tenant Burnette.
ahead of them
in
It
had bugs
in
it
,” 78
mentioned Lieu-
maintained a proper distance from the Raider directly
case he had diarrhea.
seat of their pants
ringworm, dysentery,
and allowed nature
The worst to take
afflicted sliced
its
open the
course, while those on
the listening post at night had no recourse hut to remain where they
lay.
Some
used jungle leaves for sanitation, hut as certain plants produced a toxic substance that irritated the skin, they had to be careful which plant they chose.
Fungus so
horribly afflicted the men’s feet that
many had
shoes after the patrol to remove them. Platoon Sergeant
each time they stopped near
his extra pair of socks feet,
to cut off their
Cook
a stream to
tried to
wash
ensure clean
but he fought a losing battle in Guadalcanal’s humidity.
To deal with
a particularly irritating sore
berg sat down, popped patrol. “You
make
keep up with the
do,"
it
7 ’’
patrol.
on
his foot, Pvt.
Eugene Hasen-
open, squeezed out the puss, and continued on the
he explained of the improvisation and of the need
to
AMERICAN COMMANDO
230
Bothered by a painful ingrown toenail,
make room
toe of his boot to
for the
Pvt.
bandaged
Dean Voight toe.
cut a hole in the
Like Hasenberg, Voight
took the temporary step because he could not afford to retard the patrol’s progress. “I
hindered me, but what are you going to do?” 80
“It
had
my feet
get so
damn
I
couldn’t wear shoes from the jungle
Lipscomb. "By the time we got into camp that
said Sergeant
wearing rags over
my feet.
years to get rid of
it
Though
big
.” s
I
my shoes
couldn’t get
took
off. It
last day,
me
many,
I
rot,
was
many
1
infrequent, baths boosted everyone’s morale. Captain Peatross
recalled one time he
and
his
men
from Aola and found
to the patrol
collected the rations that had been carried a delightful surprise
each man. Peatross stated that his uniform
“still
—
a cake of lye soap for
reeked of the sickeningly
sweetish odor of decaying flesh, and the opportunity to bathe was most
welcome.”
The men soap, then
first
washed
their
underdrawers and
set of utilities in the lye
wrung them out and draped them over hushes
A
to dry.
thorough
cleansing removed “from our bodies several days’ accumulation of dirt and grime," a process that
gained
new
another
made them
strength and a fresh feeling
day.’
new men. Peatross added that “we that maybe we could make it through
feel like
82
Peatross’s bathing
was the exception, however. As the
wound
patrol
into
its
second and third weeks, the number of stricken Raiders rose alarmingly. Despite their superb physical conditioning, long days in the jungle, subsisting
damp conditions, took their toll. Carlson had no choice but to send the sickest men back to the perimeter. He also used this as an opportunity to remove any man he considered unsuited for combat or a morale problem. He wrote James Roosevelt a few days after the patrol on
a
meager
diet
and laboring
in
ended, "Attrition due to disease was high
—
casualties low.
I
pared out the
weaklings ruthlessly, with the idea of keeping the combat strength lusty rugged.’’
8
Practicality guided the evacuations. line
&
^
meant
that
one or two other
men had
Keeping one
ailing Raider
to take care of
him and
men on November on November 26. Some units,
on the
carry a part
of his burden. Carlson sent back seventy
19, forty
on
November
especially
C
25,
and another
sixty
and E companies, who had percent.
first
landed, saw their strength reduced by 80
The Law Ironically, the
back
men
of the
Jungle
feverish with malaria or felled hy dysentery
to the perimeter, as only the severely
who
geant McCullough,
231
wounded
rivers,
was
to
walk
on stretchers. Ser-
never thought he would experience anything as
dreadful as his time in the surf the previous August at
drowned, claimed that
left
had
Makin when he almost
his evacuation to the perimeter, across
mountains and
while he suffered from a malaria-induced temperature of 102 degrees,
just as taxing.
once
Private Gay, shaking from malaria so badly that he
of a
warm
fire to
Leeman
himself, departed on one of the final evacuations. Private
shivered as he walked
required crossing streams and against an
all
the
way back
hills, all
to the perimeter, a trip that
the time maintaining their vigilance
ambush.
“The colonel sent us
mainly
ashes
lay in the
in the river.
We
down
to the beach,” said
We
were
"It
was
difficult,
crossed and walked thirty feet of shoreline, crossed
over and repeated the process, zigzagging our way the perimeter.
Leeman.
all
feverish with malaria
By November 24, the Raiders had cleared
down
the Tenaru River to
on the way out.
Shoji’s troops
River to the upper Lunga, south of Henderson Field.
84
from the Metapona
They had been
in the
jungle for three weeks, pursuing the Japanese across forty miles of the harshest terrain imaginable, crossing living
on
a
poor
diet,
For the Raiders
December
4,
demanding,
it
and recrossing the same
rivers
and streams,
simultaneously battling disease and the Japanese.
on
still
would be
became
patrol, the final ten days,
at least as rigorous as
the
from November 25
first
until
two phases. Though
the stage for the triumph of the Raiders.
10
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been
y
B
November
Lunga
25, the Raiders
River, thirty miles
a series of attacks.
the Lunga, one
more
had forced Shoji and
his
men beyond
the
from Aola Bay, striking their rear and flanks
As the Raider Battalion stood
at their
in
camp near
base
task remained. Soaring above neighboring ridges and
mountains amidst jungle-clad ravines stood Mount Austen,
a
towering mass
of rocks and jungle foliage. Before reaching the safety of the Marine perimeter at
Henderson Field and the end of the Long
would have
“Today At long
Is
last,
remaining fought
at
to
conquer that
men
final obstacle.
Lieutenant Miller rejoined his mates. The officer had chafed
in Espiritu
Santo with
Guadalcanal. So
far
after Pearl
to Carlson’s base
the other
rest of
camp deep
in
show
for
landed
at
to
A Company
the jungle. Almost
Harbor and more than three months
after the
Makin
combat zone.
A Company
bearded, gaunt Raiders
at
the other five companies
he had nothing but Raider training
Raid, Miller had arrived in the
showed obvious
A Company while
on November 25 he and the
Guadalcanal and marched
He and
Carlson and his
Thanksgiving”
his efforts, but
one year
Patrol,
who had
Raiders looked civilized compared to the existed for
signs of their ordeal.
An
232
weeks
item as
in
the wild.
common
The men
as a toothbrush.
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been which Miller took to
determine
who would
arrived along with
since
for granted,
November
was relished by these Raiders, who drew
receive one of the surplus
mud and
had used
4,
A Company men
was
their fingers to
welcome
a
sight.
remove
When
cut
it,
it
lots
that
implements
particles
from
one of the newly
cut the rind off his bacon and tossed
bage, six veteran Raiders lunged for
voured
new toothbrushes
A Company. As Washburn’s men, without such
their teeth, a real toothbrush
arrived
233
it
away
into equal portions,
as gar-
and de-
it.
With
Miller, Platoon Sergeant
Maghakian, and the
rest of
A Company
supplementing their ranks, on November 25 Carlson embarked on the third phase of his Long
Lunga
rivers,
Patrol.
he planned
Operating from his base between the Tenaru and
around Mount Austen
to search the region
anese and to locate two items that had vexed the Marines since September
—
Pistol Pete, the artillery that
at
for Jap-
Henderson Field
had subjected the
airstrip to
almost daily shellings yet eluded every Marine patrol sent out to find the main east-west
trail
it,
men and
along which the Japanese had ferried
and sup-
plies to the region near the field.
The
Raiders, weary from three long
November
weeks
25. Patrols filtered southwest to swing
moving through dense jungle and up the ridges.
The jungle’s
stillness,
a handful of bizarre birdcalls,
yet to settle in to their
new
scouts.
rounds,
six
hundred
behind Mount Austen,
of a series of precipitous coral
first
spooked some of the A Company men, who had
assignment.
discovered one hundred
On November 26,
headed out on
broken only by the sounds of their footsteps and
Abandoned Japanese equipment
Company
in the jungle,
littered the trail,
rifles,
a
squad from B
which they handed over
patrols destroyed thirty-six
artillery shells,
and
to Vouza’s
thousand machine-gun
and eight land mines. They encountered
only the occasional Japanese straggler, who, according to Pvt. Lowell Bulger,
was “captured,
That same
interrogated,
day, in Dallas,
and dispatched.”
1
Lieutenant Miller’s family celebrated Thanksgiving
with the usual fare. Miller’s brother, Henry, wrote him, “Wish you could have
had chow with us
today.
dressing, cranberry sauce
can have them
again.’’
Most Raiders had
Our
thanksgiving
& pumpkin
pie.
[sic]
Hope
dinner included turkey it
&
won’t be long before you
2
forgotten the day
was Thanksgiving.
Pfc.
John Schoch
AMERICAN COMMANDO
234 lined
when
up
for
head count that morning with the other members of E Company,
to his delight
said a bearded
man
each
received a chocolate bar. “Enjoy your dinner,"
and grimy Captain Washburn. "Today
is
Thanksgiving."'
That night Lieutenant Miller and Platoon Sergeant Maghakian climbed each night
into the lean-to the pair built
As
for sleep.
usual, they chatted
about the day’s patrol, about food, or whatever struck their minds. They con-
cluded that with Miller s business savvy and Maghakian’s amiability, after the
war the two should open
and insurance business together. After
a real estate
debating an assortment of names for their enterprise, the Marine lieutenant
and sergeant
and
settled for "Jack’s
Victor’s, Inc.”
4
The prospects
of working
men something to look forward to. moved his base camp four miles up the Tenaru
together after the war gave both
On November 27,
Carlson
Mount Austen. Lieutenant Miller and Schwerin’s F Company in upstream, Peatross’s B Company and Griffith’s D
River in preparation to tackle the sequence of ridges shielding
He
A Company with
posted
a subsidiary
camp two
Company
camp two miles downstream, while he remained in the middle camp with Captain Washburn’s E Company and Capt. Bernard
at
in a
the base
Green’s
The
miles
C Company. next day Captain Schwerin guided
to the top of a sharp ridge situated in a
Tenaru and Lunga artillery position
rivers.
When
A and F companies
two-mile
75mm
nowhere
in sight.
pounded
their brethren inside the perimeter,
irritating
guns could not be
Meanwhile B and
D
strip of terrain
a steep trail
between the
they reached the crest they discovered an
containing a supply of
Disappointed
up
at
shells,
hut Pistol Pete was
not finding the gun or guns that had
Schwerin
at least
knew
those
far away.
companies searched
for the
Japanese supply
trail.
Along the way they came across the emaciated bodies of two Japanese. In the absence of gunshot wounds, Schwerin concluded that starvation and disease
had decimated
Shoji’s forces, already
of the past month.
The prospect
control of the interior east of
"Only a few minutes
trail
again,
mind can the very
and
tell
I
thought to
tell
The men continued suddenly opened onto
enemy might
finally
he relinquishing
lifted everyone’s spirits.
we felt we just wrote Captain Peatross. "Now, we were on the myself: ‘What a wonderful creation man is. His
him one minute
same minute
that the
Henderson
earlier
couldn’t take another step,
reduced by the frequent Raider attacks
we had been
so exhausted that
that he can’t take another step
him he can move on
patrolling
a path
to the
in
again.
between the two
heading
and almost
rivers,
when
the jungle
Lunga. Thinking that he might
"
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been have located that mysterious Japanese supply
up Mount Austen before stopping light
trail,
235
Peatross pushed partway
He would
for the night.
have to await day-
before verifying the discovery.
“We Were a Motley-Looking Crew” On November 29, of
Mount Austen
camp
Carlson moved his base
to a spot
where the
farther
up the Tenaru south
led west over ridges.
trail
He remained
there for the next few days, overseeing the patrols as they searched for Pistol
Pete and the main Japanese
The
closer they
drew
trail.
to
Mount Austen,
the
more arduous became the
which contrasted sharply with the kunai grass
terrain,
during their
few weeks. Precipitous
first
cliffs
The
ravines and gullies, replaced the level land.
been on patrol
for
fields
and sharp Raiders,
encountered
ridges,
many
an entire month, had to scale the features
of
broken by
whom
in steady
down-
men
pours that impeded their progress up the slippery slopes. Though
dropped ropes
below and pulled them upward,
to the Raiders
a
few
had
lost their
footing and tumbled back down, yanking others with them. Private Bulger so
labored to called
not
it
make
yards up the ridges
that he stated of
it.
November
was
30,
—
“I
“that
damn
thought this
mountain,” as he is
the day
might
I
.” 6 .
.
was extremely rough,"
“It It
—
move even
slippery,
it
was
said Private Carson. "It took us
raining.
front of you helped you.
most of the
day.
You helped the guy behind you and the guy
in
You had ropes, but everything was so slippery and
muddy.”
when
Conditions did not improve
When the
the single-file
they headed
column reached the
down
the reverse slope.
crest separating the
Lunga Valley and began descending on the Lunga River
ran and half slid ers “sat otters
down
down and
on a
mud
in
down
slid
slide.
the rain. Private Bulger chuckled
the
hill
on our rumps,
like a
Tenaru from
side,
men
when some bunch of
half
Raid-
playful
s
That same day patrols found a telephone wire coursing down a narrow ravine.
The Raiders followed
the wire into an abandoned bivouac area on the
south bank of the Lunga, where, to their delight, they found the much-sought artillery piece,
tled Pistol Pete
accompanied by
a
37mm
antitank gun.
and tossed the pieces down
long reign outside the perimeter.
a hillside,
The Raiders disman-
which
finally
ended
its
AMERICAN COMMANDO
236
Later that day Cpl. John Yancey and a squad of
enemy encampment on at the bivouac,
six
men
located another
One hundred Japanese
a rocky slope.
soldiers rested
with their weapons and machine guns neatly stacked against
trees in the bivouac’s center.
Unfazed
at the
long odds, Yancey counted on his
automatic weapons evening the score.
Yancey and
In a pouring rain,
The
group charged into the middle of the
weapons spraying hundreds of bullets
bivouac, automatic ing soldiers.
his
and murderous
swift assault
tunity to reach their
rifles.
Most died where they
the jungle covering at the ridge’s top or
bled up and
down
jumped
gave the
sat,
enemy no oppor-
while others fled toward
into the river. Raiders scram-
the slope shooting the Japanese, while scouts and Raiders
bayoneted any Japanese
enemy
fire
into the unsuspect-
still alive.
Afterward, Raiders
dumped
seventy-five
bodies into a hole, where, according to Private Bulger, they "covered
them up without remorse Carlson,
who
or ceremony.”
4
most spectacular
later called this thirty-minute firefight “the
of any of our engagements,” cited Yancey for showing an initiative that caused
him
to react
"promptly and with
vigor."
10
Yancey received the Navy Cross
for
this encounter.
Because Carlson had thrust so deeply into enemy-held such
sinister
mountain
terrain, native scouts
made
On December
dropped rations into a jungle
opening, where crew
clearing.
members pushed
enemy hands
in
the jungles or into the
percent of the food stores.
A Company, when
A sniper
into
a
The plane
DC-3 John
either side of the
flew low toward the
over the side hundred-pound hags of
hardtack, raisins, rice, tea, and bacon in a free into
1,
several runs over Carlson’s location and, in an operation
Mather labeled magnificent because of the mountains on river,
and
could no longer bring forward the
food and supplies needed to continue the patrol. aircraft
territory
killed
fall
to Carlson’s
river,
men.
Much
fell
but Raiders retrieved 75
one Raider,
Pvt.
Glenn Mitchell of
Mitchell strayed too far into the jungle looking for the
bundles.
The Raiders welcomed
December many neared the field since
had spent in short
"It
week
in
Some had been in Lieutenant Miller and A Company
4,
and
weeks
in
all
but
Guadalcanal’s miserable jungles, resulting
tempers and dwindling patience.
"Everybody was getting pretty beat," said Private
ham.
first
the end of their endurance level.
November
at least three
the fresh supply of food, but by the
was going on nearly
a
month, and
First
a lot of guys
out and been evacuated. There was an awful
lot
Class Vanlanding-
had already crapped
of jock itch.
We
had one guy
1
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been in
our squad almost covered with
clothes
it
was so
underwear on
much
all
We
painful.
had
all
for thirty days.
the guys had beards.
it.
don’t
1
237
know how he could wear any We’d had the same
to a certain extent.
it
never shaved during the thirty days. Pretty
I
We
looked
like hell.
We were
a motley-looking
crew.”
The tempers
led to altercations
influenced by one too
many
beers,
among men who,
unless on liberty and
would normally never take
a swing at their
buddies. Vanlandingham and the typically stolid Private First Class Kaplan
squared off one day near the end of the patrol. nearly killed him,” Vanlandingham said of Kaplan.
“I
through the jungle
all
day
Vanlandingham began building tree that
wood
I
out of the center of the tree.
fire. "1
head on
a rock
a bit short.”
fire
so
was about
and threw him down
were
wet wood.
”1
had
to a halt
to find a
I
had a pretty good
dead
going right next to
fire
Kaplan arrived, pulled off his wet jacket, and hung
branch over the
a
put out the
his
a fire out of
coming
finally
could cut through the outer part, that was wet, and get some dry
a tall tree shelter.”
from
and before
in the rain,
They had marched
at
could
fit. I
realized
I
dry,
the end of
temper
in a
when
it
grabbed
what
I
rope anyway, so his hair
was doing and
let
grabbed him
I
and was
up
down and
but the jacket slipped
my
it
fixing to
him
up.
bang
Tempers
1
On December
2,
the Raiders vented their anger at the
enemy
instead of
each other when one of Captain Peatross’s patrols surprised a group of Japanese soldiers. Assuming the Americans would never venture into the heavy rain, the
moved
men
sat
around
a fire without posting security. Peatross quietly
men within fifty yards of pumped automatic weapons fire
his ten
Raiders
nese died
instantly,
the enemy, where at his signal the into the startled group.
Nine Japa-
while a tenth stumbled a few steps before collapsing and
dying.
As he examined that their sight:
their bodies for
documents, Peatross saw additional signs
monthlong pursuit had exhausted the enemy. 'They were
a pitiful
emaciated beyond words, pale and sickly looking; one had a crutch, and
another had a crude
homemade
and although each had a
rifle,
splint
on
his leg.
not one had a
Their uniforms were
full clip of
in rags,
ammunition. That
notwithstanding, had they pooled their cartridges and placed a single marks-
man
On
at
the top of the gorge, he could have picked off every
the other hand, perhaps none of
in
our patrol.
them any longer had the physical strength
to scale the steep walls of the gorge.”
Upon resuming
man
12
the patrol, Peatross pushed through a gorge to a spot
AMERICAN COMMANDO
238 where
a heavily traveled trail dissected an
open
field.
The
trail
meandered
southward across the Lunga, and continued along Mount Austen’s slopes before veering northwest toward the Matanikau River, where the bulk of the
Japanese forces stood. Peatross concluded that he had
main Japanese supply
route.
General Vandegrift ordered Carlson
week atop
of
finally located the
to return to the
perimeter
in the first
December. However, Carlson was bothered by reports of Japanese
Mount Austen. To check
his patrols
into the matter, as well as to
make
certain that
had located the main Japanese supply route, Carlson requested
and received permission
to
remain
in the field for
an extra few days.
“The Proudest Moment of Our Young Lives” Carlson that
now had
to sell the
extended time
surrounded him that December
3,
priate for paradise than for the hell he last thirty days.
foliage. Below,
On
to his fatigued
1942, morning
and
his Raiders
men. The jungles
seemed more approhad endured
for the
the surface, rivers and streams dissected luscious green
however, lurked a seamy underworld of danger
in the guise of crocodiles
— from nature
and malaria-carrying mosquitoes and poisonous
human predators in the form of the crack Japanese 230th Infantry Regiment, commanded by Col. Toshinari Shoji. In the first long-term commando mission behind enemy lines of the war, for one month Carlson and his Raiders had pursued Shoji’s men deep in insects, to
Guadalcanal’s jungles. trails existed,
The
but they were
camouflaged by banyan the Raiders,
ordeal exhausted Carlson and his battalion. Jungle
who
name
trails in
huge
trees,
roots,
only,
and
narrow tracks blocked and
vines. Daily rains
drenched
labored in suffocating humidity each day under the tropi-
cal sun.
Carlson’s Raiders had fought in these deplorable conditions for most of
November and
the
first
few days of December. They engaged the enemy
three major firefights and
more than twenty skirmishes along the way, while
battling the usual exotic mixture of jungle diseases. Malaria, dysentery,
ringworm formed deadly
They had seen
allies
had
killed those
They had subsisted on worm-infested
rice
and
The Raiders had expected
and
with the Japanese to deplete their thinning
friends die; they
ranks.
in
who
tried to
kill
them.
at
which
tea.
the mission to end on
December
1,
time they could return to the relative safety of the U.S. perimeter surrounding
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been Henderson
Field, but
Carlson had one more assignment for them. They stood
almost within view of the
airfield
Marines that they had triumphed could contribute to the war
effort,
They faced one more
back.
safety,
and recognition from fellow
proving that a commando-style outfit
in
but he was going to ask them to delay going
Mount Austen and
mountain
positions atop the
and
task before completing the patrol
the steep, slippery slopes of
enemy
239
that
—
to navigate
eliminate newly located
had plagued Henderson
Field.
Carlson collected his Raiders about him, as he always had done, to ex-
and the reasons why they should be carried
plain the orders
toward their commander looking every
masked haggard dirty uniforms.
faces,
bit as
and thinned, almost
Going back
to training
camp
poorly as he did
not so
much
in February, his Raiders
to request they face another.
the role of a military
—grimy beards from
skeletal frames protruded
cepted every challenge that came their way. Now, despite the
month, he was about
They walked
out.
had ac-
rigors of the last
This time Carlson acted
commander but more
a
Knute Rockne rous-
ing his football players to extra effort.
He
congratulated his
tasks, they ters,
men and
had been ordered
along with
its
entire battalion to
said that, as they
to the perimeter,
comparative
had completed
where better food and quar-
awaited. However, rather than lead the
safety,
Henderson, Carlson explained that under the
command
Captain Washburn he was sending the companies that had been the longest
—C, D, and E companies —back
route along which they had
come
up.
their
to the
of
in the field
perimeter by retracing the
While Washburn took these men down
the Tenaru, Carlson would lead the other three companies
—A,
B,
and F
— up
and over the forbidding Mount Austen. Carlson waited for any grumbling to dissipate. latter three
companies would prefer avoiding Mount Austen
that the fatigued
men
the s
men
of those
challenges, and
longed to return to more civilized conditions, where
they could catch up on missing sleep.
been
He knew
in the jungles for a
Some complained
that as they
month, could not another battalion be sent
Carlson replied that one more task awaited.
He
had scouted the top of Mount Austen and reported
told that,
them
that “at the top, at the
web
a strong position
pied .” 13 Carlson explained that
if
dug
in?
that a patrol
while the “ascent
was precipitous,” they had discovered of ridges, the Japanese had
had
hub
of a spider
which was unoccu-
they could rush to the crest and beat the
Japanese to those prepared positions, they could not only spring another am-
bush on the enemy but further
relieve the pressure
shorten the fighting on Guadalcanal.
on Henderson Field and
AMERICAN COMMANDO
240
He
agreed that another unit might be up to the task, but the Raiders were they were capable, and furthermore, they had an obligation to
in place, If
they could regroup,
if
they could one more time draw on those deep wells
of strength that had carried
them
this far,
in
human
they would return to Henderson
enemy hut
Field as conquerors, not only of the
tendency
fulfill.
and of that
of themselves
nature to take the easy way out.
One more
test
awaited
the Raiders, and Carlson along with them, to gain the vindication that had
been delayed in singing
Makin. Ever the dramatist, Carlson ended by leading
at
“Onward Christian
fect theater to
Soldiers
conclude an astounding
to the jungles of
and the “Marine Corps Hymn," perpatrol, a bit of
Broadway transposed
Guadalcanal.
“With our chests bursting with pride, we sang the hymn
at
the tops of our
enemy
voices,” wrote Private Bulger, “hurling a daring challenge to any diers within it
“I
men
his
sound of our
voices."
He
added, “To those of us
was the proudest moment of our young
lives
.’
who were
sol-
there,
14
Seen Red”
One
who heard Carlson’s stirring words, Lieutenant Miller, prepared to head up Mount Austen’s foreboding slopes. Like the other Raiders accompanying Carlson, Miller turned his gaze toward Mount Austen, the landmark of those
they had to cross to claim victory. "Mt. Austen was a huge, nightmare
hunk
of fantastic terrain," wrote Lt. Col. Merrill B. Twining. “All the navy’s Seabees
could never have built a road to It
its
forward crest overlooking Lunga Point
stood there, a cautionary sentinel daring anyone to conquer
minder test
that success
—they had
first
requires adversity.
to scale the
it,
The Raiders faced
patrol,
to
^
a threefold
prominence, subdue any Japanese they encountri-
descend into the perimeter.
Pondering the height and Stigler,
1
a fixed re-
tered on the summit, and, in what would be the final act of a hopefully
umphant
.’’
its
challenges, Miller walked to Lt. Stephen
the battalion’s doctor sent to
accompany Captain Washburn’s group,
shake hands and wish him well. "
fake
it
easy, Jack,” Stigler
muttered
to Miller. ”
"Sure," replied Miller.
“I’ll
Rather than a single peak, hula,
was
see you in a few days.
Mount Austen,
a collection of perilous ridges
also
16
known
as
Mount Mom-
two miles south of the
rated by dense jungle. Standing in the midst, as
if
to assert
its
airfield sepa-
governance as
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been well as
independence, rested the main peak. To reach
its
men
lead his
241
it,
Carlson had to
through yet more thick jungle, then climb rocky slopes
more perilous by the inundating
rains.
Mount Austen dominated
At 1,514 feet
made
Guadalcanal’s northern coastline,
providing magnificent views of Henderson Field as well as of Ironbottom
Sound, the scene of heralded naval clashes between the Japanese Imperial
and the U.S. Navy. From
Fleet fire
down on
its
summit Japanese
patrols directed artillery
the Marines, secure that American jeeps and trucks could never
traverse the inhospitable terrain
and clamber toward the
top.
The Raiders
faced a difficult task not only in scaling the obstacle, but in eliminating any
Japanese
at the
summit before beginning an equally harsh
trek
back down the
opposite slope to Henderson Field.
“The climb up Mombula was long and arduous,” report. a
Men
slipped and
quagmire due
branch
in
attempting to climb the steep slopes,
to the recent rains.
to haul
upward on
their
was very
first at
Jacques Farm.
the
hill/’ It
Class Vanlandingham.
difficult,” said Private First
branch, get ahold of
it
and
I’d
Then
muddy and
pull yourself up.
slick.
You reached
That was so
“It
had
to catch a
difficult, especially
We were pretty well beaten down. The only thing that
march.
going was
this next tree.’
Some
own, facing Mount Austen’s impediments with an inner
rained constantly, so the ground was
after a long day’s
carried.
up the ammunition and other supplies, but most struggled
strength developed
me
now more
leaned forward to grab on to a
and branches and the additional equipment they
used ropes
kept
Men
in his
hopes of pulling themselves upward, yard by yard, hampered by
slippery leaves
"It
fell
Carlson wrote
1
look ahead and thought,
I’d
find another one. If
If
I
can just make
you stumbled, you’d
it
slip
up
to
down
18
seemed
that, after they
had conquered so many
Austen posed an unfair supplementary
test to
tribulations,
Mount
Carlson and his men. With
sweat breaking out on grime-covered faces and rain tapping against helmets, the Raiders headed upward, gasping in the higher elevations with
oxygen, hoping that another ten feet would bring the summit.
The seemingly
tireless
twenty-minute break during the
six
its
lack of
them within view
of
Carlson allowed them to take only one hours
it
took to reach
Mount
Austen’s
summit.
As they approached the the vacated
enemy
crest,
Carlson sent the point forward to inspect
positions discovered earlier.
They
arrived just in time, as
once the point gained the top and surveyed the reverse slope, they spotted an
242
enemy
patrol
AMERICAN COMMANDO
winding toward them, unaware of the Marine presence. The
Raiders silently waited for the Japanese to draw closer, but the lead soldier,
who had
apparently sensed trouble, suddenly halted and ordered the patrol
to take cover.
three
A
the
in
The
point immediately
opened
fire
squads out on each flank to envelop the enemy, the
him during the monthlong
and
a
maneuver
second platoon
from the
Japanese
patrol.
When
tactic that
had worked so
the Japanese countered with
of their own, Carlson sent Miller’s platoon to one side
move around
to the other to
the Japanese flanks and hit
side.
Eighteen-year-old Pfc. Frank
handedly crawling under heavy
in
F.
fire
Tassone earned
a Silver Star
and destroying
Japanese machine-gun
walked
position. Cpl. William Orrick
Japanese
in the trees the
weapons and machine guns, while Carlson sent
replied with automatic
a flanking
killing
initial burst.
two-hour melee ensued. From their positions
well for
on the Japanese,
what other Raiders
a
erect, blasting with his
later called
by single-
shotgun
at the
one of the most gallant actions of
the patrol.
With the action becoming more intense, Miller
led his
men
according to Platoon Sergeant Maghakian, “a long ways hack 19
other Marines have ever been.
into position, in
where no
At the point Pfc. Ray Bauml walked ten feet
behind a native scout, while Miller followed another ten feet behind, ready to issue orders to his
men
as they slowly
moved forward
nior platoon leader, Miller did not have to be so far forward, but he to
be
As
in single file.
se-
wanted
in the best position possible to direct the action. Besides, Miller pre-
ferred being with the
men up
front, sharing the
At a signal from the scout,
who
indicated
same
enemy
risks they faced.
soldiers directly ahead,
column momentarily, then sent Bauml and four men
Miller halted the
thick brush on one side of the
trail
while he and another group, including
Platoon Sergeant Maghakian, veered into the jungle on the other side.
inched forward
masking what
into
They
the thick underbrush, with tree branches and heavy foliage
in
lay
ahead.
wrote alter the war.
"1
“It
was so quiet
—
it
was
positively eerie,"
had the feeling of strange eyes watching
and yet the surrounding
foliage
was so
thick,
I
Bauml
my every move
could not see a thing."
when he heard branches rustling. He turned toward the sound, prepared to open fire, when Lieutenant Miller and his runner emerged. A relieved Bauml welcomed the officer, who smiled "with that boyish grin he Bauml
froze
had” 20 and asked
if
Bauml had seen anything. Bauml had
not.
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been moved
Miller
when machine-gun
three paces
camouflaged not more than twenty
soldier
243 from
bullets
a
Japanese
feet distant stitched Miller across
the chest and face. “The gun almost tore his head off ,"-21 recalled Bauml.
slumped
to the
and arms, and
ground, barely
peppered the
with a mangled jaw, wounds to his throat
alive,
a nearly severed tongue.
a cluster of thick trees,
he
tree trunk
laid
He
down
As Bauml rushed
covering
fire to
to protection
amidst
shield his officer. Bullets
behind which Bauml took refuge, but
failed to
punc-
ture through to hit the Raider.
know how
don’t
“I
right there
jungle, an
,’’
22
wrote Bauml.
enemy might
Being as
far
As soon
bursts.
those Japs slipped in behind us with our squad laying
in the grass
in Guadalcanal’s
stand feet away without divulging his existence.
forward as he was, Miller took the
as the firing diminished,
full
brunt of the gun
Bauml crawled toward
Miller, lying
bleeding profusely from disfiguring wounds to his jaw and mouth.
runner darted away
Miller’s
was another indication of how,
It
morphine when he
to get a
corpsman, who administered
had eliminated the Japanese,
arrived. After the Raiders
they discovered that the weapon that had called "a pleasant, clean-cut,
a shot of
wounded
Miller,
whom
Peatross
handsome, young Marine ,” 23 was an American-
made Thompson submachine
gun, most likely retrieved from a dead Marine
somewhere on Guadalcanal. Platoon Sergeant Maghakian fought not far from the fallen
unaware
that his friend
Maghakian rushed
for help,
wounded Raider been
had been
felled,
to safety.
hit.
Maghakian hurried
working over
Miller,
When one of Maghakian’s men screamed
to his aid
When
under heavy
fire
and dragged the
he returned and learned that Miller had also to
who had
officer, at first
where
his friend
lay.
He saw
the corpsman
obviously been hit in four or five different
spots.
“Transport,” Miller muttered in near delirium before the morphine took effect.
Maghakian huddled
Miller could barely speak.
as close to Miller as
The
from
after the it
he was.
to
comfort him, hut
sight of his bloodied friend, lying helpless in
the jungle, enraged Maghakian.
went
he could
“I
seen red,” he
later wrote. “I got sore
machine gun nest because we were having
and there was a sniper up
in the tree
lots of
and we could not
tell
and
trouble
where
.’’ .
.
Maghakian
told
ravine, “to get this
two of
his
men
to cover
machine gun nest with
him while he headed down the a grenade.”
Maghakian knew
the sniper would have a clear shot at him, hut he figured the only
way
to
AMERICAN COMMANDO
244 eliminate the
had get
enemy was
Maghakian exposed himself
if
a debt to settle for Lieutenant Miller.
me
knew
“I
to fire. Besides,
he
the sniper was going to
but that was the only way to expose him so
went down
I
zig
”
zagging
Maghakian, driven hy rage and guts, knocked out the enemy gun. The sniper
wounded Maghakian
tion to other Raiders,
but
in the wrist,
who
process divulged his posi-
in the
quickly put him out of commission with gun
blasts.
made
a
wrote, “and
I
"I
human
did not care
save lots of lives
have been Jack.”
to
target out of myself but
if
I
knock
if it
I
never
came
I
Maghakian
did the job,
out of
out and besides
China and Philippines so
I
it
because
1
seen everything
knew
I
in the
world
did not care as long as
I
later
I
could I
revenged
24
Maghakian had
his
vengeance, as well as a broken wrist. The
impact shattered Maghakian’s wristwatch and so imbedded that for years after the war, pieces kept working their later a
it
bullet’s
into his skin
way through. Ten
years
doctor removed some of the metal and found that the watch’s main
spring had
wrapped around an
spring, the
artery.
Once
numbness Maghakian had
felt
the doctor removed the offending since the
wound
disappeared.
Despite entreaties from the corpsman to go back for treatment, Maghakian remained in the fighting.
Austen
until blood loss so
He continued
to direct the
weakened the sergeant
men
atop
that he could
Mount
no longer
contribute.
Carlson brought forward the remainder of his forces. Individual Raiders
rushed into a draw to eliminate a group of snipers, embarking on a grand shootout reminiscent of Wyatt Earp and the old Wild West.
When
the fight-
ing ended, twenty-five Japanese dead littered the area.
Captain Peatross was inspecting the bodies for useful information when
one Japanese leaped a
to his feet.
"Shoot the
few yards away. Peatross leveled
as
he raised
his
his
bastard!’’--
shotgun and
shouted Carlson from
killed the
enemy
soldier
rifle.
Later that night Lieutenant Miller regained consciousness long enough to carry Lt.
on
a brief conversation with a
William
B.
MacCracken and
Lt.
few
officers.
Two company
physicians,
Charles G. Rohinson, agreed to take
turns watching over the stricken officer during the night so he would always
have a physician
at
hand.
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been
245
CM 05
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a l
E a) > o Ward
i. Jeffrey
2008
©
/
AMERICAN COMMANDO
246 “I
Cried Like a Baby”
Lieutenant Miller was able to joke a
the next morning.
bit
When
Captain
Apergis asked Miller what he most wanted once they reached Henderson
he mentioned beer.
Field,
Til
“A
A
you a
try to find
bottle, hell,”
bottle,”
mumbled
laughed Apergis.
Miller,
“I
want
a case
." 26
sense of urgency drove Carlson that morning. In eliminating the Japa-
nese positions on
Mount Austen, he had
Miller needed surgery quickly
Marine
if
he was
attained his final objective, but
to survive.
Henderson would he no simple
lines at
the speediest route, but as always
could traverse the distance
in a
it
The two-mile descent
task.
A
narrow
trail
meandered through thick
offered
jungle.
few hours, unless an enemy attack
to
He
stalled his
advance. Even though jungle rot so infected some of the Raiders’ feet that they had to halt every once in a while to empty the blood from their shoes,
Carlson counted that they would, as they had throughout the patrol,
move
the required strength to
Miller and the other
wounded
to
summon
Henderson.
men on the move by daylight, with Cpl. Orin Croft s squad from B Company taking the point. Five hundred yards down the sumCarlson had his
mit, the
winding
trail
straightened out, providing a perfect spot for the Japa-
nese to set an ambush. Cpl. Albert L. Hermiston of the lead
fire
team stepped
forward cautiously, eyes scrutinizing each bush and tree along the path. At
almost the same
moment
the deck, a Japanese
hit
man
Hermiston gave the
machine gun opened
signal for those
fire, killing
to
Hermiston and the
fire
team
in line
moved up
to
envelop the Japanese. Pfc. Cy-
Matelski spotted a soldier wearing an American helmet
undergrowth, hut
man
behind
next to him.
The second rill
that
shot
when he shouted
him between the
rise
from the
the recognition signal, “Ahoy, Raider,” the
eyes. Matelski
had come upon
a
Japanese soldier
using an American helmet as a subterfuge.
Corporal Croft’s third
fire
team wiped out
son ordered a second envelopment
a
machine-gun
when Japanese
nest, but Carl-
forces outflanked his
attempt. After two hours of fighting, the countermove forced the flee
first
enemy
to
and Carlson could continue toward the perimeter. Miller’s condition deteriorated during the delay.
and Lieutenant Robinson walked beside could to
Lieutenant MacCracken
Miller's stretcher,
doing what they
make him comfortable. Platoon Sergeant Maghakian, who
stretcher behind Miller’s, slowly rose
when he heard
lay in a
Miller feebly call his
— Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been name, but he could not reach boys to put ther,
me down and
conduct fully in
247
time
I
got
my
native
almost got to him,” Maghakian wrote Miller’s
I
"he died in the doctors
Word
his friend in time. “By the
”
[sic]
arm.” 2
of Miller’s death filtered back to Carlson, a brief burial sendee.
fa-
who came
forward to
As Raiders gathered around, helmets respect-
hand, Carlson removed a flag from Miller’s pack and said a few words
about what the
death meant to the Raiders and to his family. Raiders
officer’s
then placed Miller
in a
shallow grave off the
and marked the spot with
trail
a
rude wooden cross. Graves registration personnel would supposedly pass
through after the fighting had ended and remove the body for proper burial.
“We gave him
“and
to Miller’s family,
have never done
decent burial on the side of the
a
in
am
I
my
life
not
ashamed
am supposed
I
Lieutenant Miller died halfway
Although they
still
had
to
admit
to
trail,”
wrote Maghakian
cried like a baby
I
Austen’s northern slope.
few hours before reaching Henderson
a
I
2S
be pretty tough.
down Mount
which
Field,
Magha-
kian and the others could see the airfield below from where they buried Miller. Miller
succumbed
ised Land, as
it
—the Prom-
“within sight of the division perimeter
were,” wrote Captain Peatross of the somber
that sickened Miller’s frustrated to division
medical care.
could get him to
aid,”
29
men, who so badly wanted
hurt
“It
when
moment,
a fact
to get their officer
heard Miller had died before they
I
said Captain Griffith, like Miller a native of Dallas.
Colonel Carlson agonized over Miller’s death, as he had done with the passing of each Raider.
Men knew
death, Carlson was beset with grief.
Old
Man when we
lost
that
One
reports arrived of a Raider
Raider said, “You couldn’t talk to the
someone. You were
hurst into tears just looking at him.’
when
afraid to,
because you expected
M(l
men crafted poems about B Company wrote “Beside the Trail”
Miller’s death so affected other Raiders that
the incident. Pfc. Robert N. Herriott of
two
so soon after the event that Leatherneck magazine printed
1943 issue only four months
That rugged
A
later.
Herriott wrote:
cross, native
made, may
it
he
token of remembrance, our ever humble
There
it
fee.
stands in this faraway tropic land
A monument
placed within God’s helping hand.
To you,
prayer from
How
pal, a
true
I
know
to
the best
my now weary heart of men must part.
it
in its
March
AMERICAN COMMANDO
248 Each passing
now lowered
pair of eyes
in sorrow,
Plans vengeance as evening gives promise of tomorrow.
You,
Mother of
wipe away every
a Raider,
Not once did your son betray
We know you knowing
In
will face
your
that your son
Another Raider took time “Lt. Miller died today."
a sign of fear.
loss,
was
to write
He added
a
poem
Into the fetid jungle
tear.
serene,
a real Marine.
31
his diary for
in
for Miller that
December 4
that
included the words:
mud,
Rank with death and stained with
blood,
Marines move through the gloomy space
To seek those hiding
The
noise
in this place.
comes bursting from the
Machine guns searching
From mortal man Lt. Miller
For his valor
in
to
our knees.
for
lump of
clay
Marine
sacrifice:
While
after the
leading his
"He
Miller’s
that his son
Medal
men on December
men penned
.
.
up
Its
citation
Lieutenant Miller was
that
stark
can be bestowed on
words best describe
defense of his country.’
his life in the
thoughts
s
3,
in their diaries. Miller’s father,
had already perished, wrote Miller on December
news of family and training,
of Honor.
gallantly gave
.
died today. 32
awarded the Navy Cross, the second-highest honor a
trees.
all
was well with him
you constantly," 34 Henry Miller wrote
in the Pacific.
“We
33
unaware
He
Henry had departed
friends, that his brother
and hoped that
5.
his
shared
for
Army
think about
his son.
“For God’s Sake, Those’re Carlson’s Boys” Carlson led his companies into the perimeter ing the trip Sgt. Rhel
down Mount Austen without
in
midafternoon after complet-
further incident. At the point
Cook of F Company emerged from
PI.
the jungle to see a sentry in the
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been distance.
The guard requested they send
249 which
in a recognition party, at
Carlson and another officer strolled forward.
"The Marine sentries had no idea who we were," Cook had given us up ured
we
got
for lost
and were
"They
recalled.
starting to close our records out.
They
fig-
wiped out .” 35
Carlson’s dramatic
flair
showed during
their reentry. Despite their dishev-
much time in the bush, he wanted the men The men emerged from the jungle with heads
eled appearance after spending so to
maintain a military bearing.
high and stepped with as firm a gait as their weakened frames permitted.
"The grapevine spread the news that the Raiders were out of the long bush, the jungle,’ said Cook. colonel to
who had
Henderson
in.
out to the Marine lines, the
the right flank offered to call up transportation for us to get
and Carlson thanked him but
Field,
The Raiders
“When we came
will
walk
out. That’s pride, isn’t
it
said,
The
Raiders walked
?” 36
Marines inside the perimeter reacted with astonishment and joy that the Raiders had returned.
One
while another gazed
the gaunt men, Marines
for
at
guard shouted,
being ruthless, fierce fighters, and could
Here comes Carlson,"
“Jiggers!
who had earned a reputation only mumble, "Oh my God! The
walking dead!" Newsweek magazine reported of the incident, sake,’ said the
footsore, the
clearing.”^
awed
sentry, ‘those’re Carlson’s hoys.’
men were
filtering,
stirring
For God’s
Grimy, bearded, and
Indian fashion, out of the jungle into the
Martin Clemens, away on leave
he heard of the
“
at
the time, said that
moment, he washed he had been there
when
to salute the
brave force.
While ambulances rushed Maghakian and the wounded
to the hospital,
the rest of the Raiders hiked the final distance to their bivouac on the Tenaru River.
Carlson admonished his
men
against accepting candy or other foods
from fellow Marines, as their stomachs required time
"He spread the word not
to take
to adjust.
any candy or food,” said Platoon Sergeant
Cook. "You can exchange your canteen
for a full one, but
no chow.
He knew
our body wouldn’t accept the food, and candy especially would harm
us.
You
can imagine how good that canteen tasted. Carlson was always thinking about us.
We
loved Colonel Carlson so much.’’™
The Raiders marched
to the
cheers of other Marines.
inside the perimeter since September, withstanding
ments, aerial attacks, and suicidal charges, yet they
emotion
to
honor what they considered an amazing
the Raiders as good as dead, yet here
came
enemy
Some had been naval
bombard-
still
possessed enough
feat.
Scuttlebutt listed
Carlson, absent for an entire
250
month
AMERICAN COMMANDO
Guadalcanal’s wilderness, pursuing and killing an elusive foe to
in
on fellow Marines.
relieve pressure
“The other Marines were cheering us the whole way
“When we
got into
Henderson
looked for me. After
I
my
got
my
Field,
buddy, a tanker, was there and he
platoon bunked down, he took
and they fed me. Those tankers are rough men, but
hall
around watching
me and
Cook.
in,” recalled
me
to his
mess
they’re standing
started crying. That’s love. There’s nothing like a
Marine.”
Colonel Edson, Carlson’s antagonist, provided a lukewarm greeting. stood quietly to the side as the Raiders marched
men he had been
those
asked
to transfer,
by,
He
welcome
reserving his
for
such as Captain Washburn and
Platoon Sergeant Cook. Carlson received only a formal nod. “I
was one of Edson’s men,”
to Carlson,
and
said, ‘Evans, there’s
Quantico. Carlson said, Yes,
you
did.’”
said
I
Cook. "When Edson saw me, he turned
one of those men you
Bulger, after existing in the jungle,
let
overwhelmed the Raiders, who
down
where
their guard.
I
at
know
weapon. What as constant
The
four-hour day.
a luxury after a
According
for the
to Private
their concentration could not waver,
they reentered a near-forgotten realm, “where
weapon
said,
me
39
time permitted themselves to
carry a
Red Mike
got a good one, too.
Relief at being inside friendly lines first
stole off of
it
month on
was not even necessary the
trail
with a pack and a
companions, day and night, every minute of lean, gaunt, hollow-eyed Raiders
to
a twenty-
had trekked over 120
miles through steaming hot jungles, burning sudans of open kunai grass, crossing dozens of rivers, streams and battle with the
enemy
swamps intermingled with
east of the perimeter. Daily tropical
downpours were
alternated with long periods of burning hot sun and no water.”
with a sense of those
who had
relief
mixed with
satisfaction,
"1
realized that
finished this grueling thirty day patrol.”
a series of
I
He
added,
was one of
40
Despite the hazards and tribulations, Carlson had attained each of his goals.
His battalion had cleared the eastern sectors of Guadalcanal, had har-
ried the
enemy
into fleeing west of the perimeter,
had obtained valuable
ligence about the Japanese, and had swept the foe from
the process his Raiders
match
for the
son, the
showed
that the
American
intel-
Mount Austen.
soldier
was more than
In a
Japanese and proved the value of his gung ho methods. Carl-
Marine who had pushed and prodded
cording to his unconventional beliefs and
for a battalion organized ac-
who had
tolerated abuse from
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been
251
fellow officers, with satisfaction concluded in his official report, "mission ac-
complished." 41
One
day later Captain Washburn led his three companies into the perimeter.
After departing the higher elevations,
Lunga River and entered Marine
Though
just as
Washburn veered north down
lines to the
the
west of Carlsons entrance.
weary and as soiled as the brethren who had preceded
them, Washburn’s group did not enjoy as raucous a welcome as those on the previous day. That mattered
compared
little
cots that awaited. Celebration could
come
to the hot food
and comfortable
later.
“A Seedy Looking Lot” The
Men
Raiders required time to recoup from the lengthy ordeal.
their bivouac like zombies, eyes cast straight ahead.
membering
different events of the
Long
Patrol,
and
Some had all
Sergeant McCullough’s weight dropped from
weight.
pounds. Captain Peatross
been accustomed that his waistline
Of the November
—
badly needed to add
146
to
ninety-one
Solomons, was stunned
had shrunk from forty-two inches
after
difficulty re-
twenty-two pounds, while John Mather,
to torrid conditions in the
original
4
lost
shuffled to
who had to learn
to thirty-two inches.
266 men who landed on Guadalcanal with Carlson on one major encounter and numerous smaller skirmishes
with the enemy; after a lack of food and a host of jungle diseases sapped their strength; after long days patrolling in the jungles, along ridges, through rivers
and streams, and up perilous the Marine perimeter at
Captain Washburn, thirds of his
company
cliffs
—only
Henderson
who shed to death,
fifty-seven of those
thirty
pounds during the
ordeal.”
patrol, lost two-
wounds, and disease. One of
men
into
Field.
Lieutenant Early, stated that of thirty-two eighteen remained, and those
men walked
men who
his officers,
started out with him, only
“probably never have recovered from that
42
Capt. Garrett after their patrol interiors.
He
Graham encountered some members and noticed two features
—weary
of Carlson’s Raiders
exteriors belied spirited
claimed, "They were definitely a seedy looking
the survivors of that solid
month
in the
lot.
jungle had malaria,
Virtually
all
many were
a
AMERICAN COMMANDO
252
bright yellow with jaundice,
had been through, but outfit.”
4
were haggard and worn from what they
all
they were
in spirit
a
still
cocky and self-confident
"
Most Raiders followed Carlson’s advice and guarded what they few days. Some had
Henderson Spanish
and
little
Rice was the
raisins, Private
Dean Voight walked
mess
into the
at
meal hut turned away when the cooks dished out
for his first
rice.
choice. Pvt.
ate for a
food he wanted to see. After subsisting on rice
last
Leeman’s stomach had shrunk so much that he could only
swallow a few bites of regular Marine chow. Others ignored precautions and devoured whatever they could.
dug
of Raiders
into plates of sauerkraut
One
group
and sausage, then spent the next
twenty-four hours regretting their decision.
The Raiders appreciated two welcome from other Marine
the
units. For the first
—
civilized living,
time since early
and
Novem-
Raiders could write loved ones back home, take showers, shave, get a
ber,
and enjoy normal
haircut,
zors, toothbrushes,
been forced
to
four hours.
A
few days
Marine manning a
out.”
The Red Cross
—everyday
the rousing
a
welcome
after returning with to the
lasted
with which they had
"It’s
beyond the
first
Captain Washburn,
machine gun warned Beth
second Marine shouted,
to
wash out
Sgt.
twenty-
Arthur
his clothes.
to look out for
Japanese,
A at
The Raiders have cleaned them
safe.
44
whose
jungle,
utilities
Tenaru River
The compliment was another way son,
delivered hags containing ra-
do without.
Company walked
Beth of E
which
life.
and playing cards
The amity created by
all
things above the rest
of saying mission accomplished. Carl-
theories about guerrilla warfare passed their test in Guadalcanal's
would have loved hearing the words.
“Your Son
Was Tops”
Eleven days after returning to the perimeter, the Raiders Neville for the trip back to Espiritu Santo.
Men
filed
relished the
again feel comfortable bunks and to again enjoy hot meals
aboard the
USS
chance
once
to
whose main entree
did not consist of rice.
Christmas of 1942
at Espiritu
a year prior for the Raiders.
Santo was certainly different than the one
Men
painted coconuts
in
varying colors and
strung them on trees, attended religious services, and thought of home.
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been Meanwhile, the families of the sixteen Raiders their
first
holiday without a loved one.
killed in action
On December
government
bearing the
name
home
to
commandant,
hand over the
The
notification of Lieutenant Miller’s death.
of the
coped with
26, a delivery hoy ped-
aled his bicycle from the telegraph office to the Miller official
253
telegram,
Gen. Thomas Holcomb, read:
Lt.
DEEPLY REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR SON FIRST LIEUTENANT JACK MILLER US MARINE CORPS RESERVE DIED OF WOUNDS RECEIVED IN ACTION IN THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS DUTY AND IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY. TO PREVENT POSSIBLE AID TO OUR ENEMIES PLEASE DO NOT DIVULGE THE NAME OF HIS SHIP OR STATION. PRESENT SITUATION NECESSITATES INTERNMENT TEMPORARILY IN THE LOCALITY WHERE DEATH OCCURRED AND YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED ACCORDINGLY. ACCEPT MY HEARTFELT SYMPATHY 45 .
Since only Mrs. Miller was until
another family
member
at
home, the
delivery boy
remained with her
Carmen Miller and front when they pulled
arrived.
noticed the bicycle parked out
her father, Henry, up, and prepared
themselves for the worst.
“My mother
cried and cried,” related
never got over Jack’s death.
had had a nightmare
in
46
which
Carmen
Interestingly,
Miller years
later.
about one week earlier
“She
Carmen
hoy on a bicycle delivered a message inform-
a
ing the family of her brother’s death.
She
told a friend
about
it,
hut kept the
occurrence from her parents. Jack Miller did not storm a
hill
John Wayne fashion. Hollywood never made
a film of his
meant no
than two weeks
in
Medal of Honor
recipient with three years’ service.
men who
most probably
and a bounteous
neither best
how
life
in
He
less
He
spent less
than the loss of a
represented the young
business, but the hopes for marriage, a fam-
ended on Guadalcanal. The measure of
long he served in combat nor
measured
Upon
his sacrifice
life.
nest in
put their careers and lives on hold to serve in the war. Miller faced
a bright future, ily,
combat, yet
enemy
or eliminate a stubborn
in
how many
the fact that he answered the
a
man
foes he had slain.
is
It is
call.
learning of his friend’s death on Guadalcanal, which followed only
by months the news that another friend, Joe, had been killed the Coral Sea, Lt. Barnett
Shaw wrote
a
poem about
in
the Battle of
the trio of buddies
who
AMERICAN COMMANDO
254
joined the military. Titled “Joe and Jack and
the powerful verses express
I,
Shaw’s reaction to an inevitable result of war.
Three Pals we were when the war began, Joe and Jack and
Our
hearts were free, a fact that
Would
We
I.
we
certainly not deny.
looked on war as a glamorous
game
Like the shows you sometimes see;
We
all
agreed the war had need
Of Joe and Jack and me. So both of But I
became Marines
friends
was too old by
a year;
went my own way and joined
As
It
I
my
that day
a ditch-digging Engineer.
wasn't
my
stars hut those of
That shone with an ominous The plans they
Were suddenlyJ
made and
my pals
spell;
prayers they prayed
blasted to hell.
For Joe was lost on the Carrier Wasp
And
lost forever will
His body and soul
Where
only
All riddled
Of
see.
killed at
and torn he
In the oozing
bottomless hole
in a
God can
Then Jack was
be
mud and
Guadalcanal; fell
slimy blood
the Japs he sent to hell.
So many Joes and many Jacks
With never
a question
In arctic lands
"Why?",
and desert sands
Will fight and curse and die.
Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been
A curse A curse
255
on the lands of the Japs and the Huns;
on
their souls so black.
Their burning homes and bleaching bones Is
the price they will pay for Jack.
Wherever
not for myself
It’s
For
now
I
know
And double
Till
I
it’s
lists
I
do
act;
double
same
the
The Casualty
It’s
whatever
go,
I
for Joe
for Jack.
are just routine
the messenger strikes at home;
not the
Of one
same when you read the name
of your very own.
47
Carlson, whose finely crafted military reports read with the ease of novels, struggled to convey his sympathies
most
especially, to the families of
letter to the
wounded Raiders
message
to each.
fortitude
and
ities
of
He
when writing letters to the wounded or, the men he lost in battle. Though each
varied in
stated that they
fearless devotion to duty
men who
some
were
details,
"a living
Carlson sent the same
symbol of the courage,
which we recognize
as the basic qual-
believe in the justice and efficacy of democratic processes
and are determined
to attain
and retain them regardless of the
cost.”
Carlson
claimed his battalion would continue the work toward peace, and ended his
“Gung Ho and Chin
letter with,
His most
difficult letter
up.”
48
might have been the one Carlson sent to Lieuten-
who
ant Miller’s parents. Everyone, including Carlson and James Roosevelt, called Miller "a swell kid,”
seemed "It is
particularly
49
moved by
Miller’s loss.
with deep regret and a profound sense of personal
began, “that
I
in action against the
December. Carlson claimed and
loss,
Carlson
inform you of the death ol your son, Jack, on 4 December
from wounds received
cers,”
had taken Miller under their wing. Carlson
that “Every officer
that “Jack
942,
enemy on Guadalcanal on
was one
and man of
1
of
my most
promising
this outfit feels Jack’s loss.
universally popular because of his quiet, friendly
offi-
He was
way with people and
be-
cause of his able and efficient leadership. The colonel ended by stating,
know how
futile are
words
at a
time such as
this.
Please
know
3
"I
that your son
AMERICAN COMMANDO
256 was both
We
are
a
man and
Americans
better
all
and that he died
a hero,
In a sign of the regard in
and
officers, sent
for having
for a
which he believed.
held, other Raiders, enlisted
to the Miller family. Dr.
remained with Lieutenant Miller
in
him.” 50
known
which Miller was
condolences
cause
Stephen
he died, wrote Miller’s parents,
as
who
Stigler, "I
can’t
enough good about him. He was always smiling and cheerful. Even when
say
things were at their worst he never complained.” Stigler added that their son’s
“men were
men
tried
A
crazy about
him and wept openly when he
as these, that
1
is
a great tribute.”"
died.
From such
battle-
'
fellow Dallas native, Capt. Joseph Griffith, referred to what Jack’s ex-
ample and leadership would mean sociated with in the
him
as closely as
I
for the war.
was. His
am proud
memory will
I
know,
I
have been with him.
The most moving, however, came Maghakian.
He
give
me
I
me
his shirt off of his
Maghakian added, service.
have been as-
when
the going
was
l2
not surprisingly from Platoon Sergeant
wrote Miller’s father that their different ranks meant nothing
to his son, as "he always treated
He would
to
serve as an inspiration
tough times ahead. For Jack was never better than "
tough.
“I
"I
like his
own
hack and
I
brother
we
would do the same
have never served under a finer officer
thought the world of him.
He was
a
got along swell.
man
all
in
of the
my
for him.
7 years of
way with
lots
of guts.”
Maghakian ended all
l
can say
I
wish they had more
was tops he had fight. ...
I
his letter with
will
lots of
words of encouragement. “So Mr. Miller
men
in
the Marine Corps like your son he
guts and he led his
men
with plenty of
never forget him you should he proud of him.’’ 55
skill
in a
11
Once Walked
with Giants
I
“America’s First Trained Guerrillas” While Maghakian and the Raiders recuperated from
heaped accolades on the battalion and
nation’s press
boys in
their lengthy patrol, the
—
known
officially
as a
Marine Raider Battalion
their leader. “Carlson’s
—were something new
American warfare," proclaimed Neu^sweek. “They were America’s
trained guerrillas,
whose boast was
who
it.
could prove
.
.
.
strict secret,’
“Methods used
Reporters
mayhem,
at
to
do anything,’ and
for periods
his
which
still
gung ho philosophy.
were forged on the Chinese
anvil
1
who once wondered whether army changed
torious Japanese
camps and
where Carlson implemented
in the Pacific battles today
years earlier.”
five
how
Hand-picked from Marine volunteers, the Raiders
took graduate work’ in military
remain a
that they ‘know
first
the military could
their tunes, for the
men on
match the
vic-
Guadalcanal,
in-
cluding Carlson, had indisputably shown that the American soldier was anyone’s equal. “And now, since
land offensive on in the fert,
way
of a
November
‘Made
1,
we
in the U.S.A.’M/tz,
large-scale, full-panoplied
2
of generating plenty Ira
Wol-
Colonel Edson, whose
men
wrote the correspondent
forces in the Solomons.
To the chagrin of some Marine in
first
we have proved capable
who accompanied American
had spent more time
started our
officers, like
Guadalcanal and staged
a stirring battle at Edson’s
Ridge near Henderson Field, Carlson’s Raiders became the most-publicized
and well-known
outfit in the
Corps. Carlson, with his unique style of leader-
257
AMERICAN COMMANDO
258 ship,
became
who
the darling of the press,
likened the Raider colonel to
famed pre-Revolutionary War major Robert Rogers of Roger’s Rangers. Writers
compared him
claimed that
Abraham Lincoln and
to
“Lt. Col.
Gary Cooper and
Evans Fordyce Carlson writes books,
the harmonica and speaks Chinese. atic
to the actor
He can
kills
Japs, plays
deliver polished lectures
on Asi-
problems, swim an ice-flocked river naked and exist on a half-sock of rice
a day.
three
He
wears
rows of campaign ribbons and decorations, including
Navy Crosses. He
intellectual." ing, "I
five
The same
man
— Col.
1
will
of action and an
Maghakian
writer quoted Platoon Sergeant
have been to hell and back, and
can follow one
man
a fighter, a philosopher, a
is
as boast-
go to hell and back again.
If
I
Carlson."'
“We Swept Everything Before Us” Acclaim
after the
performed up
Makin Raid rang
Not so
to his standards.
Everything he uttered, from his
in
beyond
a listing of
that he
had not
December. press briefings,
official reports to letters to
emphasized that Carlson considered the Long far
knew
hollow, for Carlson
Patrol a
triumphant success,
munitions destroyed, which Carlson estimated
318 weapons of varying
sizes,
amounts of food and medical
be
to
45,000 rounds of ammunition, and large
supplies. His Raiders
had traveled
1
50 miles
to
cover a straight-line distance of forty miles from Aola Bay to Henderson Field,
He
con-
killed
488
through some of the worst jungles and sharpest peaks seen to date. servatively estimated that in their near daily
engagements, they
Japanese soldiers against sixteen dead and eighteen wounded Raiders. In the process they so neutralized Shoji’s forces that he never again fensive against the Marines guarding threat
on the perimeter’s eastern
Henderson
to the
Field, the swift
combined
efforts of
turnaround
sumed command,
at
at
Henderson
and strength-
Field.
Marine and Army units
sea brought about
of-
removed the Japanese
flank, destroyed Pistol Pete,
ened Vandegrift’s long-exposed enclave
Due
Field,
mounted an
at
Henderson
when Admiral Halsey
as-
plus Carlson’s electrifying thirty-day patrol, fewer than
twenty-five thousand scattered, debilitated Japanese troops lingered in the
jungles near Henderson Field or to
Tokyo
its
officials to reassess strategy in
tion in a
December
31 meeting with
west.
The succession
of defeats caused
Guadalcanal and recommend evacua-
Emperor
Hirohito.
Once
Walked with Giants
I
Though Carlson never mentioned the
Long
the
Patrol,
to the harsher
from
Makin’s impact
ones issued
criticized as lacking at
December
island in his
undeniable. This report,
is
when compared
Makin
—
by emphasizing a
trait
Nimitz and others
aggressiveness.
Carlson repeatedly referred to the offensive approach he took canal. seize
"The enemy must invariably be attacked boldly and
from him the
ment, and
it
a brutal war,
in
the direction of the enemy."
ruthless,
and that the best way
to
offensive
and so condition and
train troops that they
and
swiftly so as to
argued that
in
such
persistent, aggressive,
counter the Japanese
“is
can
boldly
assume the
out-infiltrate, out-
enemy.”
out-fight the
The Japanese, he
wrote, did not expect the United States to leave the
perimeter and strike the Japanese cessfully executed during the
American forces had
that
He
American troops must "Be tenacious,
flank, out-wit,
Guadal-
at
preceded “But there should be prompt move-
initiative"
should be
report on
Makin’s aftermath, shows that Carlson learned
in
He began
his errors in August.
259
Long
rear, as
Carlson had repeatedly and suc-
Patrol, so
He added
“Seek that back door."
to constantly focus
on surprising and outwitting
their opponent. Carlson labeled the patrol “guerrilla in nature,"
4
and strongly
urged the Marine Corps to adopt his gung ho methods and his version of the fire
team.
He
claimed the low number of casualties suffered
stood at thirty to one in favor of the Baiders to surprise the
—was
—the combat
loss ratio
a direct result of his ability
Japanese combined with the powerful weaponry of
dropped when adding
his fire
— 125 Raiders
teams.
The
had
be evacuated due to malaria, twenty-nine from dysentery, and seventy-
to
ratio
one from ringworm (jungle
Company arrived men, although,
with a
rot).
total of
attrition
from disease
Washburn’s E Company and Pete
266 men; they departed with only
as Captain Peatross pointed out, “none of us ”
complete the patrol was exactly
Another indication of his military career
aftermath.
in the
pink of health.
that Carlson considered the
comes
On December
1
who
Arias’s
C
fifty-seven
survived to
s
Long
Patrol the high point
in
the letters he wrote to friends in the patrol’s
1,
only days after reemerging from the jungle,
Carlson wrote Raymond Swing to thank him for mentioning the Raiders on his radio broadcast the previous
battalion
done
November
came through when he attempted
for the past
1
1.
Carlson’s evident pride in his
to describe
what the Raiders had
month.
“For thirty days they lived in the jungle in native fashion
—cooked
their
AMERICAN COMMANDO
260
own
own meals
(rice,
and
and constantly sought the enemy and defeated him. Only
leaves,
bacon,
made
raisins, tea),
their
boughs
shelters from
men
with deep spiritual conviction can endure the hardship incident to this type 6
of campaigning.”
More
Roosevelt, the officer biting
he sent
telling are the letters
comments
who helped form
Jimmy
the Raider Battalion, had read the
He had
read the
same
caustic reports in the
joy.
“We swept to Roosevelt.
the air
officer.
few people, Jimmy Roosevelt could most share
Raid’s aftermath. Like
Carlson’s
former executive
directed at Carlson by fellow officers and heard his friend
castigated as being a communist.
Makin
to his
field,
everything before us,” Carlson boasted in a
"And we found and located the
Pistol Pete, the artillery .
.
.
east-west
December
chap who used
10 letter to
pound
trail.”
After gushing about the Raiders’ performance, Carlson declared, "This
operation confirmed
new
idea
labored to
is
the
fire
instill,
my
&
ideas on organization
group."
Of
equipment, Jim. Our best
the gung ho philosophy that both
Gung Ho push came
Carlson wrote, “The
into
Five days later Carlson sent a lengthier letter to Roosevelt.
its "I
men had own."
wish you
could see our Raiders now. You would be proud of your handiwork and mine,
he penned, clearly paying homage ion. "Your advice,
to their partnership in
comradeship and council
forming the battal-
have sorely missed.”
I
In typical Carlson fashion, the officer then allowed his idealistic, quixotic
approach
to take over.
"Gung Ho
is
here to stay
— proved
protracted jungle fighting. Even Vandegrift
is
vows he
this way.
will
have his whole division trained
conclusively the superiority of our
method
reason and individual volition. Even our
in the crucibles of
unstinting in his praise and
This campaign proved
of discipline based on knowledge,
own doubting
officers are con-
vinced."
Carlson added, "A division, an army with
and could not be denied,” and wondered to the
United States
of this
manner
and
of training
Carlson had written no similar
fighting.
Guadalcanal, where
than the number killed
in thirty-one
in
two days
at
home an
opportunity
actively the sentiment
”'s
August. Despondency over his
letters in
performance that month had been buried by at
more
to stimulate
and
would he unbeatable
the battalion should he sent back
for a short time to "give the folks at
to see a first class fighting outfit in favor
if
this spirit
his
command
days Carlson
Makin.
of the
lost sixteen
Long
Patrol
dead, fewer
Once
I
Walked with Giants
261
“We Did Our Job” Carlsons system also reduced the incidence of psychiatric breakdowns.
While Marines
in
other units and
Army infantrymen
filled
back-area hospitals
with mental cases, only one of Carlson’s Raiders had to be evacuated with a
mind
psychiatric disorder. “You tried to keep your said Sergeant
traumatic and
Long
Patrol
McCullough. all
that jazz like
when we
all
we
got now.
I
it.”
settled
don’t
got sick with malaria
anybody that couldn’t take
The
seemed everyone
“It
off the fear
know
and
nerves,’
No post-stress
down.
of a soul, even on the
and everything,
don’t
I
know
of
9
Raiders’ mental attitude at Guadalcanal impressed the editors of For-
December 1943
tune magazine. In a
article,
the magazine studied psychiatric
cases in the U.S. military and stated that about one-third of
all
casualties
being returned to the United States were due to neuropsychiatric causes. The
magazine concluded, “Breakdown incidence depends
largely
on the quality
of leadership and the conditions of combat,” and claimed that the soldier
performs best and most avoids breakdowns
“
is
the one
who
who knows why he
is
fighting.”
The magazine
recalled the trauma suffered by British soldiers after their
evacuation from Dunkerque, which
it
labeled the starkest example of trau-
matic war neurosis of the early war, and added, “Psychiatrically, the American
Dunkerque was Guadalcanal,” where ing stress, disease, exhaustion,
and
a
harsh combination of factors, includ-
insects, subjected America’s soldiers to
near unimaginable tribulations.
Of
the Guadalcanal units the magazine studied, Fortune stated that the
Second Raider Battalion registered the best record, where Carlson had only one case of traumatic war neurosis, “despite the
fact that the Raiders fought
under the same conditions as the other Marines." The magazine credited Carlson’s unique selection and training process, where he not only screened
the
men
he accepted but explained clearly what they were about
to face, as
factors contributing to his success in reducing psychiatric cases.
The magazine
praised Carlson’s rigorous training, not only in the military
and physical aspects of war, but working together officer in this war,
not
in
focus on individual initiative and in
small teams. “Perhaps
more than any other American
he has practiced his conviction that training must foster
stifle a soldier’s
individual initiative.” According to the magazine, this
training paid off at Guadalcanal, their
in its
own, away from
officers
where small groups often had
and other teams.
to
work on
”
AMERICAN COMMANDO
262
The magazine
endorsed Carlson’s system as beneficial
heartily
soldiers
who
men
what they might expect; because he considered
for
face combat. “Carlson believes that because he prepared the
because they were convinced he would never
feelings;
because he provided an outlet
lessly;
for terror
understood what they were fighting implicitly
to all
— they suffered
virtually
for;
and
their opinions
sacrifice a
man
and tension; because
need-
his
men
because the Raiders trusted him
no psychiatric casualties."
Fortune then turned to Marine Corps indifference to Carlson. “Despite the success of Carlson’s methods, no steps have since been taken to use
elsewhere
Marine Corps, or
in the
in
that matter.” Rather than seeing his
and
focal point of service jealousy
no
command
field
them
any other unit of the armed forces for
methods
bitterness.
imitated, Carlson
became
“Thus there would seem
to
the
be
an officer with Evans Carlson’s proven qualities of
for
leadership and with his respect for the dignity of man.” 10
The New
men "A band
York Times agreed with Fortune's assessment. After calling his of the Marine Corps’ grimmest killers
— tough, jungle-hardened
raider troops,” the publication lauded the colonel as well as the
was the demonstration of the
significant, though,
ability of
men. “Most
American
troops,
properly trained and indoctrinated, to operate independent of established ”
supply lines
in
the jungle.
M
Carlson,
who had
spent years battling against
mainline Corps doctrine, had to be pleased that his methods and
men
gained
such praise.
Acclaim came from the Raiders themselves, who,
like
Carlson, under-
stood they had accomplished something unique. Captain Peatross called the
Long
Patrol “his greatest achievement,"
outfit
was the only
patrol,
land,
and
it
did
battalion that could have
it
because
and spend night
densome
and bluntly avowed that "Carlson’s
it
to
move
on the ground,
in
the
officer at Guadalcanal,
accolades on the battalion, a group that, as he put
hoped
for
Private
by the time
Dean Voight
December
7,
afoot, live off the
field,
without a bur-
it
General Vandegrift, heaped
it,
“accomplished everything
returned to the perimeter in early December.
stated
it
more
simply.
"We
13
did our job. M4
Captain Washburn could have sent Voight’s statement since
combat
12
Even Carlson’s superior
I
that hike, really a
had been trained
after night
logistics train.
made
to
Connecticut. Ever
1941, as he rode the train from Hartford to Quantico and
”
Once attempted soldier
was
an answer.
many
respond
to fit
Walked with Giants
I
to those civilians
263
who asked
if
for the task of defeating the Japanese,
One
year
later,
he found
it.
The Long
he
felt
the American
Washburn searched
for
which he and so
Patrol, in
other Raiders had distinguished themselves and vanquished a once-
victorious enemy, had supplied the reply.
“We Salute You, Comrades” In recognition that the patrol
was not the
result of
one man, but of many,
Vandegrift awarded the battalion a unit citation for their performance at
Guadalcanal. “For a period of thirty days this battalion,” declares the citation,
“moving through destroyed an
pursued, harried and by repeated attacks,
difficult terrain,
enemy
force of equal or greater size
from the area of operations. During
and drove the remnants
this period, the battalion, as a
whole or
by detachments, attacked the enemy whenever and wherever he could be
found
in a series of carefully
planned and well executed surprise attacks. In
the latter phase of these operations, the battalion destroyed the remnants of
enemy
forces and bases on the upper
formation of the terrain and
enemy
Lunga River and secured valuable
in-
1S
line of operations.
Individuals throughout the battalion received accolades. For his actions
throughout the patrol, particularly during the fierce fighting tain
Washburn earned
hearer of two in
wounds
at
a Silver Star, as did Platoon Sergeant
in
two
battles.
Though
in
combat
for
Asamana, CapMaghakian, the
such a brief time,
death Lieutenant Miller earned a Navy Cross for directing the action atop
Mount Austen,
while Pvt. Joseph
Auman
received a posthumous
for his exploits in providing covering fire at
wiping out the Japanese encampment
Asamana and
Navy Cross
Cpl. John Yancey for
late in the patrol.
Carlson received his third Navy Cross. Despite harsher conditions than at
Makin, presented by both the Japanese army and by the
skillfully led his
for a
Carlson
Raiders to success.
Shortly after the Raiders returned to
assembled
island,
memorial service
comrades who perished
in
eulogy conveyed what most
to
Camp Gung Ho
at Espiritu
Santo, they
honor Lieutenant Miller and the other
the jungles of Guadalcanal. Carlsons eloquent felt
that day as they gathered in
honor of their
AMERICAN COMMANDO
264 slain friends, fellow Raiders
who
sacrificed their lives so that the
Long
Patrol
could succeed.
Carlson told his Raiders that those bodies “remain on the canal where they perpetuate the determination of free
He
added,
not given to us to
“It is
know
men
soil
of Guadal-
remain
to
free.”
the process by which certain of us
them
are chosen for sacrifice while others remain," but the Raiders can honor
by remaining “dedicated torship
to the ruthless extermination of the forces of dicta-
which would enslave
us.
." .
.
who died, like those alive, “loved life. Only yesterday their voices were heard among us as they joined in our songs, rejoiced over letters from home or rang out with lusty exuberance as they participated in contests of sport. When the time came to face the enemy they Carlson claimed that those
did not flinch or hold back. Boldly and aggressively they advanced, confident of their superior
skill
and
determined
intelligence,
decision to van-
in their
quish these squirming prongs of Japanese militarism and oppression. They
knew
the nature of the risk they took, but they
knew
also that
human
progress
human sacrifice.” The commander then addressed the issue of what those deaths meant for those who remained. "With the memory of the sacrifices of our brothers still inevitably entails
j
fresh, let us dedicate again
task that lies ahead.
The
our hearts, our minds and our bodies to the great
future of America
—
yes, the future condition of
all
peoples, rests in our hands.”
Carlson emphasized that each Raider faced a duty that lasted beyond war’s end, that they will
had
to assure "that the
peace which follows
be a just and equitable and conclusive peace.” Then,
friend, President Roosevelt,
making certain daughters
is
he stated, “And beyond that
that the social order
truly
holocaust
homage
to his
the mission of
our sons and
to
based on the four freedoms for which these
comrades reposed
men
died.
Any
which these staunch
in us."
Carlson closed hv asking his
“We
lies
which we bequeath
resolutions less than this will spell betrayal of the faith
diction,
in
this
men
to rise
and repeat the
final
Raider bene-
salute you, comrades, as Raiders, as Marines, as Americans, as
men. God bless you .” 16 Admiral Nimitz,
a
man who had
listened to
more than
his share of
such
speeches, later claimed this eulogy was the most powerful he had ever heard.
The government apparently
agreed.
The
Office of
War
Information recorded
the eulogy, read by the noted actor Fredric March, for broadcast to troops stationed overseas.
Once
I
Walked with Giants
265
Publicity can be a two-edged sword. Marines besides Carlson’s
and dying
fighting
Guadalcanal since August, repelling a series of attacks
in
much
without drawing
men had been
They had
notice by the nation’s press.
Carlson’s Raiders, fresh off their
much-hyped Makin
watch
to
Raid, rushed
in,
as
disap-
peared behind enemy lines for a month, then emerged to great acclaim. Veteran Guadalcanal Marines asked
when
adulation
why
Carlson’s battalion should receive such
they had hied far longer.
Some wondered
if
the Raider leader sought the publicity.
What
else could
explain the photograph of Carlson, sitting on top of a jeep, chatting with a
Other Marines on Guadal-
flock of reporters about the patrol like a messiah?
canal joked, not without bitterness, that Carlson’s slogan, gung ho actually ,
meant “Which way’s the photographer?” Carlson, though,
knew where
17
the true victory rested.
A
colades followed him after the Makin Raid, yet they meant
how
vicious the criticism now, Carlson
left
mountain of
No
little.
ac-
matter
Guadalcanal confident that
his
system and theories worked. Infused with an assurance bred from the successful mission, Carlson
spoke to his battalion on February of the Raiders.
He
1943, to mark the one-year anniversary
2,
and what made them unique among
military
year ago “the Marine Raider Battalion
came
American armed forces
in the history of
for raiding
“you
who
and
to
Carlson
who
listed the traits of a
the hardships fire
what we only was to apply
first
it
that
one
organization
men
should be proud, in
connection
further gave proof of the practicability and
Raider
—
to call the
Gung Ho
spirit.
.
.
leadership, honesty, sharing equally
that the battalion
had given birth
to
an en-
team concept. “Most important, though, was the development of
call it
—and boasted
gathered
he organized and designed purely
proved to the world the value of democratic practices
deep significance of what we are pleased
hanced
into being, the
guerrilla missions.” For that reason the
with military operations, and
in
men why they had units. He mentioned
took the occasion to remind his
the
Gung Ho
spirit;
our
ability to
imperative to understand this to daily actions
cooperate
spirit;
it
—work
together.
Not
was even more imperative
no matter how unimportant they might seem.
Carlson asserted that the battalion triumphed because they marched to a motivation that
many
military organizations lacked, "a
tion in the righteousness of the cause for
that victory will bring an
improved
which he
social pattern
deep
fights
wherein
spiritual convic-
and
in the belief
his loved
ones and
the loved ones of future generations will enjoy a greater measure of happi-
AMERICAN COMMANDO
266
ness and well being than was his
lot.
this organization to articulate for
reasons
why we endure and
And
has been an unfailing policy
it
you and constantly
and
fight
so
to
in
remind you of the
sacrifice.”
Carlson admitted to lapses along the way, even hinting of the turmoil sur-
rounding the Makin Raid performance. “Do you suppose these past months since
we
first
hesitate to faith has
came
tell
together have been without discouragement for
my
you how low
spirits
have been
at times, or
how
me?
I
my
thin
worn." 18
“Worthy of More Generous Treatment” when Marine headthe new First Marine
Carlson’s jubilation lasted only until the following month,
made
quarters reorganized the battalion and
Raider Regiment. Another
officer, Lt.
part of
it
Col. Alan Shapley, took over Carlson’s
battalion, while Carlson left to serve as executive officer of the regiment.
The
loss of their leader
up the beach,
devastated the Raiders.
stumbled with them
“I
and heard them curse the
tears in their eyes,
fate that
robbed them of their old man,” wrote the correspondent Jim Lucas. their tents
and heard them cry
like babies.’
“I
had
sat in
14
Carlson attempted to soothe feelings. In a gung ho meeting he explained that his successor
would be
a strong leader to
giance. Privately, however, he raged at
March 26 stairs to
letter to
He
measure, Carlson
the Raiders
what he viewed
Helen Snow, Carlson confided,
the No. 2 job in the regiment,
In large
whom
lt
means
lost his battalion
“I
that
I
as
an
owed
alle-
injustice. In a
have been kicked uplost
my command.' -"
because of military
politics.
paid a price for ruffling feathers inside the Marine Corps corridors of
power. Influential officers resented nation’s
China
president. ship,
policy, or
They argued
when
that
when he
resigned to speak against the
they learned of his close bonds with the
he stubbornly insisted on his own
and were suspicious of
Worse, Carlson wanted
it
his friendly ties to
to create
an
elite unit
communist
style of leader-
military leaders.
based not on Corps doctrine
but on a Lincolnesque egalitarianism. Jealousy deepened each time a headline featured Carlson’s
The ing,
name.
chief of staff of the First Marine Division, Lt. Col. Merrill B. Twin-
observed events from inside channels, yet held a favorable view toward
Carlson. In his memoirs, Twining credited Carlson’s innovative
command and wondered
if
superiors
method
nudged him aside because of
of
his un-
Once popular stances: son of
“If this
command,
levels of the
it
I
Walked with Giants
267
Byzantine maneuver was conducted to relieve Carl-
momentary glimpse
gives a
Marine Corps showing
sive suspicion of all things
of thought and a compul-
its inflexibility
new and
more generous treatment than he
of the dark side of the upper
Evans Carlson was worthy of
untried. "
received.
2I
Colonel Shapley promptly discarded the gung ho philosophy, declaring his first
meeting with the
men
in
more conventional
his intent to return to a
approach. With that promulgation, the battalion that had been born with
such hope
in
February 1942 came to a sudden end. According to Captain
Washburn, “we became all
the rest of that.” 2
-
pretty military, saluting, dress, military courtesy,
and
2
summer
Carlson received orders sending him Stateside during the
of 1943,
ostensibly to treat the effects of malaria and other diseases. After a brief stay at a
San Diego military
Washington, D.C., where
hospital, Carlson traveled to
he lunched with President Roosevelt and confided
done
a
He
good piece of work and you can vented his frustrations
command"
in the
and that he was given
now
at
amounts
view was
I
cannot
his
their
commander. “We have
war of
“I
He added
is
that the
men who
hoys would chuck
it
ho!
all
for a dirty
justice."
major 1943 release,
s
24
He
received letters
they wished he were
still
camp," wrote one man, “but the
sack of rice and the privilege to he Raiders
and ‘Ahoy, Raider!’" 2
Hollywood featured Carlson
that
not in sight, which according
how much
a very beautiful
In
to a conviction, that a
on truth and
former Raiders proclaiming
from
in a
authority.
and
myself
Despite his disappointment, Carlson could smile.
‘
spirit
want more than the same ineffectual leadership and
“to pattern a society
and shout, Gung
had no
sent to
rid
this war."
they will resent that what they sacrificed for to his
“where
postwar turbulence.
must follow on the heels of
fighting
told
victory.”
man was
“wipe out the ‘Gung Ho’
a position
of the apprehension, which almost
are
temporary
a
Raider regiment, “An orthodox line
more vigorous words, he hinted
revolution
— reaction has won
his battalion, with orders to
reorganize,
Raymond Swing. He
work of the past year has been washed out
by the top-side of the Marine Corps
claimed that
that his son “has
be proud of him.” 23
lengthy letters to
in
his friend, “Suffice to say that the
He
justifiably
him
to
^
contribution by filming the battalion’s story
Gung Ho! Though
and Platoon Sergeant Maghakian served
Carlson, Lieutenant Le Francois,
as advisers
on the movie, and James
268
AMERICAN COMMANDO
Roosevelt’s newly formed Fourth Raider Battalion appeared as Marines, not surprisingly the film, starring
Sam Levene tions.
To
Randolph Scott
Maghakian, bore
as Transport
Colonel Carlson's role and
in
resemblance
little
to actual condi-
man, Raiders dismiss the movie, but during the war
a
be a powerful recruiting
tool for the
Marine Corps and, again
it
proved to
to the chagrin
of prominent Marine officers, a public pedestal for Carlson and his
gung ho
philosophy.
Carlson could take solace from the Marine Corps
Finally,
pamphlet
titled Fighting
armed
restricted to the
forces,
of the ideas could have been
was
in
In a
1943
on Guadalcanal, printed by the government and
Marine
officers
lessons they learned while combating the
gestion
itself.
and enlisted discussed the
enemy
for the first time.
drawn from Carlson’s manual.
that future soldiers
A
Many
frequent sug-
and Marines, who might often be isolated
the thick jungles of the southwest Pacific, had to he trained to take the
initiative. In his
when he
thoughts warfare
meant
foreword to the book, General Vandegrift mirrored Carlson’s
is
to
suggested that the best move “in training for this type of
go hack to the tactics of the French and Indian days. This
Study their
facetiously.
have a solution.
tactics
and
refer to the tactics
I
fit
in
is
not
our modern weapons, and you
and leadership of the days of Roger’s
Rangers.” 26
“A General with the Heart of a Buck Private” Though Carlson returned larly as
an observer
1943 and
in
to the Pacific
at the brutal
and served with
three-day assault at Tarawa in
the June 1944 invasion of Saipan, where he was
rescuing an injured private, he never again
commanded
subordinate post, however, he garnered criticism.
in a
snapped
distinction, particu-
a picture of
mander of the Tarawa Edson wrote the
November
wounded while
troops in battle.
When
a
Even
photographer
Edson and Carlson chatting with the onshore comforces and labeled
it
"leaders of the assault,’ an irate
editor that Carlson had nothing to do with planning the
attack.
Being denied that "After
War
a
combat command devastated Carlson. Helen Snow wrote
1943 he was never again permitted
to
command ”
II
and
it
nearly broke his already overstrained heart.
troops in World
2
Vandegrift delivered another blow in early 1944 when, as the
mandant, he disbanded the
First
Marine Raider Regiment
new com-
in favor of a
more
Once
Walked with Giants
I
269
conventional infantry regiment called the Fourth Marines. In what some
viewed an
insult, the
other three Raider battalions of the discarded First
Raider Regiment became self-sulficient battalions Carlson’s
Second Raider Battalion
in
new
the
dismantled and either divided
w^as
while
outfit,
among
the other three or placed in a weapons company.
Captain Peatross expressed the emotions most Raiders tion of their
once-proud battalion. “The
then came indignant resentment bitter resignation.
The
were losing
for they
tinued that
it
bitterness
at
initial
what was
reaction felt to
felt at
the dissolu-
was sheer
disbelief,
be betrayal, and
finally
was especially strong among the 2d Raiders,
their battalion as well as their elite status.’ Peatross con-
was bad enough
to
be shuffled around
manner, “hut the
in this
ultimate humiliation would be the downgrading of Carlson’s Raiders to a
muscle-bound, comparatively immobile weapons company with lumbering
75mm
self-propelled guns
and
37mm
antitank guns
—towed where
there
were roads; otherwise, manhandled.’’ 28
Even without the
insulting reorganization, the
men
Raider concept. Carlson and his
war had bypassed the
provided a welcome highlight early in
the war, before America’s factories mass-produced tanks and planes and guns.
Without the resources tary relied
the
mount massive
to
on speedy operations
like
Makin
home front reason to smile. Once American industry delivered
agile aircraft, the fortunes of
operations, the United States milito pester the
enemy and
to give
sleek carriers, speedy cruisers, and
war changed. Rather than improvised
assaults,
the military could stage colossal enterprises, complete with air cover and lery,
and pound the enemy out of
numbers superseded diversionary,
As
surprise
Sheer power and
and speed. Direct, large-scale assaults replaced
commando-style
far as the Pacific
their island fortresses.
artil-
raids or guerrilla operations.
War was concerned, Carlson and
his Raiders
had
become an anachronism.
The Saipan wounds
sent Carlson
Roosevelt visited Carlson other for the
final time.
at a
home
for good.
San Diego hospital
Within
When
President and Mrs.
in July,
a year Franklin Roosevelt
the two saw each
was dead from
a
cerebral hemorrhage.
“You
and
know how
to his ideals,”
Roosevelt’s father
dearly
I
loved your father and
how devoted
I
was
to
him
Carlson wrote James Roosevelt on April 12, the same day
succumbed.
"It is tragic that
he could not have lived to see
AMERICAN COMMANDO
270
become
the peace he had labored so hard to attain father’s friendship
is
the greatest inspiration of
my
world knew him as great, “only his family and those being intimately associated with him
Evans Carlson
retired
know how
from the military
in the
He
reality.
confided, ‘‘Your
and that while the
life,’
who had
the privilege of
great he really was.”
summer of
29
1946. Disillusioned
with battling the Marine Corps, he raised more controversy by lending his
name
to the
Committee
Democratic Far Eastern
for a
Policy, a
group of
zens working to improve relations with the Chinese Communists. critics
citi-
When
charged Carlson with being a communist, he issued a strong denial
Time magazine. James Roosevelt came Carlson a patriot, not a communist,
to his mentor’s
who had
inspired his
in
defense by calling
men
with words and
deeds. After the controversy cooled, Carlson headed to his retirement in
Oregon. His health
fore Christmas.
failing,
On May
27,
home
Carlson suffered a heart attack shortly be1947, the fifty-one-year-old Raider died in
Portland.
Even
in
death Carlson proved to be a lightning rod.
sevelt contacted Carlson’s
When
James Roo-
widow, Peggy, to offer condolences, he learned that
the Marine Corps, according to procedure, had no funds to pay for the ship-
ment etery.
of Carlson’s body to Washington and burial at Arlington National
Upset by what he considered an
insult,
Cem-
Roosevelt collected the
man had been a patriot, regardless "His men loved and respected him and
necessary $812 to defray the costs. “The of his politics,’ Roosevelt later wrote.
were pleased he received,
Though
a
as he deserved, this burial with honors.
Marine honor guard stood
ing the flag-draped coffin,
at attention as
wound through
M0
the caisson, contain-
Arlington, only a handful of top-
echelon Marine officers dotted the sparse crowd. The commandant and fellow Guadalcanal officer, General Vandegrift, paid his respects, along with a small group of other
Marine
dignitaries, but
many Marine
officers, includ-
ing Merritt Edson, declined to participate.
Lavish praise article stated,
buck
the press,
if
not from the Marine Corps.
a small part of every enlisted man.’’
Carlson
One
“A gaunt, leathery-skinned Marine general with the heart of a
private passed quietly across his last line of departure Tuesday,
him died such
came from
may even have found
histrionics. After
all, it
it
and with
31
appropriate that his
life
should end with
garnered publicity for him and his Raider con-
Once cept, as well as
271
Helen Snow claimed
nicely with his flamboyance.
fit
“Evans lived a theatrical
and had
Walked with Giants
I
and he was aware of
life
a flair for the dramatic,
He
it.
that
did things with style
though always underplaying
as part of the
it
He knew how handsome and commanding he looked in his blues on parade. He loved it when the movie “Gung Ho [sic] was made in 1943 with
drama.
Randolph Scott taking In the issue of the
and
his part
a script
New Republic
by Lucien Hubbard.”" 2
published the week after Carlson’s death,
his friend
from China, Edgar Snow, explained Carlson’s significance
and
countrymen. “Carlson suffered deeply
to his
well as his body to self-analysis.
a duty to act.
come
faith in
mind
as
He was above everything a man on whom knowledge imposed He spent his courage and great heart lavishly and finally fatally where he was guided by
doubts and struggles.
a long road of honest
citizen
in his
him
by painful thought and unflinching
to his truths
to lead others within spheres
down
humanity
for
to
and great friend whose
life, like
We
Roosevelt’s,
certainties attained
have
an important
lost
must renew our
tattered
man.”^
The man who combined
the stirring audacity of Lawrence of Arabia with
Don Quixote would have relished being compared to his Roosevelt. He also left the stage with unfinished business. As
the lofty nobility of
Franklin
idol,
Agnes Smedley had so
astutely observed during their
China
days, Carlson
strove for the stars without reaching them. It
was
a fitting
end
“They Were the
to a turbulent saga.
First”
The question whether Carlson and Roosevelt Raider Battalion
number
to a
of
is
men, including Merritt Edson. One can
may
It
Battalion
and
created the notion of a
not only difficult to answer but irrelevant.
Carlson and Roosevelt, concept.
first
its
at a
minimum, contributed
their
left
however, that
Second Marine Raider
unique creation, the only bat-
talion in U.S. military history to so creatively
democratic practices. In doing so they
assert,
credit goes
significantly to the Raider
not have been theirs alone, hut the
gung ho methods were
The
blend military
rigidity
with
an imprint on the Marine Corps.
Also undeniable are Carlson’s notable contributions to Marine organization.
He
altered the basic squad into a three-unit structure consisting of fire
teams packing the most potent weapons. Captain Peatross stated spite of the fact that practically
all
in
1995, “In
other units hated and were jealous of the
AMERICAN COMMANDO
272 raiders,
Marine infantry squads were organized on the
all
eept by the middle of today.”
WWII,
and, as you know, are
.
.
team con-
fire
.
way
organized that
still
34
Beyond those immediate concerns, Carlson contributed
tactics
Marine Divisions chief of
Merrill Twining, the First
in a later war.
Marine
to
staff
during Guadalcanal, claimed that the widespread utilization of helicopters during the Vietnam War, where they
lifted
enemy
arenas and shuttled infantry units to
Carlson
troops and supplies to the fighting
was
flanks,
a direct result of
enveloping actions and his use of native carriers during the Long
s
Patrol.
"We can
attribute
some
of the plan's origin to the imagination and initia-
inherent in Evans Carlson
tive
s
speed and mobility through the employment
of his native scouts during his classic raid on Guadalcanal," Twining wrote.
He added on the
that the helicopter “gained
battlefields flying
warm acceptance when
Marines of the
Today, helicopters are indispensable to
Since World
War
tradition established
The Green
of our
armed
forces.”
appeared
31
different special forces units have carried
II
on
in
Berets in Vietnam, long-range reconnaissance Marines,
World War
tions," asserted
the
by Carlsons Raiders and the other Raider battalions.
airborne units, and Marine force reconnaissance companies heritage to
first
and out of combat.
1st Division in
all
it
II.
“Sure,
we were
all
Army
trace their
the forerunners to special opera-
Lieutenant Burnette. "There wasn’t
much
else like
at the
it
time.” 36
Brown entered Marine
Larry
and two Purple Hearts
special forces in 1964, earning a Silver Star
for his service in the
Vietnam War. Each year
past several years he has attended the Raider reunions, not so
and share memories with the World War
who
influenced
"Our
drill
warriors as to pay
instructors used to in
San Diego. "We were
their future.
did hand-to-hand combat, they were stressed.
fighting,
sneaking up on people. They were the
doing
It’s
an honor to
sit
cherish
We
— the name
were the
first."
3
men
to
They were
were Raider.
first
to
at the
stressed.
They used the Raider
we
do
it,
had, the night
and now we were
here with these guys today. They are walking ex-
amples of what the Marine Corps operations unit.
homage
mention the Raiders, he explained
legacy as part of the training. Every bit of jungle training
it.
to laugh
who he became.
2007 Raider reunion
When we
II
much
for the
is.
told that.
They had
They were one
They
are
of the
first
special
something any Marine
to be special to
be
in that unit.
will
They
Once With
his
Walked with Giants
I
gung ho philosophy and
his skillful
273
command,
Gua-
especially at
dalcanal, Carlson proved that special forces units have their place in the
arenas where stealth, speed, and cunning are required, special
military. In
forces can play a
dominant
role.
Carlson may have battled his windmills, but the world needs xotes, individuals
who prod and nudge
Don Qui-
us with their words and deeds.
Brown s
quote shows that what Carlson and the other Raider battalions accomplished
had a lasting effect and that
his ideals,
burn, Miller, and Maghakian,
and the example of men
Wash-
like
live on.
Raiders continue the legacy. Following
Word War
Private Arias fought in
II,
two subsequent wars. He survived one of the bloodiest actions of the Korean
War at
the dreaded
Chosen
Reservoir, then served
two tours
the Pathfinders, a long-range scout unit that, like the
in
Vietnam with
Long
Patrol, disap-
peared into the wilds of Vietnam to scout and harass the enemy. Despite those actions, during which he battled beside other tions,
men
in
desperate situa-
he does not hesitate when selecting his most memorable time.
member my he recalled Private
proudest
moments were when
I
“I re-
served in Carlson’s Raiders,”" 8
1986.
in
Carson claims that Raider training taught him
never give up,
to
precepts that prodded Private Loveland and Sergeant McCullough to complete promises
and 2006,
made
by gaining their high school diplomas
Loveland also
respectively.
survival training, last
to family
and uses the Long
talks to Air
Patrol as his
Force personnel undergoing
example of how best
to out-
the jungle. “In that short span of 9 months,” offers Pvt. Ashley Fisher of
"I
2004
in
began the development of
has been
all
of
my
life.
considered routine. As
some
pretty tough,
I
I
I
a
mature personality that
is
with
B Company,
me
today and
learned such things as the open door policy’
met
challenges, and there have been
life’s
have drawn upon the guidance
first set
— now
many and
forth in
my
life
by Carlson of Carlsons Raiders. Part of that legacy
is
to share
participants, the native scouts
what they have with the other Long
and
carriers
who
so ably assisted
Patrol
them on
their
epic mission. Since 1968 the United States Marine Raider Association has sent a steady stream of school supplies to assist the island’s children in their
educational needs, as well as
Scholarship Fund.
money
in the
form of the
Sgt.
Maj. Jacob Vouza
274 Honors have rebounded
AMERICAN COMMANDO to Carlson’s
men.
men
Crosses, Silver Stars, and other medals, five in their honor,
many Navy
have had warships
named
including Lieutenant Miller and Sergeant Thomason. In 2004,
Navy launched
the
In addition to the
the
USS Makin
(LHD
Island
multipurpose am-
8), a
phibious assault vessel. In the ceremony Dr. Philip A. Dur, president of the
Grumman
Northrop acclaimed
Ship Systems, explained that the ship received such an
name because "The Makin
was
assault
special warfare, or special operations, today.”
The same manders
at the
in
Coronado, California,
new
building at the Naval
after Sergeant
Thomason. Com-
base selected him because he and the other Raiders repre-
sented the type of
men
they wanted their students to imitate. Across the
nation at Quantico, Virginia, the Marines established the Raider
Marine Martial Arts Center of Excellence
its
call
40
year the Marine Corps dedicated a
Amphibious Base
what we
a precursor to
to
Museum
at
maintain the heritage of
Day 2007,
Carlson, Edson, and the other Raiders, and on Memorial
in
Wyandotte, Michigan, the Marine Corps League honored one of the town’s citizens killed
on the Makin Raid by erecting
a
monument
after Pfc.
William
Gallagher.
“We Have a Bond Which
Is
Priceless”
Raiders enjoyed varied careers after 1942. Roosevelt followed his stint as
commanding
Carlson’s executive officer by talion, a post
Silver Star
where he again served with
Medal
the Fourth Marine Raider Bat-
distinction.
for the Gilbert Islands operation in
He
November
He
he willingly headed to the hottest spots of the fighting.
war
as a colonel,
and was
later
promoted
received the Army’s
when
1943,
retired after the
due
to brigadier general
to his
com-
bat citations. In the 1950s he began a string of twelve consecutive years as a
member of Congress, where he represented his home state of California. None of the successes matched his time with Carlson. According to his widow, Mary Roosevelt, up to his August
13, 1991,
death
in
Newport Beach,
California, Roosevelt claimed that his service with the Raiders
the love of his
no
favorites.
life.
He
liked the fact that everybody
To some extent
I
was
was "absolutely
in this together,
imagine he enjoyed the anonymity. Not that he ”
was completely anonymous, but he repeated James’s assertion that
ment, he would want
it
to
with
if
liked that there
were no
he were to be remembered
be his work for and
favorites.
for
w'ith the Raiders.
41
She
one achieve-
Once
Walked with Giants
I
Numerous examples show
275
tained a correspondence with Roosevelt, and his wife recalls
when
Men
Roosevelt’s love for the Raiders.
husband
a Raider in trouble called her
main-
numerous times
for assistance. Roosevelt fre-
quently contributed his thoughts to the "Bull Sheet" section of the Raider
where Raiders shared information and
Association’s newsletter, Raider Patch,
reminiscences. There you will find Brig. Gen. James Roosevelt’s
proudly
among
those of privates and corporals
who also
sent in
name
resting
news of Raider
buddies.
"We Raiders have in
1978, “and while
should be
full
I
a
bond which
am
sure none of us will be overly boastful,
of pride that
we
are
triple
1
believe
we
Marine Raiders and of our contribution
the finest military outfit in the world
The
priceless," he wrote with gratification
is
.
the United States Marine Corps!!!” 42
.
.
to
exclamation points emphasize Roosevelt’s bond with the Raiders
and how much
his service with that
group meant
to a
man whose
had
life
formerly been marred by controversy.
The Marine Corps funeral service on a
reciprocated the feeling.
Sunday
accommodate
to
Corps Honor Guard, which normally
is
When Mary
family,
arranged his
each Marine
in
the
not active on Sunday, volunteered his
time to ensure that James Roosevelt had the military trappings he deserved.
The commander
of the Marine Corps at El Toro personally folded the flag
and handed
Mary
it
to
Roosevelt.
The then commandant wrote Mary a Corps. in
letter in
The words
the 1930s, he
father
—and
of the Marine Corps, Gen. Carl E.
which he explained Roosevelt’s value
illustrate that, unlike Roosevelt’s failed
embarked upon an amazing turnaround
to himself
— he was deserving of
Mundy,
to the
Jr.,
Marine
business dealings that proved to his
praise.
"Your husband personified the image of a ‘Marine,’ especially in his active service during
World War
II.
Always leading from the
age and personal fortitude placed him in eminent
front, his selfless cour-
[sic]
danger, but accom-
plishing his mission and protecting the lives of those serving with
Makin
Island, nonetheless
came
Captain Washburn returned barked on
a profitable
developed
in
to
first.”
him on
43
Connecticut after the war, where he em-
business career crafted on the same trademarks he
commanding
the
men
of
E Company
—decency,
trust,
hard
work, and equity. In a 1980 interview he credited Carlson for showing him
how
to
handle his employees.
AMERICAN COMMANDO
276 tried to
“I
them and it.
make them
as
aware of everything that was going on around
the ramifications of what
we were
doing, and
People don’t always do that. Communications ”
Carlson was an expert
at
communications.
T he Navy recognized Lieutenant Miller
(DE
why we were doing
a very difficult thing.
is
44
USS Jack
by launching the
Miller’s sacrifice
410), a destroyer escort, in January 1944. Fifty-five years later
Southern Methodist University honored Miller and the other 133 graduates
who
died in the war by dedicating a World
morial,
which
rests in a
and Henry Miller
in
War
memory
their reach,
home
along an overgrown
from Maj. Gen.
T. E.
Miller’s death in 1942, “the
gift
The me-
from Carmen
far
little
young
age, the family has la-
for burial jack’s remains.
trail in
haunts them, but they have so
requests to the government produced letter
Plaza.
of their brother.
bored since 1942 to locate and return lies
Memorial
shady locale on the campus, was a
Bereft at losing a son and brother at such a
specter that he
II
Guadalcanal, forever beyond
enjoyed
little
success. Frequent
substantive information.
Watson of the Marine Corps reported
Other attempts throughout the years
4
was
it.
It
is
ex-
''
failed to locate the
burial spot of Lieutenant Miller, despite the efforts of friends
agencies to find
1945
growing vegetation on Guadalcanal has undoubt-
the grave will ever be found."
if
A
that since
edly aided in helping to conceal the last resting place of your son.
tremely doubtful
The
rude cross and
and government
Platoon Sergeant Maghakian informed the family that he
willing to return to Guadalcanal and, with Jacob Vouza’s help, search for
Mount
the grave, and various government teams explored the region about
Austen, without success. In 1990,
Carmen
Miller Michael implored Lt. Col. Joseph Mueller, one
of the officers assigned to locate burial locations in the Solomons, to do what
he could. She had a potent reason.
who
will
be 98 in June, asked
could do to
try to find
gaining any
new
me
“It if
was only yesterday
my
mother,
thought there was anything else
1
him." She added,
"We understand
information are very slim, but
tage of your willingness to investigate.”
that
still
that the
would
we
chances of
like to take
advan-
46
Colonel Mueller replied that he would certainly do what he could, but not to raise their hopes. “You see the jungle over here reclaims everything so
quickly.
He
explained that he revisited a location he had searched only three
years before, and
"I
could not even recognize the area anymore.
He
added.
—
”
Once
Walked with Giants
I
277
“The jungle grew so quickly that there was absolutely no trace of us ever hav”
ing been there.
As of
4
this writing, the Miller family
has yet to experience closure. While
not abandoning hope, they realize that after six decades, chances are slim of
returning Jack to Dallas.
“On an intellectual
Carmen
explained
level
know
I
from
A
fresh troops at
remains
his
Camp
Long
Patrol to recuperate at
from
Guadalcanal
his
empty being hack home while afraid I’d forgotten
Not
surprisingly, the
—and
in fact left
at
I
“I
have
lots
how
men
for battle with the Japanese, but felt
remained overseas.
his friends in the battalion to fight,
them even
Some tempted
if
I
don’t
it
49
he mentioned
to do.
to a reporter.
her even though
in front of
more than my
it.
So
I
I
am
“I
guess
we
all
my
have another crack
him
that he
by surviving two wounds, but their efforts proved
have our days numbered.
me the third time is a charm. need men like me overseas, so am ready to
twice but they they
half cripple in
will
port intended to rejoin his buddies in the Pacific, even
not return.
to the Pacific,
share.’
people, especially his wife, tried to caution fate
told
My wife can’t stand me going over again
know anything about
did get
south-
in the
twice-wounded Maghakian sought combat. Fie
making up
never mention
arm hut they
to
to help instruct
Lieutenant Miller’s father that he was more than ready to head
because
I
Pendleton, close to where he had trained for Carlson at
west Pacific to prepare the young
was
do.
two wounds
Jacques Farm. The veteran Marine applied every wile he learned
“I
I
are,
48
Makin and the other
at
where
Company, Platoon Sergeant Maghakian, returned
the United States after the
one suffered
doesn’t matter
Miller Michael in 2008, “hut on an emotional level
want my brother back home.
Miller’s friend
it
tell
I
I
if
Well go.”
I
Trans-
futile.
meant he would
it
guess
had already
I
have been lucky
don’t mind.
I
know
50
For his heroics at Eniwetok in early 1944, where he rescued a trapped platoon by outflanking the Japanese and dispatching them with a grenade,
Transport earned the Silver
then followed that with a Bronze Star for
Star,
action at Tinian in July 1944. At war’s end
Maghakian
retired at
60 percent
disability.
For
much
of his
life
Maghakian worked
sultant for a Las Vegas hotel.
Maghakian and asserted
The
that he
as an executive
film actor
and security con-
Lee Marvin, who trained under
was the toughest Marine he had ever met,
278
AMERICAN COMMANDO
claimed Transport’s valuable lessons during training saved his than one occasion
when he reached
Maghakian died
in
life
on more
the battlefield.
1977, satisfied that he had exacted payback for Japa-
nese atrocities in China. In 1981, a California state representative introduced legislation
tration
naming the new outpatient
Medical Center
after Transport.
read a message from Lee Marvin. the audience to vin stated of training.
who
A
truly a sergeant
clinic s dedication, a
Though unable to
Maghakian, "Most of us stayed
who
to attend,
speaker
Marvin wanted
him and other Marines. Mar-
alive
because of
cared for his men."
his excellent
The noted
actor,
gained fame from military roles, including that of a crusty officer of a
specially trained
ory
At the
know what Transport meant
He was
Fresno Veterans Adminis-
clinic at the
is
burned
in
commando unit in The my mind forever.’""
Dirty
Dozen claimed ,
mem-
1
tapestry of individual gallantry weaves the story of the
talion.
that "His
The Raiders could
Second Raider Bat-
not have fashioned their tale without Carlson and
Roosevelt’s calm guidance at the helm, hut the pair could not have registered their lofty
deeds without the contributions of
men
like
Captain Washburn,
Lieutenant Miller, and Transport Maghakian.
“Once
I
walked with
"Nowhere have
I
giants,’
known men
proclaimed
John Cotter of
Pvt.
like the Raiders!"’
2
D Company.
!
Endnotes
Chapter
1.
1
— Reaching for the Stars but Never Touching Them
Navy Department Press Release, August
27, 1942;
Real Guts! (Irvine, CA: Raider Publishing, 2003), 2. All 3.
Michael Blankfort, The Big Yankee (Nashville: The Battery Press, 2004), 113.
5. Ibid., p.
121.
6. Ibid., p.
125.
Herb Richardson, “Giants at
Gen. Samuel
vember 1968, C.
of the Corps," Leatherneck,
March 1977,
p. 4,
F.
B. Griffith Interview
with Headquarters Marine Corps, No-
Mathews, Letter from the Commanding Officer
Case of
in the
First
to the Secretary of the Navy,
Lieutenant Evans
Corps, for Award of a Distinguished Service Medal,”
F.
May
Carlson, U.S. Marine 12, 1931, p.
Evans Carlson Collection, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
Henry II
Berry,
Semper
Fi,
Mac: Living Memories of the U.S. Marines
(New York: Arbor House,
11. Lt. Col. 12. Berry, 13.
found
pp. 204-05.
“Recommendation
10.
p. 93.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mca-memhers.
8. Brig.
9.
p. 23.
quotes came from www.quotationspage.com.
4. Ibid., p.
7.
James Gleason, Real Blood
Evans
Jon
T.
Semper F.
Mac,
p.
1
in the
Virginia.
World War
1982), pp. 113-14.
Hoffman, Chesty (New Fi,
in
1,
York:
Random House,
2001),
p.
74.
13.
Carlson, “The Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua,” Marine Corps Gazette,
August 1937, found 14. Blankfort,
at:
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mca-memhers,
The Big Yankee,
p.
172.
279
p. 1.
y
Endnotes
280 from Evans Carlson
15. Letter
The Big Yankee,
Maj. Gen. Oscar
World War
II
F.
Correspondence
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library,
Hyde
p. 173.
Peatross,
USMC
CA: ReView
(Irvine,
The Big Yankee,
18. Blankfort, 19.
17, 1937,
New York.
16. Blankfort, 17.
Missy LeHand, June
PPF 4951,
with Evans Carlson, Park,
to
(Ret.), Bless
'Em All: The Raider Marines of
Publications, 1995), p. 6.
p. 167.
Geoffrey Perret, “Warrior Mao,”
MHQ:
The Quarterly Journal of Military Histor
19, no. 3 (Spring 2007), p. 6.
20. Evans Fordyce Carlson,
(New York: Dodd, Mead
Stars of China
Twin
8c
Company,
1940), pp. 65-66. 21. Letter from Evans Carlson to Franklin D. Roosevelt,
December
24, 1937, Cor-
respondence with Evans Carlson, PPF 4951, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library,
Hyde
New
Park,
York (hereafter cited as Letter from Carlson to
Roosevelt).
December
22. Letter from Carlson to Roosevelt,
March
23. Letter from Carlson to Roosevelt, sevelt, April 15,
24. Blankfort, 25.
1938; letter from Carlson to Roo-
1938; letter from Carlson to Roosevelt,
The Big Yankee,
Agnes Smedley, China p.
4,
24, 1937.
p.
December
24, 1937.
220.
Fights
Back (New
York:
The Vanguard
Press,
1938),
249.
The Big Yankee,
26. Blankfort,
p.
222.
27. Letter from Carlson to Roosevelt,
December
24, 1937.
28. Letter from Carlson to Roosevelt, April 15, 1938. 29. Letter from Carlson to Roosevelt, 30. Letter from
LeHand,
LeHand
to Carlson,
29, 1938.
December
23, 1937; letter from Roosevelt to
April 26, 1938.
31. Letter from Carlson to
Hand, January 32.
November
1,
LeHand, December
24, 1937; letter from Carlson to Le-
1939.
George W. Smith, Carlson’s Raid (Novato, CA: Presidio
33. Letter from Carlson to Roosevelt,
March
Press, Inc., 2001), p. 206.
17, 1939.
34. Smith, Carlson's Raid, p. 35. 35. Blankfort,
The Big Yankee,
p.
224.
MacKinnon and Stephen
36. Janice R.
R.
MacKinnon, Agnes
Sjnedley:
The
Life
and
Times of an American Radical (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), p. 42.
37. Letter
from Carlson
LeHand, March
David D. Barrett to the
38. Lt. Col.
Events,"
to
December
31, 1940, in the
The Big Yankee,
p.
285.
1940.
War Department, “Comments on Current
Research Center, Quantico, Virginia. 39. Blankfort,
9,
Evans Carlson Collection, Marine Corps
,
Endnotes Chapter 2
1.
2.
—Specially Trained Troops of the Hunter Class
Blankfort,
The Big Yankee,
Robert
Casey, Torpedo Junction: With the Pacific Fleet from Pearl Harbor
Midway 3.
281
J.
291,
p.
pt. 1,
chap.
2.
The Bobbs-Merrill Company,
(Indianapolis:
to
1942), p. 25.
James Ladd, Commandos and Rangers of World War
(New
II
York: St. Martin’s
Press, 1978), p. 17. 4.
Russell Miller,
5. Ibid., p.
6.
The Commandos (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books), 1981,
22.
James Roosevelt, 1959), pp.
Affectionately, F.D.R.
A
(New York: Simon and
Ted Morgan, FDR:
8.
Roosevelt, Affectionately, F.D.R. pp. 121, 215.
10. Ibid., pp. .
Biography
&
Company,
Schuster, 1985),
283.
p.
144-45.
204-06.
Ibid., p. 5.
A
12.
Morgan, FDR:
13.
Alva Johnston, "Jimmy’s Got
14.
J. J.
5.
Harcourt, Brace
3, 5, 12.
9. Ibid., pp. 4,
1
(New York:
7.
1 1
p. 21.
Biography,
Sons
Perling, Presidents'
p.
463.
It,”
Saturday Evening Post, July
(New York: The Odyssey
"Salesman’s Reply," Time, August 22, 1938, found
Mary
with
16. Author’s interview
at
2,
1938, pp.
Press, 1947), pp.
9, 57.
318-19.
www.time.com, pp. 1—2.
Roosevelt, October 26, 2007.
17. Roosevelt, Affectionately, F.D.R., p. 308.
A
18.
Morgan, FDR:
19.
James Roosevelt Interview with the Marine
20.
James Roosevelt,
Biography, pp. 462, 466.
My
Parents:
A
Historical Center,
Differing View (Chicago:
A
October 25, 1979.
Playboy Press Book,
1976), p. 267. 21.
Mary Roosevelt
My
22. Roosevelt,
interview,
Parents:
23. Letter from Capt.
A
October 26, 2007.
Differing View, p. 270.
James Roosevelt
ment Within the Marine Corps
Commandos and Correspondence
to Maj.
of a Unit for Purposes Similar to the British
the Chinese Guerrillas," January 13, 1942, Raider Battalion Files,
Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
24. Joseph H. Alexander, Edsons Raiders:
War
II
Gen. Thomas Holcomb, "Develop-
(Annapolis,
MD:
The
1st
Marine Raider Battalion
Naval Institute Press, 2001),
25. R. E. Mattingly, “‘The Worst Slap in the Face,
1983,
p. 7,
26. Blankfort,
found
at:
Virginia.
"
in
World
p. 19.
Marine Corps Gazette, March
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mca-members.
The Big Yankee,
27. Author’s interview with
p. 8.
Raymond Bauml, October
22, 2007.
28. Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, “Notes on the Organization of Raider Battalions," to
Commanding
General,
IMAC, December
28, 1942, in the Evans
F.
Carlson
Personal Files Collection, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia.
282 29. Letter from Evans Carlson to the
1943, in the Evans
F.
Endnotes
Commandant
Marine Corps, January 27,
of the
Carlson Personal Files Collection, Marine Corps Research
Center, Quantico, Virginia.
March
30. Author’s interview with Joseph Griffith,
7,
2007.
31. Author’s interview with
Kenneth McCullough, October
32. Author’s interview with
Ben Carson, May
A
33. Janet Ragland, "Lt. Jack Miller:
memorial/familybond.htm,
2007.
10,
30, 2007.
Family Bond," found
at
www.smu.edu/cul/
at
www.smu.edu/cul/
p. 1.
34. Ibid., p. 2.
35. Ibid. 36. Ibid. 37. Janet Ragland, “Lt. Jack Miller:
memorial/warheats.htm,
A War
Heats Up," found
p. 1.
38. Ibid. 39. Ibid.
Carmen
40. Letter from Jack Miller to
Miller to his mother, Library,
41
.
Miller,
December 1941,
December
in the
7,
1941; letter from Jack
Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Letter from
James C. Jones
Henry
to
Miller, February
1
,
1943, in the Jack Miller
Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. 42. Author’s interview with Virginia Garabedian, February 27, 2008. 43. John H. Aroian, "A Visit with Capt. Vic Reporter,
May
Maghakian W.W.
II
Hero," Armenian
20, 1971, p. 2.
44. “Lee Marvin’s
Dirty Dozen' Recalls Carlson’s Raiders Transport’ Maghakian,"
Showbiz, undated magazine
in the Victor
Maghakian Personal
File,
Marine Corps
Research Center, Quantico, Virginia. 45. Ibid. 46. Berry,
Semper
Chapter 3
1
.
2.
Mac,
J.
The Big Yankee,
p.
1
1.
Quirk, “Reflections of Carlson’s Raiders," Marine Corps Gazette, August
2001, pp. 1-2, found 3.
121.
p.
—We Could Have Taken on John Dillinger
Blankfort,
Brian
Fi,
Blankfort,
at
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mca-members.
The Big Yankee,
p. 10.
4. Ibid., p. 12. 5.
McCullough
interview,
6. Griffith interview, 7.
Mary Roosevelt
May
March
interview,
7,
25, 2007.
2007.
October 26, 2007.
.
Endnotes March
8. Griffith interview,
9.
283
2007.
7,
Letter from John Apergis to Archie Rackerby, June 10,
1
99
1
,
in the
John Apergis
Personal File, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia. 10. Letter
from
Lt. Col. Merritt A.
.
Carson interview,
May
Maj. Gen. Charles
to
F.
B. Price,
February
Edson Collection, Library of Congress.
20, 1942, in the Merritt A. 1 1
Edson
30, 2007.
12. Ibid. 13. Blankfort, 14.
The Big Yankee
,
Quirk interview, October
p. 22.
2007; William Douglas Lansford, “Carlson of the
5,
Raiders,” Saga, February 1961, p. 100.
with Darrell A. Loveland, October
15. Author’s interview 16.
Carson interview,
Semper
17. Berry,
May
February 19, 1942,
2007.
30, 2007.
Mac,
Fi,
9,
p.
121;
John Apergis
in the Merritt A.
letter
Merritt
to
Edson,
Edson Collection, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C. 18. Peatross, Bless 19.
'Em
All, p. 16.
James Roosevelt, “Evans Carlson:
New Aspects
ed., p.
A
Personal Memoir,” in Craig Symonds,
MD:
of Naval History (Annapolis,
Naval Institute Press, 1981),
389.
20. Smith, Carlson's Raid, p. 56.
21.
McCullough
interview,
May
25, 2007.
October
22. Loveland interview,
9,
2007.
March
23. Letters from Jack Miller to his mother,
1942, and
1,
March 1942,
in the
Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. 24.
Ben Carson interview with the Admiral Nimitz National Museum War, September 2 1
,
200
Evans
F.
1
“Methods of the U.S. Marine Raiders,” undated manu-
25. Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, script in the
of the Pacific
Carlson Collection, Marine Corps Research Center, Quan-
tico, Virginia.
26. 1st Lt. Part
I
W.
S.
Le Francois, “We Mopped
— December
27. Blankfort,
4,
1943,
The Big Yankee,
Up Makin
Island,” Saturday
Evening
Post,
p. 20.
p. 27.
28. Janet Ragland, “Lt. Jack Miller:
An
Officer and a Friend," found at
www.smu
.edu/cul/memorial/warbio.htm, pp. 3-4. 29. Letter from Jack Miller to his mother, tion,
DeGolyer
30. Lieutenant ritt
A.
Library,
March
1
7,
1
942,
in
the Jack Miller Collec-
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
John Apergis
letter to Merritt
Edson, February
19,
1942, in the Mer-
Edson Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
31. Author’s interview with Lathrop Cay,
May
28, 2008.
.
284
Division of Public Relations, Headquarters, U.S. Marine
32. "Leatherneck Raiders,
Corps, 1942,
in
Endnotes
the Evans
F.
Carlson Collection, Marine Corps Research Center,
Quantico, Virginia. 33. Loveland interview,
October
2007.
9,
34. Author’s interview with Richard Favinger, 35. Robert Sherrod, Tarawa:
The Story of a
June
Battle
2008.
5,
(New York:
Duell, Sloan and Pearce,
1944), p. 37. 36.
Carson interview,
37.
"The
First Line,
Collection, 38.
CBS
DeGolyer
30, 2007.
Radio Program
McCullough
interview,
2
p.
Gung Ho
Raiders," Reader's Digest,
May
25, 2007. F.
Peatross to Michael Zak,
December 1979,
Dean
October
October
Voight,
2007.
3,
9,
2007.
“Two Carlson Heroes Make Pastor Proud," Hartford Courant,
45. Peatross, Bless
Gay
in the
Zak Collection.
J.
43. Author’s interview with
interview,
'Em All,
May
47. Sherrod, Tarawa: 48.
1945, in the Jack Miller
1
42. Author’s interview with Ervin Kaplan,
46.
1,
p. 67.
41. Letter from Maj. Gen. Oscar
Michael
1
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Library,
The Big Yankee,
39. Blankfort,
44.
script, January'
Lucien Hubbard, “Colonel Carlson and His
December 1943, 40.
May
McCullough
p. 14.
28, 2008.
The Story of a
interview,
May
Battle, pp.
36-37.
25, 2007.
Combat Correspondent (New
49. Jim Lucas,
April 13, 1943.
York: Reynal
8c
Hitchcock Publishers,
1944), p. 101. 50. Ibid., p. 100.
The Big Yankee,
51. Blankfort, 52.
p. 36.
Murrey Marder, “Raider Carlson 1947,
p.
— Maverick Marine,” Washington
June
1,
3B.
53. Joseph
P.
Lash, Eleanor and Franklin
1971),
p.
655.
54.
Post,
(New York: W. W. Norton
8c
Company,
Inc.,
Anonyonous, “The Makin Island Raid," Marine Corps Gazette, March/April 1943,
p. 2.
55. “Doctrine of the Raider Battalion,"
found
in a
Raider scrapbook located
at the
United States Marine Raider Museum, Quantico, Virginia. 56. Brig.
Gen. Samuel
vember 1968, 57.
B. Griffith Interview with
Headquarters Marine Corps, No-
pp. 53-54.
James Roosevelt Interview with the Marine 1979.
58. Griffith interview, February 20, 2008.
Historical Center,
October 25,
Endnotes 59. Griffith interview, February 20, 2008;
Nimitz National 60. Maj.
Samuel
Evans
F.
Museum
Ben Carson interview with the Admiral
Gen. Holland M. Smith,
File,
Samuel
R. Stavisky, "Raiders in Pacific
ized Marines,"
May
7,
1942, found in the
Quantico, Virginia; Brig. Gen. Samuel B. Griffith
Interview with Headquarters Marine Corps, 61. SSgt.
September 21, 2001.
of the Pacific War,
B. Griffith to
Carlson Personal
285
November
1968,
p. 54.
Not Supermen but Highly Special-
Marine Corps Press Release, March 29, 1943, pp. 1-2,
Raiders: Publications, Articles, and Biographies" Folder,
in
“Marine
Marine Personal
Files,
Quantico, Virginia.
A
62. Roosevelt, "Evans Carlson:
Personal Memoir,"
p.
395.
63. General A. A. Vandegrift, as told to Robert B. Asprey,
W. W. Norton 64.
Gen. Merrill
&
B.
Company,
Twining,
Once
a
Marine (New York:
Inc., 1964), p. 100.
USMC
(Ret.),
No Bended Knee
(Novato, CA: Presidio,
1994), p. 142.
Semper
65. Berry,
66. Brig.
Fi,
Mac,
Gen. Samuel
vember 1968,
p.
114.
B. Griffith Interview with
Headquarters Marine Corps, No-
pp. 50, 56.
67. Quirk, “Reflections of Carlson’s Raiders,” p.
1;
author’s interview with Brian
Quirk, February 13, 2007. 68. Quirk, "Reflections of Carlson’s Raiders,” p. 69. Peatross, Bless
’Em All,
1.
p. 17.
March
2,
1942.
72. Letter from Carlson to Roosevelt,
March
2,
1942.
73. Letter from Roosevelt to Carlson,
March
12, 1942.
70. Letter from Carlson to Roosevelt,
71. Voight interview,
74. Letter from
Evans
F.
October
9,
2007.
Adm. Chester Nimitz
Carlson Personal
File,
to
Adm. Ernest
King, April 23, 1942, in the
Quantico, Virginia.
75. Letter from Carlson to Roosevelt, April 29, 1942. 76. Peatross, Bless
’Em
All, p. 17.
—We Were Itching for a Fight
Chapter 4
1
.
Blankfort,
The Big Yankee,
pp. 34-35.
2.
Author’s interview with Jesse Vanlandingham, February 14, 2008.
3.
Loveland interview, October
4. Peatross, Bless
'Em
16,
2007.
16,
2007.
All, p. 19.
5.
Loveland interview, October
6.
Hiroyuki Agawa, The Reluctant Admiral (Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd., 1979), p. 302.
286 7.
Endnotes
Letter from John Apergis to Archie Rackerby, June 10, 1991, in the John Apergis
Personal File, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia. 8.
Vanlandingham
9.
Author s interview with
interview, February 14, 2008.
10. Author’s interview 1
1.
Thomas
Loveland interview, October
12. Lash,
13.
with
Leeman, February
Virgil
Eleanor and Franklin,
Tobin, October
2008.
2007.
5,
2007.
16, p.
15,
654.
(New
Walter Lord, Incredible Victory
York:
Harper
&
Row, Publishers, 1967),
p. 48.
14.
Ralph Shawlee’s account of Midway, Raider Patch,
15.
Loveland interview, October
16.
Leeman
May
1989, pp. 2—3.
2007.
16,
interview, February 15, 2008.
Robert D. Heinl,
17. Lt. Col.
Jr.,
Marines
at
Midway (Headquarters U.S. Marine
Corps: Historical Section Division of Public Information, 1948),
p.
25.
18. Lord, Incredible Victor)', p. 95. 19.
Gordon W. Prange, with Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine at
Midway (New York: Penguin Books,
20. Apergis to Rackerby,
June
Miracle
1982), p. 204.
1991; Naval Historical Center’s Oral History, Battle
10,
of Midway, “Recollections of
V. Dillon,
Commander John
Ford,” found at www.history.navy.
mil, p. 3.
21.
Leeman
22.
James Van Winkle, “Bull Sheet," Raider Patch, November 1994,
interview, February 15, 2008.
23. Favinger interview, June 24.
Leeman
5,
p. 20.
2008.
interview, February
1
5,
2008.
25. Apergis to Rackerby, June 10, 1991. 26. "Recollections of
Commander John
Ford,” p. 3.
27. Apergis to Rackerby, June 10, 1991. 28. "Recollections of
Commander John
Ford," pp. 2-4.
29. Lord, Incredible Victory, p. 108. 30. Robert Sherrod, History of f
D.C.:
Combat
31. E. B. Potter Pacific:
Marine Corps Aviation
Forces Press, 1952),
p.
in
World War
II
(Washington,
64.
and Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN,
The Nail’s Struggle Against Japan (Englewood
eds.,
Cliffs,
Triumph
in the
NJ: Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1963), p. 20.
32. Casey, Torpedo Junction, p. 398. 33. Bern',
Semper
34. Peatross, Bless 35. Letter
Mac
,
Em All,
from Jack Miller
DeGolyer 36.
Fi,
Library,
p. 122. p. 20.
to his parents, July 5, 1942, in the
Jack Miller Collection,
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Handwritten notes about Maj. Gen. OmarT. Pfeiffer Oral History, Marine Corps
.
Endnotes
287
Oral History Collection, found in the Evans
Corps Research Center, Quantico,
The Big Yankee,
37. Blankfort, 38.
Ray Bauml, The 1942
39.
p. 38.
Ray Bauml, July
Carson interview, October
Collection,
Virginia.
2,
1942
to
December
19,
1942, July 30,
from the Ray Bauml Collection.
entry,
40. Letter from
41.
Diary' of
Carlson Collection, Marine
F.
Ray Bauml
DeGolyer
to
1
1,
2007.
Henry
8,
1953, in the Jack Miller
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Library,
The Diary of Ray Bauml, July
September
Miller,
30, 1942.
42. Ibid. 43. Peatross, Bless 44. Ibid., p. 5 45. Berry,
Em All,
p. 48.
1
Semper
Fi,
Mac,
p. 117.
46. Smith, Carlson's Raid, p. 90. 47. Carson interview, October
—
Chapter 5
1.
It
1,
2007.
Seemed That Confusion Reigned Supreme
Adm. Chester W. Nimitz Islands
1
Campaign
Commander
to
— Makin
in Chief,
U.S. Pacific Fleet, "Solomon
Diversion," October 20, 1942, in the Evans
F.
Carlson
Collection, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia. 2.
Ben Carson interview with the Admiral Nimitz National Museum of the
Pacific
War, September 21, 2001. 3.
Collection, 4.
Maghakian
Letter from Sgt. Victor
DeGolyer
Library,
Argonaut, "Report of Second the Evans
F.
to
Henry
Miller, July 12, 1943, in the
Jack Miller
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
War
Patrol,
August
8,
1942
to
August 26, 1942,"
in
Carlson Collection, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
10.
Virginia. 5.
Rear Adm. R. E. English,
No. 7 1-42,” August 6.
Task Force Seven, “Operations Order
1942.
Author’s interview with Brian Quirk, October 23, 2007.
7. Lt.
Col. Evans Carlson, “Operations Order 1-42,”
1942;
August 8.
5,
Commander
Lt. 7,
On
Board Nautilus, August
Col. Evans Carlson, “Operations Order 2-42,”
On
7,
Board Nautilus,
1942.
Bauml, The Diary
>
oj
Ray Bauml, July
2,
1942
to
December
19, 1942,
August 9
entry. 9. Peatross, Bless
’Em All,
p. 52.
Oscar Peatross, “The Makin Raid," Marine Corps Gazette, November 1979, pp. 2-3, found at http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mca-members.
288
1
1.
Carson interview, October
1
1,
Endnotes
2007.
12.
Le Francois, “We Mopped Up Makin
13.
Quirk interview, October 23, 2007.
14.
Voight interview, October 16, 2007.
15.
James Roosevelt interview with the Marine
16.
Jack Miller
DeGolyer 17.
letter to his
Library,
19. Ibid.; Brian
'Em
December
4,
1943,
Historical Center,
p.
20.
October 25, 1979.
mother, August 17, 1942, in the Jack Miller Collection,
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Carson interview, October
18. Peatross, Bless
Island,”
1
1,
2007.
All, p. 54.
Quirk and Howard A. Young, “Carlson’s Raiders on Makin, 17-18
J.
August 1942,” Marine Corps Gazette, August 2003,
p.
1,
found
http://pqasb
at
.pqarchiver.com/mca-members.
May
20.
McCullough
21.
Carson interview, October
interview,
1
30, 2007. 1,
2007.
22. Patrick K. O’Donnell, Into the Rising
Sun (New
York:
The Free
Press, 2002),
p. 28.
23. Griffith interview, February 20, 2008; Voight interview,
24.
Le Francois, "We Mopped Up Makin
25.
Carson interview, October
26. Quirk interview,
1
1,
Island,”
October
December
16,
2007.
4, p. 21.
2007.
October 23, 2007.
27. Author’s interview with Julius Cotten, April 14, 2008.
28. Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, “Operations on Makin, August 17-18, 1942,"
Nautilus, August 21, 1942, in the Evans
F.
On
Board
Carlson Collection, Marine Corps
Research Center, Quantico, Virginia. 29.
Bauml
30.
Carson interview, October
interview, January 21, 2008.
31. Voight interview,
October
32. Carlson, “Operations
1
8,
16,
2007. 2007.
on Makin, August 17-18, 1942.”
33. O’Donnell, Into the Rising Sun, p. 29. 34. Cotten interview, April 14, 2008; O’Donnell, Into the Rising Sun, p. 29. 35. Peatross, Bless
August
“The Raid on Makin
Island,
Raid,
17, 1942.
17-1 8 August 1942," draft of a chapter on the Makin
Marine Historical Center, August 23, 1956,
lection,
Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
38. Peatross, Bless
'Em All,
39. Carlson, “Operations
40.
p. 56.
Diary,
36. Nautilus 37.
War
'Em All,
p.
in the
Evans
F.
Virginia, p. 16.
69.
on Makin, August 17-18, 1942."
Le Francois, “We Mopped Up Makin
41. Ibid.
42. Peatross, Bless ’Em All, p. 72. 43. Cotten interview, April 14, 2008.
Island,"
December
4, p. 109.
Carlson Col-
.
.
Endnotes 44.
Le Francois, “We Mopped
Up Makin
45. Col. R. G. Rosenquist, Martin
Kind
oj
J.
289 December
Island,
4, p. 109.
Our
Sexton, and Robert A. Buerlein,
War (Richmond, VA: The American
Historical Foundation, 1990), p. 54.
46. Los Angeles Times January 25, 1943, article found in the Victor
Maghakian
Per-
Maghakian Personal
File,
,
sonal File, Quantico, Virginia. 47. Fresno Bee, August 19, 1977, article found in the Victor
Quantico, Virginia. 48.
September 25, 2000, in the Virginia
from Stephen
letter
Stigler to Virginia
Garabedian, found
Garabedian Collection.
49. Peatross, Bless 'Em All, p. 57. 50. Griffith interview, February 20, 2008.
51. Carlson, “Operations
52.
Ben Carson interview with the Admiral Nimitz National Museum War, September 2
53.
on Makin, August 17-18, 1942.”
1
,
200 1
Le Francois, “We Mopped Up Makin
54. Author’s interview with 55. Joseph
Island,”
Neal Milligan, April
December
1 1
,
4, p. 110.
2008.
Know
Woodford, “Jungle Fighting as Marine Raiders
J.
of the Pacific
KCMO,
fense radio program airing over
Kansas
March
City,
It,”
Civilian
9,
1944,
De-
in
the
Joseph Woodford Collection. 56.
Up Makin
Le Francois, “We Mopped
57. Letter from Victor
found
in
Maghakian
to
Island,”
December
4, p. 110.
June and Joan Gaston, November
17, 1943,
the Virginia Garabedian Collection.
58. Gleason, Real Blood ! Beal Guts!, p. 58. 59.
McCullough
60.
Carson interview, October
interview,
October 18,
10,
2007; Milligan interview, April
1
1,
2008.
2007.
61. Griffith interview, February 20, 2008. 62.
New York
“White House Hails Raid,”
Hero Can Get
63. “Being a
Times, August 28, 1942,
the Way,” Las Vegas Sun,
in
p.
3,
p.
1
undated
article in
the Victor Maghakian Personal File, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia.
64. “Bull Sheet,” Raider Patch, June 1975, p. 10. 65.
McCullough
—
Chapter 6
It
interview,
Will
October
10,
2007.
Forever Remain a Ghastly Nightmare
The Big Yankee,
48.
1.
Blankfort,
2.
Quirk interview, October
3.
McCullough
4.
Richard Haller, “First Eyewitness Story of Gilbert
p.
5,
2007.
interview, April 10, 2008.
American, August 28, 1942,
p. 2.
Isle Raid,”
Neu
7
York Journal
.
290 5.
Evans Carlson
Endnotes
letter to Franklin Roosevelt,
August 27, 1942, found
Roosevelt Papers, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library,
in
Hyde
the James Park,
New
York. 6.
“The Raid on Makin
17- 18 August 1942,”
Island,
draft of a chapter
on the Makin
Raid, Marine Historical Center, August 23, 1956. 7.
Untitled 1943 article by Evans Carlson reprinted in Raider Patch,
May
1993,
p. 20. 8.
“Statement made by James C. Green, Private
Second War
Nautilus, “Report of
August 9.
10.
1
August
1942
8,
Hudman,
M. Haines, Commander Task Group
J.
G
and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland, 1.
12.
Peatross, Bless
McCullough
16. Sgt.
Merle
17. Carlson, 8.
14,
August 25, 1942,"
7.15, “Report of Marineat
the National Archives
p. 9.
2008.
All, p. 78.
’Em All,
October
10,
2007.
p. 78.
Miller, "Transport
Maghakian’s Revenge,” Yank, April 28, 1944,
p. 8.
"Operations on Makin, August 17—18, 1942.
17-18 August 1942,”
Island,
draft of a chapter
Marine Historical Center, August 23, 1956,
lection, 19.
’Em
“The Raid on Makin Raid,
in
All, p. 76.
interview,
15. Peatross, Bless
1
'Em
Cotten interview, April
13. Peatross, Bless 14.
to
included
April 9, 2008.
Submarine Raider Expedition," August 24, 1942, located
1
USMC,
7.
Author’s interview with Denton
Comdr.
Patrol,
first class,
Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
Campaign
Nimitz, "Solomon Islands
— Makin
in
the Evans
F.
on the Makin Carlson Col-
Virginia, p. 19.
Diversion,” October 20,
1942,
p. 4.
20. Rosenquist, Sexton,
and Buerlein, Our Kind of War,
21.
McCullough
22.
Carson interview, October
23.
Le Francois, "We Mopped Up Makin
p. 51.
interview, April 10, 2008. 18,
2007. Island,"
December
11, p. 28; Carlson,
“Operations on Makin, August 17-18, 1942.” 24. Milligan interview, April 25.
McCullough
1
1,
2008.
interview, April 10, 2008;
26. Quirk interview, 27. Peatross, Bless
Bauml
interview, January 28, 2008.
October 23, 2007.
'Em
All, pp.
79-80.
28. Cotten interview, April 14, 2008. 29. Peatross, Bless 30. Ibid., p. 6
'Em
All, p. 60.
1
31. Griffith interview, February 20, 2008. 32. Carlson, "Operations
on Makin, August 17-18, 1942."
Endnotes 33.
McCullough
interview, April 10, 2008.
34. Carlson, "Operations 35.
on Makin, August 17-18, 1942."
Cotten interview, April
2008.
14,
My Parents: A
36. Roosevelt,
291
Differing Vieu\ pp. 271-72.
37. Milligan interview, April
11,
2008; authors interview with William Nugent,
April 15, 2008. 38. Smith, Carlson's Raid, p. 153. 39.
Bauml
interview, January 28, 2008;
40. Roosevelt, "Evans Carlson: 41. Blankfort,
A
McCullough
Personal Memoir,”
interview, April 10, 2008. p.
398.
The Big Yankee, pp. 60-61.
42. Griffith interview, February 20, 2008. 43.
Kenneth Seaton,
"Bull Sheet,” Raider Patch,
“Comments on Returning from
Makin
the
March 1982,
p. 18;
Buck Stidham,
Raid,” Raider Patch, January 1993,
pp. 12-13. 44. Blankfort,
The Big Yankee,
45. Carlson, “Operations
46. Blankfort,
p. 60.
on Makin, August 17-18, 1942.”
The Big Yankee,
p. 61.
47. Peatross, Bless 'Em All, p. 80. 48. Roosevelt interview, 49.
October 26, 2007.
The surrender account
found
is
in Peatross, Bless
'Em
All, pp.
81-82.
50. Smith, Carlson's Raid, p. 155. 51. Ibid., p. 158. 52.
Quirk interview, October 23, 2007.
53.
McCullough
interview, April 10, 2008.
54. Voight interview,
October
55. Roosevelt interview,
56.
2007.
16,
October 26, 2007.
Le Francois, “We Mopped Up Makin
57 Nautilus .
War
Diary,
August 17-18, 1942.
'Em
63-66.
58. Peatross, Bless 59. Letter
Island,”
All, pp.
from Carlson
to Roosevelt,
December
August 27, 1942,
Papers, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, 60. Rosenquist, Sexton,
1,
p. 29.
in the
Hyde
and Buerlein, Our Kind of War,
1
Park,
James Roosevelt
New York.
p. 55.
61. Smith, Carlson’s Raid, p. 160.
62.
Bauml
interview, January 28, 2008.
63. Roosevelt,
My Parents: A
Differing View, p. 272.
64.
Le Francois, “We Mopped
65.
Adm. Chester W. Nimitz
Up Makin to
Island,”
Commanding
66. O’Donnell, Into the Rising Sun, p. 32.
1
1, p.
41.
General, Amphibious Corps,
ments on Makin Raid,” September 21, 1942, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
December
in the
Virginia.
Evans
F.
“Com-
Carlson Collection,
292 Chapter 7
—A Poor
Map
with the
1.
Carlson, “Operations on Makin, August 17-18, 1942.’’
2.
Le Francois, “We Mopped
3.
O’Donnell, Into the Rising Sun
4.
Le Francois, “We Mopped
5.
Carlson, “Operations on Makin, August 17-18, 1942.”
6.
October
7.
Le Francois, “We Mopped
Up Makin
8.
Cotten interview, April
2008.
9.
Rosenquist, Sexton, and Buerlein,
1
.
12.
Up Makin ,
Island,"
December
1
1,
Island,”
December
1
1, p.
p. 43.
p. 32.
Up Makin
43.
2007, e-mail from Kenneth McCullough to author.
8,
10. Peatross, Bless 1
Fit
Endnotes
’Em All,
14,
Island,”
Our Kind
December
1
1, p.
48.
of War, p. 55.
p. 84.
Ibid.
Comdr. No.
1
G
M. Haines, Commander Task Group
J.
-42,"
August
6,
1
7.15, "Operations
Order
942, in the National Archives and Records Administration,
College Park, Maryland. 13.
Cotten interview, April
14.
Smith, Carlson’s Raid,
14,
2008.
p. 156.
15. Ibid., p. 157. 16.
James Roosevelt Interview with the Marine Historical Center, October 25, 1979.
17.
O’Donnell, Into the Rising Sun,
18.
Cotten interview, April
19. Blankfort,
the
p. 35.
14,
2008.
The Big Yankee,
p. 71;
Makin
Buck Stidham, “Comments on Returning from
Raid,” Raider Patch, January 1993, pp. 12-13.
20. "Eulogy Delivered by Lt. Col. Evans
Members
2nd Raider
of the
Carlson
F.
Battalion
Who
1942," copy resting on the wall of the Raider 21. Roosevelt, “Evans Carlson:
A
Library,
23. "Col. Roosevelt, 9,
24.
for the
Makin, 17 and 18 August
Museum, Quantico,
Virginia.
September
3,
1942, in the Jack Miller Collection,
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
He See
Eye-To-Eye, Says Carlson," Waterhury Republican, June
1943.
James Roosevelt Interview with the Marine
25. Stidham, 26. “Forty
27.
Fell at
Memorial Services
Personal Memoir,” p. 397.
22. Jack Miller letter to his mother,
DeGolyer
at the
“Comments on Returning from
article
Evans Carlson Personal ginia;
the
Hours on Makin,” Time, September
Undated newspaper
found
Files,
in
Historical Center,
7,
Makin 1942,
October 25, 1979.
Raid," p. 13. p. 33.
"Marine Raiders: Press Releases,”
in
Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
"Marine Corps Raider' Battalions Employed
in
Solomons Offensive,"
the Vir-
New
York Times, August 25, 1942; Wesley Price, "Raider Carlson," Neu' York Picture
News, January
2,
September
1942.
3,
1944,
p. 2;
Marine Press Release, Division of Public Relations,
Endnotes 28.
F.
Tillman Durdin, “The Roughest and the Toughest,” Neu^York Times, November
8,
1942,
29. Lucas, 30.
293
SMI 3.
p.
Combat Correspondent,
Samuel
E.
p. 99.
Marine Combat Correspondent (New York:
Stavisky,
Ivy
Books,
1999), p. 37. 31.
"Jimmy Roosevelt’s
Makin Attack Comes
Part in
as
Complete Surprise
to Presi-
dent,” Cincinnati Post, August 22, 1942. 32. “Roosevelt Boys
33.
Drew
Pearson, "Major Roosevelt, Marine Raider," undated news article found in
the Joseph 34.
Are Making Good," Springfield (MA) News, August 25, 1942.
Woodford Collection.
J.
"Marine Sizes
Up Jimmy," Newark Evening
ter written the previous
35. Boston American,
1
1,
1943, quoting a
let-
November.
August 26, 1942. August 27, 1942.
36. Letter from Carlson to Roosevelt, 37.
James Roosevelt’s Navy Cross
38.
Admiral
Matome
1941-1945
News, March
citation.
Ugaki, Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral
(Pittsburgh:
The
Matome
Ugaki,
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991), pp.
185,
194. 39.
1943 Evans Carlson ross, Bless
40.
F.
pp.
'Em All,
p.
article reprinted in
Raider Patch, January 1994,
p. 12; Peat-
83.
Tillman Durdin, “Foe Belted on
Isle,"
New
York Times, August 22,
1942,
1, 3.
M. Smith and Percy Finch, Coral and
41. Holland
Brass
(New
York: Charles Scrib-
ner’s Sons, 1949), p. 132.
Lamb, "Comments on the Raid on Makin
42. Lt. Col. Charles T.
August 23, 1956,
in the
Evans
F.
Island Manuscript,”
Carlson Collection, Marine Corps Research
Center, Quantico, Virginia. 43. Peatross, Bless 44. Berry,
Semper
Em All, Fi,
Mac,
p. 89. p. 122.
45. Carlson, “Operations on Makin, August 17-18, 1942," p. 46. This account
Carlson:
A
is
found
in three places.
Personal Memoir,”
p.
5.
James Roosevelt described
396; Maj. Gen.
Omar
T. Pfeiffer
it
in
"Evans
Oral History,
Marine Corps Oral History Collection, 1968, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia; handwritten notes pertaining to the History found in the Evans
F.
Omar
T. Pfeiffer
Oral
Carlson Collection, Marine Corps Research Center,
Quantico, Virginia. 47. Carlson, “Operations on Makin, August 17-18, 1942." 48.
Comdr.
J.
M. Haines, Commander Task Group
G
7.15, “Report ol Marine-
Submarine Raider Expedition, ’August 24, 1942, located
at the
National Archives
and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland. 49. Nimitz,
“Solomon Islands Campaign
— Makin
Diversion,” October 20, 1942.
294
Endnotes
"Comments on Returning from
50. Stidham,
Conee, “Raiders Not Welcome, But Very 2004, 51.
Raid," pp. 12-13; Roger
July-September
Effective," Raider Patch,
p. 14.
Michael p.
Makin
the
J.
Zak, “A Short History of Evans Carlson and the Carlson Raiders,
Discussion notes for Harvard Business School, 1981; Michael
11,
“Evans Carlson and the Carlson Raiders, School, 1981, in the Michael
Zak,
J.
thesis written for Harvard Business
Zak Collection.
J.
52. Author’s interview with Robert Burnette,
March
4,
2008.
53. Griffith interview, February 20, 2008. 54.
McCullough
interview, April 10, 2008.
55. Roosevelt, "Evans Carlson:
A
Personal Memoir,"
p.
398; Roosevelt interview,
October 26, 2007. 56.
McCullough
57. Brian
J.
interview, April 10, 2008.
Quirk, “Epilogue:
November 2003,
p. 1,
The
12 Missing in Action," Marine Corps Gazette,
found athttp://pqasb. pqarchiver.com/mca-members.
58. Tripp Wiles, Forgotten Raiders of
42 (Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books,
Inc.,
p. 128.
2007),
—We Rode to the Sound of the Guns
Chapter 8
1.
Leeman
interview, February 15, 2008.
2. Peatross, Bless
'Em
All, p. 125.
3.
Burnette interview, January 31, 2008.
4.
Letter from Jack Miller to his parents, October 10, 1942, in the Jack Miller Collection,
5.
6.
DeGolyer
Library,
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Author’s interview with Rhel Cook, April 9, 2008. Letter from Evans Carlson to
James Roosevelt, October
17, 1942, in the
Roosevelt Papers, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library,
Hyde
James
Park,
New
York. 7.
Loveland interview, October 26, 2007.
8.
Lowell
V.
Bulger,
"The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4
November-12 December 9.
10. 1
1.
Hoffman, Chesty,
"We Are Losing
March 1981,
Time, September
1942,
p. 5.
p. 181.
the War,
Hoffman, Chesty,
1942," Raider Patch,
p.
7,
p. 30.
180.
12.
John Poland, The Rising Sun (New York: Random House, 1970), pp. 455-56.
13.
John Hersey, Into the
14.
James Jones,
15.
Richard Washburn, "Bull Sheet," Raider Patch, November 1981,
Valley
(New York:
WWII (New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1943),
p. 56.
Ballantine Books, 1975), p. 28. p.
21.
Endnotes 16. Bulger,
"The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November- 12
December
March 1981,
1942,”
pp. 7-8.
17.
Burnette interview, January 31, 2008.
18.
Loveland interview, October 26, 2007.
19. Bulger,
“The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November- 12
December
1942,"
(Annapolis,
MD:
20. Berry,
Semper
21. Bulger,
295
Fi,
March 1981,
p. 8;
Martin Clemens, Alone on Guadalcanal
Naval Institute Press, 1998),
Mac,
p.
278.
p. 123.
“The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November- 12
December
March 1981,
1942,"
p. 9.
22. Letter from John Apergis to Archie Rackerby, June 10, 1991, in the John Apergis
Collection, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia.
“We Caught Them with Their
23. William Douglas Lansford, at
24.
Asamana," Leatherneck, November 2007,
Clemens, Alone on Guadalcanal,
25. Bulger,
p.
Pants
Down: The
Battle
60.
293.
p.
“The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November-12
December
1
March
942,"
26. Peatross, Bless
'Em All,
1
98 1
,
p. 11.
135.
p.
27. Ibid. 28. Ibid., p. 138. 29.
Gay
interview,
May
28, 2008.
30. Cleland Early, “Col. Richard
from Bob Burnette
to
J
Washburn," Raider Patch,
une Washburn, March
10,
May
1991,
p.
1991, from the J une
26; letter
Washburn
Collection. 31. Lowell Bulger, "Bloody Plains Brief," Raider Patch,
May
1980,
p. 12.
32. Ibid., pp. 12-13. 33.
John Mather, “The Need Guadalcanal
— 1942,"
a
for
Training as
paper found
Corps Research Center, Quantico,
Demonstrated by an Operation on
in the Eric
Hammel
Collection, Marine
Virginia, p. 10.
34. Bulger, “Bloody Plains Brief,” p. 13. 35.
Bob
Tutt, “Guerrilla-Like Carlson
Houston Chronicle, July 36. “W. H. Youth in in
the June
Vanlandingham
38.
Gay
interview,
May
40. Lansford, 41.
Gay
Sound of the Guns,”
1995, pp. 1-3, found at www.chron.com, [sic]
Raid," undated
p. 1.
newspaper
June
2,
2008.
28, 2008.
Washburn
to Eric
Hammel, September
22, 1963, in the Eric
Collection, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia.
“We Caught Them with Their
interview,
May
article
Collection.
interview,
39. Letter from Richard
Hammel
Raiders ‘Rode to the
Record Breaking Guerilla
Washburn
37.
1,
s
28, 2008.
Pants Down,"
p. 64.
Endnotes
296
Marine Corps Press Release, July
42. Jim Lucas,
17, 1943, in the
Evans
F.
Carlson
Personal Files, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia. 43. Bulger, "Bloody Plains Brief," p. 13. 44. Author’s interview with Pete Arias, June 3, 2008.
Onstad with Jayson Lowery,
45. Bill
46. Mather, “The
nal—
BC: Trafford Publish-
p. 71.
2005),
ing,
Trust. Truth. Evil (Victoria,
Need
for Training as
Demonstrated by an Operation on Guadalca-
942,” pp. 11-12.
1
47. Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, “Report of Operations of this Battalion on Guadalcanal
between 4 November and 4 December, 1942," December 20, 1942, F.
in the
Carlson Collection, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia,
48. Untitled
newspaper
49. Sherrod, Tarawa: 50. Art
found
article
The Story of a
in the
Evans p. 6.
June Washburn Collection.
Battle, p. 37.
McGinley, “Good Afternoon," an undated
article
found
in
the June
Washburn
Collection. 51.
Raymond Gram Swing
radio broadcast,
November
1
1,
1942, in the Jack Miller
Collection. 52. Letter from
Evans Carlson
mond Gram Swing
to
Raymond Swing, December
1
1,
1942, in the Ray-
Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
—The Law of the Jungle
Chapter 9
Ed
2.
Gay
3.
Kaplan interview, October
4.
Loveland interview, June
5.
Letter from Evans Carlson to
6.
TSgt. Jim Lucas, undated Marine press release,
Fischer, “Close Call," Raider Patch, interview,
Files, 7.
May
8.
3,
4,
2007; Burnette interview, February
2008; Gay interview.
2008.
28, 2008.
the Evans
F.
15, 1942.
Carlson Personal
Virginia.
Author’s interview with Nathan Lipscomb, June 4, 2008; Loveland interview, June
2008.
Author’s interview with
Edward Hammer, June
Quirk interview, October 23, 2007.
5,
1
3,
Arthur D. Gardner, "Diary of a Marine Raider: The
Washburn
letter to
2008.
2007.
of Fortune, January 1981, p. 61. 13.
5,
pp. 17-18.
1
2.
in
Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
Tobin interview, October
.
May
Raymond Gram Swing, December
10. 1
p. 5.
Carlson, “Report of Operations of this Battalion on Guadalcanal between 4 No-
4, 9.
1993,
28, 2008.
vember and 4 December, 1942,"
1
May
1.
Hammel, September
22, 1963.
Cream
of the Corps,” Soldier
Endnotes 14.
297
Herbert Christian Merillat, The Island (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1944), p. 221.
15.
McCullough
16.
Lowell
19.
June
interview,
6,
2008.
Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4
The Second
Bulger,
November-12 December 1942
Raider Patch, September 1981,
p. 12.
17. Ibid., p. 14.
Semper
18. Berry,
Fi,
Mac
p.
,
125.
Apergis letter to Rackerby, June 10, 1991. 20. Twining,
21.
No Bended
McCullough
Knee,
interview,
144.
p.
June
6,
2008.
on Guadalcanal between 4 No-
22. Carlson, “Report of Operations of this Battalion
vember and 4 December, 1942,”
p. 15.
23.
Onstad and Lowery,
24.
Quirk interview, October 23, 2007.
25.
Onstad and Lowery,
Trust. Truth. Evil, p. 65.
Trust. Truth. Evil, p. 67.
from Martin Clemens
26. Letter
27. Author’s interview with 28.
to
Michael
J.
Zak,
March
Eugene Hasenberg, June
12,
Marine Corps Press Release, June 1943, found leases,” in the
Evans
F.
in
8,
1982.
2008.
"Marine Raiders: Press Re-
Carlson Personal Files Collection, Marine Corps Research
Center, Quantico, Virginia. 29.
Gay
interview,
30. Ashley at
W.
May
Fisher, “Reflection,”
Don
Richter,
1992), 33. Bulger,
p.
March
Where
found
the
4,
2008;
Sun Stood
1942,”
March 1981, June
5,
2008.
Carson interview, June
5,
2008.
36. Loveland interviews,
Gay
Cook Still!
interview, April 9, 2008.
(Calabasas,
CA: Toucan Publishing,
“The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November-12
34. Kaplan interview,
37.
p. 1,
343.
December
35.
Marine Corps Gazette, August 2001,
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mca-members.
31. Burnette interview, 32.
28, 2008.
interview,
May
p. 3.
October 26, 2007, June
4,
2008.
28, 2008.
38. Griffith interview, February 20, 2008. 39.
Cook
40. Berry,
interview, April 9, 2008.
Semper
Fi,
Mac,
p.
124.
41. Hersey, Into the Valley, p. 49. 42. Ibid., p. 48. 43.
Tamera Newman,
44.
Cook
A
Survivor’s Story (Logan,
UT: Watkins Printing, 2007),
interview, April 9, 2008.
45. Author’s interview with Frank Kurland,
October
3,
2007.
p.
23.
.
Endnotes
298
October 26, 2007, June
46. Loveland interviews,
4,
2008; Burnette interview, January
31, 2008. 47.
Gay
May
interview,
28, 2008.
48. Loveland interview, June 4, 2008. 49.
Leeman
50.
Hasenberg
June
interview,
interview,
Lipscomb
June
June
interview,
2008.
12,
October
51. Kurland interview, 52.
2008.
4,
4,
3,
2007.
2008.
53. Foster Hailey, Pacific Battle Line p.
(New
The Macmillan Company,
1944),
255.
54.
Quirk interview, October 23, 2007.
55.
Leeman
56.
York:
June
interview,
Martin Miller,
4,
2008; Gay interview,
"A Latino Veteran
Angeles Times, September 21, 2007,
May
28, 2008.
Finally Shares His Battlefield Tales,” Los p. 2,
found
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/
at
latimes.
May
57.
Gay
58.
Statement found
interview,
28, 2008.
in
the Earl Wilson Papers, Marine Corps Research Center,
Quantico, Virginia. 59. Berry,
Semper
Fi,
60.
Leeman
61.
Vanlandingham
Mac,
p. 123.
June
interview,
4,
interview,
2008.
June
2,
2008.
62. Loveland interview, June 4, 2008.
October 26, 2007.
63. Loveland interview, 64. Voight interview, 65.
Cook
interview, April 9, 2008.
66. Mather, nal
The Need
— 1942,”
67. John
October 26, 2007.
W.
p.
for Training as
Loveland interview, October 26, 2007.
13;
Studer, “Just Thinkin’,’’ Raider Patch,
69. Peatross, Bless
-
’Em
p. 4.
View of the Guadalcanal Long
www.us.marineraiders.org/longpatrolview.htm, tions of this Battalion
942,”
1976,
All, p. 150.
Ervin Kaplan, M.D., "A Personal
1
May
October 26, 2007.
68. Loveland interview,
—~0.
Demonstrated by an Operation on Guadalca-
p. 5;
Patrol,
found
at
Carlson, "Report of Opera-
on Guadalcanal between 4 November and 4 December,
p. 7.
71. Griffith interview, February 20, 2008;
Washburn
letter to
Hammel, September
22, 1963. 72.
Gay
interview,
May
28, 2008.
73. Ibid. 74. Ibid. 75.
Ben Carson interview with the Admiral Nimitz National War, September 2
1
,
200
1
Museum
of the Pacific
Endnotes 76. Bulger, 'The
December 77.
Gay
1942,"
May
March
Hasenberg
Lipscomb
Leeman
3.
4.
2008.
12,
June
2008.
4,
153.
p.
James Roosevelt, December June
4,
10, 1942.
2008.
“The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November-12 1942," September 1981, p. 16.
Letter from
Henry Miller
Collection,
DeGolyer
Jack Miller,
to
November
26, 1942, in the Jack Miller
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Library,
John Schoch, “Bull Sheet,” Raider Patch, November 1981, Letter from Victor
10. Collection, 5.
Maghakian
DeGolyer
to
p. 24.
Mr. Miller, July 12, 1943, in the Jack Miller
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Library,
Em All,
Peatross, Bless
6. Bulger,
Burnette inter-
—Where No Other Marines Have Ever Been
December 2.
June
'Em All,
interview,
Chapter 10
Bulger,
Patrol," p. 5;
October 30, 2007.
interview,
83. Carlson letter to
1.
28, 2008.
interview,
82. Peatross, Bless
84.
p. 9.
2008.
4,
80. Voight interview, 81.
March 1981,
“A Personal View of the Guadalcanal Long
78. Kaplan,
79.
Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November- 12
interview,
view,
299
159.
p.
‘The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4
December
1942,"
November
7.
Carson interview, June
8.
Bulger,
5,
1981,
p.
1
November- 12
1.
2008.
“The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November-12
December
1942,”
November
1981,
p. 11.
9. Ibid.
Carlson, “Report of Operations of this Battalion on Guadalcanal between 4
November and 1
1.
Vanlandingham
12. Peatross, Bless 13. Carlson,
14. Bulger,
Twining,
16. Letter
’Em All,
p.
June
2,
2008.
164.
4 December, 1942,”
p.
1
1.
"The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November-12
December 5.
interview,
p. 10.
“Report of Operations of this Battalion on Guadalcanal between 4
November and
1
4 December, 1942,”
1942,
November
No Bended
Knee,
p. 13.
164.
p.
from Stephen Stigler
1981,
to
Mr. and Mrs. Miller,
December
22, 1942, in the
Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
300 17. Carlson,
“Report of Operations of this Battalion on Guadalcanal between 4
November and 18.
4 December, 1942,”
Vanlandingham
19. Letter
Endnotes
from Gy.
interview,
June
p.
1.
2008.
9,
Maghakian
Sgt. Victor
1
Henry
to
Miller, July 12, 1943, in the
Jack
Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Ray Bauml
20. Letter from
DeGolyer
Collection, 21.
Bauml
interview,
August
DeGolyer
Collection,
Library,
Ray Bauml
22. Letter from
Henry
to
8,
1953, in the Jack Miller
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
2006.
10,
Henry
to
September
Miller,
Library,
September
Miller,
8,
1953, in the Jack Miller
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
23. Peatross, Bless 'Em All, p. 165.
Maghakian
24. Letter from Gy. Sgt. Victor
Henry
to
Miller, July 12, 1943, in the Jack
Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. 25. Peatross, Bless
'Em
All, p. 165.
Henry
26. Letter from Capt. John Apergis to
DeGolyer
Collection,
27. Gy. Sgt. Victor
Maghakian
DeGolyer
Collection,
Library,
May
10, 1943, in the
Jack Miller
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
letter to
Library,
Miller,
Henry
Miller, July 12, 1943, in the
Jack Miller
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
28. Ibid. 29. Peatross, Bless
’Em
All, p. 166; Griffith interview,
30. Marder, "Raider Carlson
— Maverick Marine,”
p.
February 20, 2008. 3B.
N. Herriott, "Beside the
31. Private First Class Robert
Trail,"
Leatherneck,
March
1943. 32.
“Ambush!"
a
poem found
in
the Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, South-
ern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. 33.
Navy Cross
citation, in the
Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern
Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Henry Miller
34. Letter from
Collection, 35.
Cook
DeGolyer
to Jack Miller,
Library,
December
5,
1942, in the Jack Miller
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
interview, April 9, 2008.
36. Ibid. 37. Lucas,
Combat Correspondent,
Boys,” Newsweek, 38.
Cook
December
p.
99;
Gay
interview,
May
28, 2008; “Carlson’s
28, 1942, p. 24.
interview, April 9, 2008.
39. Ibid.
40. Bulger, "The
December p.
351.
Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November- 12
1942,”
November 1981,
p. 9; Richter,
Where
the
Sun Stood
Still!,
Endnotes
301
41. Carlson, "Report of Operations of this Battalion on Guadalcanal
vember and 4 December, 1942,” 42. Bulger, “The
December 43. Garrett
found
between 4 No-
p. 12.
Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November-12
1942,”
March
Graham, “Back
1981,
p. 6.
Makin,” Marine Corps Gazette, February 1944,
to
p.
1,
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mca-members.
at
May
44. Author’s interview with Arthur Beth, 45. Telegram from Lt.
28, 2008.
Gen. Thomas Holcomb
to the Miller Family,
December
26,
1942, in the Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Carmen
46. Author’s interview with 47. Lt. Barnett Shaw, "Joe Library,
Miller Michael, February 18, 2008.
and Jack and
in
I,
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
March
48. Draft of a proposed letter,
3,
1943,
Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, 49.
the Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer
Undated
letter
in
the Evans
F.
Carlson Collection,
Virginia.
from Maj. Gen. Joseph Fegan to Laurence Kahn,
Miller Collection, DeGolyer
in the
Jack
Southern Methodist University, Dallas,
Library',
Texas.
from
50. Letter
Lt. Col.
Evans Carlson
to
Mrs. Miller, January
2,
1943, in the Jack
Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
from Stephen
51. Letter
Stigler to Mr.
and Mrs.
Miller,
December
22, 1942, in the
Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
from Joseph Griffith
52. Letter
lection,
DeGolyer
from Gy.
53. Letter
Library,
to
Mrs. Miller, April
1,
1943,
in
the Jack Miller Col-
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Sgt. Victor
Maghakian
to
Mr. Miller, July 12, 1943, in the Jack
Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Chapter
1.
—Once
I
Walked with Giants
“Carlson’s Boys,” Neu>sweek,
2. Ira p.
December
28, 1942, p. 25.
Wolfert, Battle for the Solomons (Boston:
Houghton
Mifflin
Company, 1943),
136.
3. Price,
4.
11
“Raider Carlson,"
p. 2.
Carlson, “Report of Operations of this Battalion on Guadalcanal between
4
November and
4 December,
1
942,” pp. 17—18;
Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps, “Discussion
Lt.
Col. Evans
F.
Carlson to The
of and suggestions for improve-
302 ment in
in
Endnotes
the combat efficiency of Raider battalions, based on experience gained
operations against the enemy," January 27, 1943, in the Marine Raider Bat-
Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
talions Collection, Personal Files, Virginia, p. 2.
'Em
All, p. 168.
5.
Peatross, Bless
6.
Letter from Evans Carlson to
mond Gram Swing 7.
Raymond Swing, December
1
1942, in the Ray-
1,
Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Letter from Evans Carlson to
James Roosevelt, December
10, 1942, in the
Roosevelt Papers, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library,
Hyde
James
Park,
New
York. 8.
Letter from Evans Carlson to
James Roosevelt, December
1
5,
1942, in the James
Roosevelt Papers, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library,
Hyde
Park,
New
York. 9.
10. 1
1.
McCullough
interview,
“The Psychiatric
October
2007.
Toll of Warfare,” Fortune,
Neu'York Times, December the Carlson Raiders,
12. Letter
10,
1942, found in Michael
7,
thesis written for
from Oscar Peatross
to
December 1943, J.
pp. 141, 274-82.
Zak, “Evans Carlson and
Harvard Business School, 1981.
Michael Zak, December
8,
1979, in the Michael
J.
Zak Collection. 13. Vandegrift,
Once
a Marine, p. 202.
14.
Voight interview, October 30, 2007.
15.
Unit citation found in the Evans
F.
Carlson Collection, Marine Corps Research
Center, Quantico, Virginia. 16.
Copy
of speech found in the Evans
F.
Carlson Collection, Marine Corps Re-
search Center, Quantico, Virginia. 17.
Smith, Carlson’s Raid,
18. Blankfort,
19.
Lucas,
20. Evans to
p.
207.
The Big Yankee, pp. 363-66.
Combat Correspondent, F.
p. 105.
Carlson, The Autobiography of Evans Carlson,
Helen Snow
in
China, 1940,
in the
Corps Research Center, Quantico, 21. Twining,
No Bended
22. Zak, "Evans Carlson
Knee,
Evans
F.
p. 56,
Reminiscences
Carlson Personal
File,
told
Marine
Virginia.
p. 146.
and the Carlson Raiders,"
p. 16.
23. Letter from Evans Carlson to Franklin Roosevelt, June 17, 1943. 24. Letters from Evans Carlson to
Raymond Swing, February
3,
1943,
May
24, 1943,
and July 21, 1943. 25.
Hubbard, “Colonel Carlson and His Gung
Ho
Raiders," p. 68.
26. Fighting on Guadalcanal (Washington, D.C.: United States
Office, 1943), p.
27. Carlson,
v.
The Autobiography of Evans Carlson,
28. Peatross, Bless
'Em
All, p.
294.
p. 9.
Government
Printing
.
Endnotes 29. Letter from Evans Carlson to 30. Roosevelt,
My Parents A
32. Carlson,
James Roosevelt, April
— Maverick Marine,’
The Autobiography of Evans Carlson,
33. Michael Straight, “The Faith of a Raider," 34. Letter from 35. Twining,
Oscar Peatross
No Bended
12, 1945.
Differing View, p. 277.
:
31. Marder, "Raider Carlson
303
Knee,
to p.
p.
3B.
p. 3.
New
Republic, June 9, 1947, p. 15.
Michael Zak, December
8,
1979.
193.
36. Burnette interview, January 22, 2008.
37. Author’s interview with Larry Brown, 38. “Bull Sheet,” Raider Patch, January 39. Fisher, “Reflection,” p.
September 986,
1
2
p.
7,
2007.
1
1.
40. Mississippi Press, February 15, 2004.
41. Roosevelt interview, October 26, 2007.
November 1978,
42. “Bull Sheet,” Raider Patch, 43. Letter from
Gen. Carl
Mary Roosevelt 44. Michael
E.
Mundy,
Jr.,
to
p. 19.
Mary
Roosevelt, August 16, 1991, in the
Collection.
Zak interview of Richard Washburn, January
45. Letter from Maj.
Gen.
T. E.
Watson
to
Henry
Miller,
4,
1980.
September
14, 1945, in the
Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. 46. Letter from
Carmen
Miller Michael to Lt. Col. Joseph N. Mueller,
March
16,
1990, in the Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
47. Letter from Lt. Col. Joseph N. Mueller to
Carmen
Miller Michael, October
1,
1990, in the Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas,
48.
Carmen
Texas.
Miller Michael interview, February 18, 2008.
49. Merle Miller, “Transport Maghakian’s Revenge," Yank, April-28, 1944, p. 9. 50. Letter
from Gy.
Sgt. Victor
Maghakian
to
Mr. Miller, July 12, 1943, in the Jack
Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. 5
1
.
Fresno Bee,
May
13, 1981.
52. "Bull Sheet,” Raider Patch,
June 1975.
Bibliography
I— MARINE CORPS RESEARCH CENTER The Marine Corps, proud materials at
its
of
its
heritage, has
Marine Corps Research Center on the grounds of the Marine base
Quantico, Virginia. Diaries, photographs, a
few of the many items available
(1)
assembled an astonishing collection of
letters, official reports,
and
at
oral histories are
to the researcher.
OFFICIAL REPORTS General
Unless otherwise indicated, the
Corps Research Center, either Carlson Biographical Barrett, Lt. Col.
31, 1940, in the Evans
signia,”
May
9,
Evans
F.
at the
Marine
Carlson Collection or the Evans
F.
War Department. “Comments on Current Events,” of the Military Attache, Chungking, China, December
to the
American Embassy, Office
F.
in the
below reside
Files.
David D.,
Carlson, Maj. Evans
official reports listed
F.
Carlson Collection.
Memorandum
1942, in the Evans
to All F.
Company Commanders.
"Battalion In-
Carlson Collection.
Carlson, Lt. Col. Evans. “Methods of the U.S. Marine Raiders,” undated manuscript in
the Evans .
F.
Carlson Collection.
“Notes on the Organization of Raider Battalions,” to
Commanding
General,
IMAC, December 28, 1942, in the Evans F. Carlson Personal Files. Commander Marianas Area. “Record of Proceedings of a Military Commission Convened at United States Pacific Fleet, Commander Marianas, Guam, Mariana Islands,” April 5, istration,
1946, located at the National Archives and Records Admin-
College Park, Maryland. These records of the
305
trial
of Vice
Adm. Koso
306 Abe
include
many
Bibliography
examinations, statements, and depositions, including those
of Lejena Lokot, Capt. Koichi Hiyashi, Capt. Yoshio Obara, and other key participants.
Capt.
Griffith,
the British
S. B.,
and Capt. W. M. Greene
Commandos/
January
6,
to the Special
1942, in the Evans
Naval Observer. “Report on F.
Carlson Personal
Maj. Samuel B. “Recommendations on Raider Battalions,’
Griffith,
letter to
May
Gen. Holland M. Smith, CG, Amphibious Corps, Atlantic
Files.
7,
1942,
Fleet, in the
“Marine Raider Battalions" Folder, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia.
Mathews, C.
F.
Letter from the
"Recommendation
in the
Commanding
Case of
First
Officer to the Secretary of the Navy,
Lieutenant Evans
Corps, for Award of a Distinguished Service Medal, F.
F.
May
Carlson, U.S. Marine
12,
1931, in the Evans
Carlson Collection.
Adm. Chester W.
Nimitz,
Adm. Ernest
April 23, 1942, letter to
J.
King, found in
the "Marine Raider Battalions" Folder, Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico, Virginia.
Rabinovitz,
2nd
Lt.
Aaron. “Translation of Correspondence Between Prisoner of
War
Information Bureau and Second Demobilization Ministry (Navy Ministry),"
March 1946,
in the
Evans
F.
1
1
Carlson Collection.
Roosevelt, Capt. James. Letter to Maj. Gen.
Thomas Holcomb, “Development Within
the Marine Corps of a Unit for Purposes Similar to the British
Commandos and
the Chinese Guerrillas,” January 13, 1942, “Raider Battalion Correspondence
Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
Files,
Zimmerman, John. “Notes on an Inspection
Virginia.
of the Records of the Trial for
Vice Admiral Abe," 30 June 1947 in the Evans
F.
Murder
of
Carlson Collection.
The Makin Raid Argonaut "Report of Second War ,
Evans
F.
Patrol,
August
1942, to August 26, 1942," in the
8,
Carlson Collection.
Carlson, Lt. Col. Evans. "Operations Order 1-42,”
1942, in the Evans .
F.
On
Board Nautilus, August
7,
Carlson Collection.
"Operations Order 2-42,"
On
Board Nautilus, August
7,
1942, in the Evans
Carlson Collection.
F.
.
"Operations on Makin, August 17-18, 1942,"
1942, in the Evans English, Rear
Adm.
7 -42," August 1
Carlson Collection.
R. E.,
5,
1
Board Nautilus, August 21,
Commander Task
942, located
at the
Force Seven. “Operations Order No.
National Archives and Records Administra-
College Park, Maryland.
tion, .
in
F.
On
“Report of Raider Expedition against Makin
Chief, U.S.
Collection.
Pacific
Fleet,
September
3,
—comments
on," to
1942, in the Evans
Commander F.
Carlson
307
Bibliography Haines, Comdr.
August
J.
1942,
6,
Commander
M.,
Task
G
Group
7.15. “Operations
Order No. 1-42,”
the National Archives and Records Administration, College
at
Park, Maryland.
"Report of Marine-Submarine Raider Expedition, August 24, 1942, located ”
.
at the
National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Maryland.
Lamb, 2nd
Lt.
Charles
1942, in the Evans
Lamb,
Lt. Col.
Nautilus
“Comments on
T.
Evans
Second War
F.
War
Diary,
Patrol,
August 1942,
Island Manuscript,”
August
1942, to August 25, 1942,” in the
8,
in the
Campaign
Evans
F.
Carlson Collection.
Commanding General, Amphibious
to
Adm. Chester W.
lands
Makin
the Raid on
Carlson Collection.
on Makin Raid,” September 21, 1942, Nimitz,
22-42,” 20 July
Carlson Collection.
Adm. Chester W.,
Nimitz,
Memorandum, Number
Carlson Collection.
in the
Nautilus, "Report of F.
F.
Charles
August 23, 1956,
Evans
T. "Battalion Training
Commander
to
Evans
in the
in Chief,
F.
Corps.
“Comments
Carlson Collection.
U.S. Pacific Fleet. “Solomon
— Makin Diversion,” October 20,
1942, in the Evans
F.
Is-
Carlson
Collection.
The Long Patrol Carlson, Lt. Col. Evans. “Preliminary Report on Operations of this Battalion from 24
November
to
4 December (2d Phase of the operation which
November),” December .
13, 1942, in the
Evans
F.
commenced on
Carlson Collection.
"Report of Operations of this Battalion on Guadalcanal between 4 1942,”
ber and 4 December,
December
20,
5
1942, in the Evans
F.
NovemCarlson
Collection.
Carlson, Lt. Col. Evans
and suggestions
for
F.,
to
The Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps. "Discussion
improvement
based on experience gained
in
in
of
the combat efficiency of Raider battalions,
operations against the enemy," January 27, 1943, in
the “Marine Raider Battalions Collection,” Personal Files, Marine Corps Research
Center, Quantico, Virginia.
Mather, John. "The
Guadalcanal
Need
— 1942,”
for Training
a paper
found
Corps Research Center, Quantico,
(2)
as in
Demonstrated by an Operation on
the Eric
Hammel
Collection, Marine
Virginia.
ORAL HISTORIES
The
following interviews were conducted by Headquarters Marine Corps with various
World War Brig.
II
Marine
Gen. Samuel
Maj. Gen.
OmarT.
personalities:
B. Griffith, Pfeiffer,
November 1968
1968
308
Bibliography
James Roosevelt, October 25, 1979 Gen. Alan Shapley, January
Gen. Merrill
(3)
B. Twining,
19,
1971
February
1,
1967
COLLECTIONS
John Apergis Collection Joseph N. Bell Collection
Evans
F.
Carlson Collection
Arthur Claffy Collection
George Brig.
F.
Good,
Jr.,
Gen. Samuel
Collection
B. Griffith Collection
Peder Gustavson Collection
Hammel Collection Maj. Gen. Commandant Thomas Holcomb Eric
Collection
Herbert C. Merillat Collection A. George
Noran Collection
Raymond W. Poppelman
Collection
Robert Strehl Collection Karl E. Voelter Collection Earl Wilson Collection
(4)
PERSONAL FILES
Evans
F.
Carlson
Evans C. Carlson,
Jr.
Ralph Coyte Charles Victor
Lamb
Maghakian
Marine Raider Battalions
Marine Raiders: Publications, John Mather Jack Miller
Oscar Peatross
Merwyn Plumley Mitchell Red Cloud
James Roosevelt Clyde Thomason Hal Throneson Jacob Vouza Richard Washburn
Articles, Biographies
309
Bibliography
II— FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT LIBRARY, HYDE PARK,
NEW YORK
Eleanor Roosevelt Papers "General Correspondence: Ca, 1941,” Box 735.
“General Correspondence: Ca, 1943,” Box 779. “Letters from Servicemen:
Ca-Ch, 1944,” Box 835.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Papers “President’s Personal File 4951, Carlson, Capt.
Evans
F.”
James Roosevelt Papers "U.S. Marine Corps: Carlson, Evans,” Box 76.
“U.S. Marine Corps:
Ill— OTHER
Merritt A.
Makin
Island, 1942,”
Box 75.
COLLECTIONS
Edson Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Jack Miller Collection, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Raymond Gram Swing
Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
United States Marine Raider Museum, Quantico,
Virginia.
IV— INDIVIDUAL COLLECTIONS The owners
of the following private collections graciously gave
me
access to the
material contained in the collections:
Ray Bauml Collection Virginia Garabedian Collection
Kenneth McCullough Collection
Mary Roosevelt Collection June Washburn Collection Joseph Woodford Collection
Michael
J.
Zak Collection
V— INTERVIEWS I
would
mation
like to
thank the following individuals
for this book.
for their assistance in providing infor-
Their help proved invaluable.
310
Bibliography
ARIAS, PETE Private,
Long
C Company
Patrol
Telephone interview on June
3,
2008
BAUML, RAYMOND Private first class, A Company Makin, Long
Patrol
Telephone interviews on August
10,
2006; October 22, 2007;
January 21, 2008; January 28, 2008
BETH,
ARTHUR
Sergeant,
Long
E Company
Patrol
Telephone interview on
May
28,
2008
BROWN, LARRY Marine Vietnam Veteran Personal interview on September
7,
2007
BURNETTE, ROBERT Lieutenant, E
Long
Company
Patrol
Telephone interviews on January 22, 2008; January 31, 2008; February Personal interview on
March
4,
2008
5,
2008
5,
2008
CANNISTRACI, FRANK Raider photographer Personal interview on
March
CARSON, BEN Private,
B Company
Makin, Long Patrol
Telephone interviews on
May
24, 2007;
2007; October 18, 2007; June
5,
May
,
2001
COOK, RHEL Platoon sergeant, F
Long
Company
Patrol
Telephone interview on April
9,
June
5,
2007; October
1
1,
2008
Interview with the Admiral Nimitz National
21
30, 2007;
2008
Museum
of the Pacific War,
September
Bibliography
311
COTTEN, JULIUS Corporal, A Company Makin Telephone interviews on April
10,
2008; April
14,
2008
29,
2007
DEVORE, CHESTER World War
II
Marine Raider veteran
Telephone interview on
May
27,
2008
FAVINGER, RICHARD Pharmacist’s mate, third class
Long
Patrol
Telephone interview on June
5,
2008
GARABEDIAN, VIRGINIA Sister of Victor
Maghakian
Telephone interview on February 27, 2008
GAY,
LATHROP
Private,
Long
E Company
Patrol
Telephone interview on
May
28,
2008
GRIFFITH, JOSEPH Captain, B and
Makin, Long
D
companies
Patrol
Telephone interviews on March
7,
2007;
Personal interview on February 20, 2008
HAMMER, EDWARD Private
Long
first class,
D Company
Patrol
Telephone interview on June
13,
2008
12,
2008
HASENBERG, EUGENE Private,
Long
B Company
Patrol
Telephone interview on June
May
312
Bibliography
HUDMAN, DENTON Private,
B Company
Makin, Long
Patrol
Telephone interview on April
9,
2008
KAPLAN, ERVIN Private
Long
first class,
C
and E companies
Patrol
Telephone interviews on February Personal interview on October
2008; June
8,
3,
2007
3,
2007
5,
2008
KURLAND, FRANK Corporal,
Long
E Company
Patrol
Personal interview on October
LANSFORD, WILLIAM Private
Long
first class,
E Company
Patrol
Telephone interview on October 31, 2007
LEEMAN, VIRGIL Private, C Company Midway, Long
Patrol
Telephone interviews on February
15,
2008; June
4,
2008
LIPSCOMB, NATHAN Sergeant,
Long
E Company
Patrol
Telephone interview on June
4,
2008
LOVELAND, DARRELL A. Private, C Company Midway, Long
Patrol
Telephone interviews on October 4,
9,
2007; October
16,
2007; October 26, 2007; June
2008
Interview with David Morrell, October 15, 2003, courtesy of Darrell A. Loveland.
MAZZANTI, ANTHONY Private, F Company Long
Patrol
Telephone interviews on August
15,
2006; June
5,
2008
Bibliography
313
McCullough, kenneth Sergeant, B
Company
Makin, Long Patrol
Telephone interviews on March 2007; April 10, 2008; June
7,
6,
2007;
May
25, 2007;
May
2008
MICHAEL, CARMEN MILLER Sister of Jack Miller
Personal interview on February 18, 2008
MILLIGAN, NEAL Private, B Company Makin Telephone interview on April
1,
2008
15,
2008
1
NUGENT, WILLIAM Private
first class,
B Company
Makin Telephone interview on April
ONSTAD, WILLIAM Private first class, D Company Long
Patrol
Telephone interview on October
1
1,
2007
QUIRK, BRIAN Private
first class,
B Company
Makin, Long Patrol
Telephone interview on February Personal interviews on October
5,
13,
2007
2007; October 23, 2007
ROOSEVELT, MARY Widow of James Roosevelt Telephone interview on October 26, 2007 Personal interview on
TOBIN, Private
March
7,
2008
THOMAS
first class,
C Company
Midway, Long Patrol Personal interview on October
5,
2007
30, 2007;
October
10,
314
Bibliography
VANLANDINGHAM, JESSE Private
Long
first class,
B and E companies
Patrol
Telephone interviews on February
2008; June
2008
14,
2008; June
9,
2007; October 16, 2007; October 26, 2007;
2,
9,
VOIGHT, DEAN Private, B Company Makin, Long Patrol
Telephone interviews on October
October 30, 2007
WASHBURN, JUNE Widow
of Richard
Washburn
Telephone interview on November
19,
2007
Personal interview on January 14, 2008
ZAMPERINI, LOUIS Prison
camp inmate
Telephone interview on Personal interview on
May
March
24, 6,
2007
2008
Elsewhere
ROOSEVELT, JAMES Interview with the Marine Historical Center, October 25, 1979
WASHBURN, RICHARD T. Interview with Michael
J.
Zak, January
4,
1980
VI— NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES USED (MA) Herald News
Albuquerque Journal
Fall River
Armenian Reporter
Fresno Bee
Atlanta Journal
Grand Rapids Herald
Baltimore Sun
Hartford
Boston American
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Boston Daily Record
Jamestown Post-Journal
Chicago Tribune
Las Vegas Sun
Cincinnati Post
Los Angeles Daily
Columbia (SC) Exodus
State
C ourant
News
Los Angeles Examiner
Los Angeles Times
315
Bibliography
Louisville Courier-Journal
Raider Patch
Marine Corps Chevron
San Diego Union
Marines
Santa
Mobile Register
Saturday Evening Post
National Amvet
Showbiz
New Republic
Springfield
Neuwrk Evening News
Sioux City Journal
Neu
Time
7
York Herald Tribune
Ana (CA)
Register
(MA) News
Neil York Journal American
Washington Daily Neu’s
Neu
Washington Post
’
7
York Picture Neu’s
Neu’sweek
Waterbury (CT) Republican
New York
Yank
Times
VII— BOOKS Agawa, Hiroyuki. The Reluctant Admiral. Tokyo: Kodansha International Alexander, Joseph H. Edson’s Raiders: Th,e
MD:
//.Annapolis,
in the
Beau, Major Jerome
in
World War
1942
2,
to
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19, 1942.
Undated
Ray Bauml Collection. J.
C.,
USMC
Marine Raiders of WW11: Those torical
Marine Raider Battalion
Naval Institute Press, 2001.
Bauml, Ray. The Diary of Ray Bauml, July manuscript
1st
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(Ret.), edited
Who
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by Robert A. Buerlein. The U.S.
Richmond, VA: The American His-
Foundation, 1996.
Berry, Henry.
Semper
New York: Arbor Blankfort, Michael.
Fi,
Mac: Living Memories of the U.S. Marines
World War
in
II.
House, 1982.
The Big Yankee. Nashville: The Battery
Brown, Anthony Cave. The Last Hero: Wild
Bill
Donovan.
Press, 2004.
New York:
Times Books,
1982. Buell,
Thomas
B.
The Quiet
Warrior. Boston: Little,
Brown and Company, 1974.
Burns, James MacGregor. Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom.
Brace Jovanovich, Carl, Maj.
MD:
New
York: Harcourt
Inc., 1970.
Gen. Marion
E.,
with Barrett Tillman. Pushing the Envelope. Annapolis,
Naval Institute Press, 1994.
Carlson, Evans Fordyce. Twin Stars of China.
New York:
Dodd, Mead
& Company,
1940.
New York:
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The Chinese Army.
.
The Autobiography of Evans Carlson. Reminiscences
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Helen Snow
in
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Torpedo Junction: With the Pacific Fleet from Pearl Harbor
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Clark, George B. With the Old Corps in Nicaragua. Novato,
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Costello, John.
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Brown and Company, 1962.
Davis, Burke. Marine Boston: Little,
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Inc.,
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Frank, Richard B. Guadalcanal.
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Garrett, Richard.
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Gleason, James. Real Blood! Real Guts Irvine, CA: Raider Publishing, 2003.
W.
Griffin,
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Arms.
Hailey, Foster. Pacific Battle
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Hoffman, Major Jon .
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Ickes, Harold L.
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New York:
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NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1963.
Miracle at
V. Dillon.
Penguin Books, 1982.
The Lives of Agnes Smedley. Still!
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Oxford University Press, 2005.
Calabasas, CA: Toucan Publishing, 1992.
The Autobiography of Eleanor
Roosevelt, Eleanor.
1976.
M. Goldstein and Katherine
Don. Where the Sun Stood
Richter,
Cliffs,
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New
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Harper
York:
&
Brothers Publishers, 1961. Roosevelt, James. Affectionately, F.D.R.
New
York: Harcourt, Brace
& Company,
1959. .
My Parents: A
Differing View. Chicago:
A
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Roscoe, Theodore. United States Submarine Operations in World War
MD:
II.
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Rose, Lisle A. The Ship That Held the Line. Annapolis,
MD:
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Rosenquist, R. G., Col. Martin
J.
Richmond, VA: The American Salisbury, Harrison E.
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Our Kind
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Historical Foundation, 1990.
The Long March: The Untold
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New York:
Harper
&
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The U.S. Crusade
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1938-194 5.
New
York:
Columbia
University Press, 1979.
Sexton, Col. Martin
J.,
USMC (Ret.). The Marine Raiders' Historical Handbook.
mond, VA: The American
Rich-
Historical Foundation, undated.
Sherrod, Robert. Tarawa: The Story of a Battle.
New York:
Duell, Sloan and Pearce,
1944. .
History of Marine Corps Aviation in World
War
II.
Washington, D.C.: Combat
Forces Press, 1952.
Smedley, Agnes. China Fights Back.
New York: The
Vanguard Press, 1938.
Smith, George W. Carlson’s Raid. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, Smith, Holland M., and Percy Finch. Coral and Brass.
Inc.,
New York:
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Charles Scribner’s
Sons, 1949.
Snow, Edgar. The Battle for Asia. Cleveland, 1942.
OH: The World
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.
319
Bibliography
New York: The Free Press, 1985. Stavisky, Samuel E. Marine Combat Correspondent New York: Ivy Books, 1999. Stidger, Dr. William L. These Amazing Roosevelts. New York: MacFadden Book ComSpector, Ronald H. Eagle Against the Sun.
pany, Inc., 1938.
Symonds, Craig,
ed.
MD:
Neu’ Aspects of Naval History. Annapolis,
Naval Institute
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Toland, John. The Rising Sun.
New York: Random
Tuchman, Barbara W.
and
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the American Experience in China, 191
1-4 5.
New
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York:
Twining, Gen. Merrill
B.,
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No Bended
Knee. Novato, CA: Presidio,
1994. Ugaki, Admiral
Matome. Fading
1945. Pittsburgh:
The
The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941 —
Victory:
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.
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VIII—ARTICLES Thanks
to the generosity of
two Raiders,
joyed access to past issues of the
Dr. Ervin
official
Kaplan and Frank Kurland,
I
en-
newsletter for the United States Marine
.
320 The
Raider Association, Raider Patch.
number
a vast
Dr.
newsletter, one of the best
I
May
Being a Hero Can Get
in the
Maghakian Personal
5,
1947,
in
my
File,
May
cannot thank
I
every issue
list
footnotes.
II
Hero," Armenian Re-
27, 1971, pp. 8, 10.
Way,” Las Vegas Sun,
p. 3,
undated
article in the Victor
Marine Corps Research Center, Quantico,
Virginia.
“A Legacy of Valor,” Marines, October 1999.
Blatchford, Nicholas.
June
have seen, contains
Rather than
With Capt. Vic Maghakian W.W.
20, 1971, p. 2;
Bel, Cpl. Aubrey.
for their kindness.
have cited specific ones
Aroian, John H. "A Visit porter,
I
of helpful articles, photographs, and reminiscences.
Kaplan and Frank Kurland enough
or article used,
'
Bibliography
They Did
Right by Gen. Carlson,” Washington Daily Neu/s,
p. 20.
Blum, Deborah. "Outpatient Center
at
VA
Hospital Honors
War Hero Victor Magha-
May 20, 1981, pp. Dl, D4. Brooks, B. K. "Carlson’s Gung Ho' Knife," Knife World, September Bulger, Lowell V. "Bloody Plains Brief, Asamana," Raider Patch, May kian," Fresno Bee,
1980, pp. 12-14.
“The Second Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal, 4 November-12 De-
.
cember 1942," Raider
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Patch,
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Dick. “Valiant Sacrifice,” Part
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I,
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II,
Carlson, Evans Fordyce. “Strategy of the Sino-Japanese War,” Far Eastern Sumey, 19, 1941, pp.
May
99-105.
"Carlson’s Boys,” Neumveek,
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28, 1942, pp. 24—25.
"Carlson’s Heroes," Time, January 25, 1943, p. 60. "Col. Roosevelt,
He See
Eye-To-Eye, Says Carlson,” Waterkury Republican, June
9,
1943.
Crowther, Bosley.
“Gung
Ho!’ a Lurid Action Film
About the Makin Island Raid,” Neu
7
York Times, January 26, 1944, pp. 1-2, found at http://movies2.nytimes.com.
Devine, Danny. "The Great Debat e," National Amvet, Fall 1992, pp. 16-17.
Durdin, .
p.
F.
New York Times, August 22, 1942, pp, Toughest," New York Times, November 8,
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1, 3.
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SMB.
"Editorial,” Boston
American, August 26, 1942.
"Fighting Carlsons of Plymouth," Hartford Courant, April 14, 1943. "Forty
Hours on Makin,” Time, September
"F.D.R.’s
Son
7,
1942, pp. 32-33.
Tells of Raid,” Los Angeles Times,
undated
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found
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James
Roosevelt Papers.
Gardner, Arthur D. "Diary of a Marine Raider: Fortune, January 1981, pp. 58—62, 9
"Gen. Holcomb Likens Marines 24, 1942, p. 17.
to
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1
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Isle Raid,"
Herriott, Pfc. Robert N. "Beside the Trail,” Leatherneck,
"His Son’s Part in Raid Is
York
BR5.
p.
Eyewitness Story of Gilbert
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New
Ho
Raiders,” Reader's Digest, De-
Ray Bauml Collection.
Hull, Michael D. “Marine Colonel Evans
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pp. 18-27.
(MA) Herald News, August
"In Front Line,” Fall River
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Washington
Isle,”
Post,
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22, 1942.
"James Roosevelt, Leatherneck!” Mobile Register, September
New York
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Times, August 22, 1942,
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8,
1967, pp. 5—6. “Profile of a Hero," Exodus,
.
"Jimmy Roosevelt’s
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Makin Attack Comes
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4-5,
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1
1.
to President,”
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"Jimmy’s Got
It,”
Sioux City Journal, August 24, 1942.
Johnston, Alva. “Jimmy’s Got
It,”
Saturday Evening Post, July
2,
1938, pp. 8-9,
57, 60.
Kaplan, Ervin,
M. D. "A
Personal View of the Guadalcanal
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found
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at
www.us.marineraiders.org/longpatrolview.htm. Lansford, William Douglas. "Carlson of the Raiders,” Saga, February 1961, pp. 2025, 98-104.
“We Caught Them with Their
.
erneck,
November 2007,
Pants
Down: The
Battle at
Asamana,” Leath-
pp. 60-64, 94.
“Lee Marvin’s Dirty Dozen' Recalls Carlson’s Raiders ‘Transport’ Maghakian," Showbiz,
undated
article
found
in
the Victor Maghakian Personal File, Marine Corps
Research Center, Quantico, Virginia.
Le Francois, Part
I
1st Lt.
W.
— December
4,
S.
“We Mopped Up Makin
Island,” Saturday
1943, pp. 20-21, 109-10; Part
II
Evening
— December
1
1,
Post,
1943,
pp. 28-29, 41, 43, 45, 48.
Liston-Wakefield, Col. K. R. “A Fond Farewell,” Marine Corps Gazette, June 1984, pp. 70-72.
“Major Jim Roosevelt Leads Raid on Japs,” Boston Daily Record, August 22, 1942. Marder, Murrey. “Raider Carlson p.
3B.
— Maverick Marine,” Washington
Post,
June
1,
1947,
,
322 “Marine Corps
Bibliography
Employed
‘Raider’ Battalions
Solomons Offensive,”
in
New York
limes
August 25, 1942. “Marine Sizes
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Jimmy," Newark Evening News, March
1
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1,
McCarthy, John. “Carlson’s Makin Raid: Last Chapter,” Marine Corps League, Winter 2004, pp. 24-33.
McCullough, 2006,
Kenneth
Makin
“The
L.
Raid,"
p. 64.
"The Myths of Makin," unpublished
.
Marine Corps Gazette, August
article
mailed to the author.
“Reflections of a Carlson’s Marine Raider," unpublished article mailed to the
.
author.
McKnight, Jason. “Training pass,
Facility
January 14, 2005, found
at
Named
for
Medal of Honor Hero," Naxy Corn-
www.navycompass.com.
McWilliams, Carey. "The Education of Evans Carlson," Nation, December
1,
1945,
pp. 577-79. Miller, Martin.
"A Latino Veteran Finally Shares His
Times, September 21, 2007, pp.
Battlefield Tales,” Los Angeles
1-2, found at http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/
latimes. Miller, Merle. “Transport
Maghakian’s Revenge," Yank, April 28, 1944, pp. 8-9.
Naval Historical Center’s Oral History, Battle of Midway, “Recollections of
mander John
"No Swivel
Ford,” found at www.history.navy.mil.
Chairs,” Columbia (SC) State, August 24, 1942.
O’Neil, Frank. "Relics of Heroic Past Uncovered," Santa 4,
Ana (CA)
Register,
August
1963.
“Optional Embargo of Japan Park,
Com-
Is
Urged,” Nexv York Times, January 13, 1940.
Edwards. "Raiders’ Carlson:
Summer
Corps League,
He was
the Original
Gung-ho Marine,” Marine
1996, pp. 13-17.
Pearson, Drew. “Major Roosevelt, Marine Raider, Washington
umn, undated
article
found
Perret, Geoffrey. “Warrior
in the
Mao,”
Merry-Go-Round
col-
Joseph Woodford Collection.
MHQ:
The Quarterly Journal of Military History
19,
no. 3 (Spring 2007), pp. 6-15.
"President’s
Son Fired Upon, but Unhurt
at
Makin,” Grand Rapids Herald, August 29,
1942. Price,
Wesley "Raider Carlson," Neu York Picture News, January >
"The Psychiatric
Toll of Warfare,” Fortune,
Quirk, Lt. Col. Brian
August 2006, Ragland, Janet.
J.,
USMC
December 1943,
(Ret.). "Flashes of Brilliance,”
Marine Corps Gazette,
series of articles about Jack Miller, including:
"Lt.
Jack Miller: Introduction,” pp. 1-2
"Lt.
Jack Miller:
pp. 1-3
“Lt.
Jack
pp. 1-2
"Lt.
Jack Miller: Jack Miller a Hero,” pp. 1-3
A Family’s Bond,” Miller: A War Heats Up,
1944, pp. 2-3.
pp. 141-43, 268-87.
p. 64.
A
2,
.
323
Bibliography
An
Jack Miller:
"Lt.
Officer and a Friend," pp. 1-5, found at www.smu.edu/cul/
memorial/warbio.htm, pp. 1-5. "Raider
Commander
June
5,
1943,
p.
Tells Strategy for Beating Japanese,"
Marine Corps Chevron
,
1
Rejcek, Peter. "Searching for Missing Marines," Eagle, February 2002, pp. 6-7.
Robinson, David. "The Raiders
— 50 Years and
Still
Gung
Ho," Marine Corps League,
Spring 1992, pp. 16-27. "Roosevelt Boys, "Albuquerque journal, August 25, 1942. "Roosevelt Boys Are
Making Good,”
Springfield
(MA) News, August
25, 1942.
"Roosevelt Son’s Exploits Give Thrill at White House,” Jamestown Post-journal, August 22, 1942.
Busy Days of Visiting
“Roosevelt’s 3
San Diego Revealed, Chicago Tribune, August
at
11, 1944, p. 3.
December
“Roosevelts at War," Time, "Roosevelts Get News,”
Times, April
Schwab, Ernest
Gung
“
Scheuer, Philip K.
Times, August 23, 1942,
Ho’ Action-Filled Saga of Leathernecks," Los Angeles
1944,
L.
'The Gung-Ho Rubber Boat Raiders, "Amphibious Warfare Review,
p. 5.
pp. 27-31, 67.
Seacrest, William B., rine,” Lresno Bee,
Jr.
“‘Transport’
May
Maghakian Served His Country Well
Sexton, Col. Martin
"Sgt.
J.
Ma-
as a
25, 1996.
“Gorilla Warfare,” Lresno Bee,
Eli.
p. 16.
1,
November 1985,
Setencich,
New York
29, 1941, p. 8.
June
12, 1982.
Maj. Vouza,” Marine Corps League,
Autumn
1988,
pp. 32—36.
Shawlee, Ralph. "Midway," Raider Patch,
“Somebody Always Stavisky, SSgt.
Marines,
May
1989, pp. 2-3.
Spoils the Fun," Louisville Courier-Journal, August 23, 1942.
Samuel
S.
“Raiders in Pacific Not
Supermen But Highly Specialized
Marine Corps Press Release, March 29, 1943.
Straight, Michael,
“The Faith of
a Raider,"
Tregaskis, Richard. “The Best Soldier
I
New Republic,
June
9,
1947, pp. 14-15.
Ever Knew,” Saga, February 1960, pp. 17-19,
84-87. Trumbull, Robert. "U.S. Marines Strike Again
August 22, 1942,
at the
Japanese,"
ston Chronicle, July
1,
Rode
to the
Sound
“U.S. Raids Island in Gilbert Group,"
I
Stand,” Las Vegas Sun, July
1, 7.
Hou-
New York
April 13, 1943.
Times, August 22, 1942.
the War,” Time, September 7, 1942, p. 30.
“White House Hails Raid,” pp.
of the Guns,’
1995, pp. 1-3, found at www.chron.com.
“Two Carlson Fleroes Make Pastor Proud," Hartford Courant,
“Where
York limes,
p. 1.
Tutt, Boh. “Guerrilla-Like Carlson’s Raiders
"We Are Losing
New
New York
6,
1981,
p. 2.
Limes, August 22, 1942, p. 3; August 28, 1942,
,
324
Bibliography
Whitman, Edward C. "Submarine Commandos:
Makin Atoll,
‘Carlson’s Raiders' at
pp.
1-7, found at www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/Cno/n87/usw/issue_10/makin_l 3.gif.
Wright, Jim. “To Sgt. Maj. Vouza!" Dallas Morning Neu>s, Zak, Michael
J.
May
28, 1984.
“Evans Carlson and the Carlson Raiders,’ thesis written
for
Harvard
Business School, 1981
“A Short History of Evans Carlson and the Carlson Raiders," Discussion
.
notes for Harvard Business School, 1981.
ARTICLES FROM MARINE CORPS GAZETTE WEB SITE Many
Web site The Web site is
were found
articles
Leatherneck magazines.
the
at
created by Marine Corps Gazette and
found
at
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/
mca-members.
The
articles
used from
Anonymous. “The Makin -2 1
Web
this
site are:
Island Raid,"
Marine Corps Gazette, March/April 1943, pp.
.
Anonymous. “How
Marine Corps Gazette, July 1943, pp. 1-2.
to Beat the Japs,
Anonymous. "Carlson
&
Leadership,” Marine Corps Gazette,
December 1987,
pp. 1-2. Bartlett,
Tom.
"Sir
Carlson, Evans
Jacob Vouza,’’ Leatherneck,
May
1984, pp. 1-2.
“The Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, Marine Corps Gazette, Au-
F.
gust 1937, pp. 1-16.
Dalton, Robert
J.
"The Legacy of Evans Carlson,” Marine Corps Gazette, August 1987,
pp. 1-3.
Doying, George. "Red Mike and His ‘Do or Die Men,
”
Leatherneck,
March 1944,
pp. 1-5.
Edson, Merritt A. “The Coco
November Fisher,
Patrol,”
Marine Corps Gazette, August 1936, pp. 1-19;
1936, pp. 1-8; February 1937, pp. 1-19.
Ashley W. “Reflection," Marine Corps Gazette, August 2001
Graham,
Garrett. “Back to Makin,”
Greene, Wallace M.,
December 1984, Griffith,
Samuel
B.
Jr.
“Fire
,
pp. 1-2.
Marine Corps Gazette February 1944, pp. 1-7.
Team
—Comrades
in Battle,
Marine Corps Gazette,
pp. 1-6.
“North China, 1937," Marine Corps Gazette, December 1938,
pp. 1-6. .
.
"Guerrilla Warfare in China,"
Marine Corps Gazette, June 1941, pp. 1-10.
“The U.S. Crusade in China, 1938 to 1945," Marine Corps Gazette, July
1979, pp. 1-2. Heinl, R. D., pp. 1-7.
Jr.
"The Last Banana War,” Marine Corps Gazette, November 1960,
325
Bibliography Hoffman, Jon
T.
“The Legacy and Lessons of the 2d Matanikau," Marine Corps Ga-
January 1993, pp. 1-4.
zette,
Holmes, Lee M. “Birth of the Fire Team,” Marine Corps Gazette, November 1952, pp. 1-9.
Keene, R. R. "James R. Roosevelt, Raider and Son of President," Leatherneck, October 1991, pp. 1-2.
"Gung Ho: The Long
.
Patrol,” Leatherneck,
November
1992, pp. 1-5.
Kopets, Keith. "The Origins of the Fire Team,” Marine Corps Gazette,
December
2000, pp. 1-2. Lewis, Jack. "A Search for Shadows," Leatherneck,
December 1999,
pp. 1-7.
"Marine Raiders Return Home,” Leatherneck, March 2000, pp. 1-3.
.
Mattingly, R. E.
“The Worst
Slap in the Face,
”
Marine Corps Gazette, March 1983,
pp. 1-9.
Meyers, Lewis. "Developing the Fire Team,” Marine Corps Gazette, February 1946, pp. 1-3.
Moore,
R. Scott. “Small
War Lessons
Learned,” Marine Corps Gazette, February
1993, pp. 1-5. Peatross, Oscar.
“The Makin Raid,” Marine Corps Gazette, November 1979, pp. 1—8.
“The Raid on Makin Island,” Leatherneck, August 1992, pp. 1—11.
.
“The Raid on Makin
.
Pettus, Francis C.
Quirk, Brian
J.
Island, Part II,” Leatherneck,
“A Four Day
“Epilogue:
The
Patrol,”
September 1992, pp. 1-12.
Marine Corps Gazette, June 1944, pp. 1-6.
12 Missing in Action,” Marine Corps Gazette,
Novem-
ber 2003, pp. 1-2. .
.
"Reflections of Carlsons Raiders,” Marine Corps Gazette, August 2001 “Brig.
Quirk, Brian
,
pp. 1-2.
Gen. Evans Fordyce Carlson,” Marine Corps Gazette, August 2001,
J.,
p. 1.
and Howard A. Young. “Carlsons Raiders on Makin, 17-18 August
1942,” Marine Corps Gazette, August 2003, pp. 1-3.
Richardson, Herb. “Giants of the Corps,” Leatherneck, March 1977, pp. 1-5. Russell,
W. H. "Before the
Fire
Team,” Marine Corps Gazette, November 1984,
pp. 1-7.
Smith,
J.
C. “Guardia Nacional,” Marine Corps Gazette, November 1965, pp. 1-4.
Tolbert, Frank. "Chinese
Army: Japans Deadliest Foe,” Leatherneck, June 1942,
pp. 1-14.
Twining, Merrill B.
“Head
for the Hills!”'
Marine Corps Gazette, August 1987,
pp. 1-7. Utley,
Harold H. “An Introduction
Marine Corps Gazette, .
May
to the Tactics
and Technique of Small Wars,"
1931, pp. 1-5.
“The Tactics and Technique of Small Wars, Marine Corps Gazette, August
1933, pp. 1-7. .
The
Tactics and Technique of Small Wars,” Marine Corps Gazette,
ber 1933, pp. 1-6.
Novem-
326 Young, Donald
World War
J.
II,
Bibliography
"Phantom Japanese Raid on Los Angeles During World War
September 2003, found
at
thehistorynet.com, pp. 1-7.
“Japanese Submarines Prowl the U.S. Coastline in 1941,” World
.
II,”
War II,
July
1998, found at thehistorynet.com, pp. 1-8.
Zimmerman,
Phyllis A. “Braiding the Cord:
The Role
of Evans
F.
Carlson’s 2d Marine
Raider Battalion in Amphibious Warfare, Marine Corps Gazette,
November 1994,
pp. 1-6.
ARTICLES FROM TIME MAGAZINE Many
articles
found
at
The
were found
at the
Web
WEB
SITE
created by Time magazine.
site
The Web
site is
www.time.com
articles
‘Jimmy Gets
used from
It,”
"Letters,”
March
"Letters,”
May
this
Web
site are:
July 4, 1938, pp. 1-2. 21, 1938, pp. 1—10.
19, 1941, pp. 1-10.
"Milestones,” October 10, 1969, pp. 1-2.
‘Modern Mercury,” February 28, 1938, pp. 1-6. ‘One of the Largest Frauds," December
1
1,
1972, pp. 1-4.
‘Patronage Squabbles,” September 25, 1933, pp. 1-2. ‘People,”
September
5,
‘People,”
September
17, 1934, pp. 1-2.
People,"
November
18, 1940, pp. 1-3.
‘People,"
May
1932, pp. 1—2.
23, 1969, pp. 1-3.
Potent Postscript,” July
1
1,
1938, pp. 1-2.
‘Salesman’s Reply,” August 22, 1938, pp. 1-2. ‘Shorts,’’
December
26, 1938, pp. 1-2.
IX—WEB SITES www. pbs.org/thewar/ Ken Burns interviewed some
of Carlson’s Raiders about the
of his multi-episode history
Long
Patrol for a section
The War.
www.smu.edu/cul/memorial/warbio.htm
The Web las
site for
Texas.
the Lt. Jack Miller Collection, Southern Methodist University, Dal-
327
Bibliography www.usmcraiders.com/
An
excellent
Web
site for
obtaining additional information on the Raiders.
http://www.usmarineraiders.org/index2.html
The
official
Web
site for
the United States Marine Raider Association.
X— MOVIES & DOCUMENTARIES The
Battle of Midway, 1942.
“The
First Line,”
Collection,
Gung Ho! Ray “In the
CBS
Radio Program
DeGolyer
Library,
January
script,
1
1,
1945, in the Jack Miller
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
Enright, director, 1943.
Shadow
of Heroes,
USS Makin
Island,
August 17-18, 1942,” from the Ken-
neth McCullough Collection.
“Jungle Fighting as Marine Raiders
over
Marine
KCMO,
Kansas
March
9,
It,”
Civilian
Defense radio program airing
1944, in the Joseph Woodford Collection.
Raiders. Harold D. Schuster, director, 1944.
The War. Ken Burns,
“World
City,
Know
War
II:
director
Makin
Valor, featuring Col.
and producer, 2007.
Island Raid,”
NBC
Radio Broadcast on the show Cited for
James Roosevelt, undated broadcast during the war.
Index
Balesuna River, Guadalcanal, 187, 188,
Abe, Koso, 171
Adams, Alton, 218 Affectionately, F.D.R.
208 (James Roosevelt),
Owen, 203-4, 206
Barbers Point, Hawaii, 84, 86, 101, 103
23
Barnes, Jack, 57
Alexander, Joseph, 178 Alger,
Barber,
Warren G., 186
David D., 17
Barrett,
Allard, Robert V., 142, 144, 154
Bataan, 178
Alverson, James, 158
Bauml, Ray, 34, 84-86, 91-92, 103, 128,
American Revolution, 21 Anderson, Lorenzo D.,
Jr.,
130, 136, 144,
195
Aola Bay, Guadalcanal, 177, 180, 182, 187, 223, 232, 258
242-43
Bennett, John D., 191
Benson, William
Berande
River,
J.,
79
Guadalcanal, 185
Aola River, Guadalcanal, 181
“Beside the Trail” (Herriot), 247-48
Apergis, John, 44-45, 47, 50, 71-72, 74,
Beth, Arthur, 252
78-80, 179, 180, 183, 186-87,211,
Bickford, Charles, 39
222, 246
Biddle,
Arias, Pete, 190-92, 198, 227,
Anthony
J.
Drexel, 50-51
Binu, Guadalcanal, 184, 187, 188, 190, 191, 194, 197-200,
259, 273
207-9
Arlington National Cemetery, 173, 270
Blankfort, Michael, 135, 136
Army Air
Bless
Corps, 83
War
Art of War, The (Sun Tzu), 10
Asamana, Guadalcanal, 188, 190, 191, 193-97, 200, 202, 207, 208, 263
’Em
The Raider Marines of World
All: II
(Peatross), 135, 139
Boer War, 21 22 ,
Bokokimbo
River,
Guadalcanal, 186
Atabrine, 175, 188, 229
Boston American, 158
Attu, 83
Bougainville, 174, 192
Auman, Joseph,
197, 202, 207, 263
Breadfruit Tress, Battle of the,
329
1
14-15
1
330 Brockman, William
E.,
97-98, 105,
142, 170
Army
Lamb 273
Larry, 272,
Brown, Sam,
joins
at sixteen,
4
joins Marines, 5
Brown, John, 14
Brown,
Index
13,
1
and, 162-63
philosophy)
132
Bulger, Lowell V., 177, 180-82, 185,
legacy
of,
271-73
190-92, 198, 200, 228, 233, 235,
literature and, 3,
236, 240, 250
Makin Raid and
Burnette, Robert W., 54, 170, 175-76,
Mao
204, 214, 219, 229, 272
medals awarded
(
see
Makin Raid)
Second Marine
{see
Tse-tung and, 10-11
263
161, 197,
to, 7,
media and, 257-58, 261-62, 265,
270-71
Butler, Smedley, 5
Midway and California Packing
1
Raider Battalion)
181, 182, 188, 193, 194, 196, 197,
Butaritari Island
Gung ho
leadership principles of {see
Company,
(see
Second Marine
Raider Battalion)
5
Camp Catlin, Hawaii, 82, 84, 154, 156 Camp Gung Ho, Espiritu Santo, 175, 263
Miller’s in
death and, 247, 255-56
Nicaragua, 5-8, 59, 67, 122, 125,
Canton, Phoenix Island group, 175
126, 169, 173, 183, 210,
213
Carlson, Evans C., 54-55, 193
Nimitz on Makin Raid and, 165-67
Carlson, Evans Fordyce
physical appearance
ancestry
2-3
of,
promotions
resignation from
birth of, 2
books
of, 5,
of, 2,
62-63
266, 267, 269-70, 271
9-18, 46, 52, 59, 67, 122,
Roosevelt, James and, 23, 29, 64-66,
169-70, 176, 260, 270
120, 126, 162
162-63, 166-67, 171-72, 260,
at
Saipan, 268, 269
Second Raider Battalion and
262, 266, 268, 270
education
250
son
Guadalcanal and
of,
54-55
speech on one-year anniversary of Raid-
3
Camp Gung Ho {see
by,
263-64
Second Marine
Raider Battalion)
gung ho philosophy
of,
ers by,
265-66
spiritual beliefs of, 3,
57
surrender controversy and,
1
34-42,
146, 147, 152, 157, 162-64, 169
52-57, 134,
Tarawa, 268
146, 168, 173, 202, 203, 222, 257,
at
259, 260-62, 265-66, 266-68,
“Task that Lies Ahead" message
271, 273 of,
7
Sec-
Smedley and, 14-16
31, 44, 45,
of,
{see
ond Marine Raider Battalion)
270
Edson and,
health
1-14,
16-17, 62, 64-66, 121, 159, 169,
3
criticism of, 2, 9, 13-15, 17-18, 61, 65,
eulogy at
1
87-88, 138, 140, 141, 143, 159,
of,
of,
of,
Roosevelt, Franklin and, 8-9,
213
death
270
return to Marine Corps, 17-18
125, 126, 169, 173, 183, 206, 210,
courage
Marine Corps, 15
270
childhood
China,
68
retirement
character and personality
in
43, 150-51
16
by,
burial of,
of, 4, 5,
of, 2,
68-69 World War
I
and, 4
of,
1
Index
331
Carlson, Joetta, 3
Coyte, Ralph, 90, 107, 137, 139, 146, 152
Carlson, Peggy, 9, 270
Craven, Howard,
Carlson,
Thomas A.,
3-5, 33, 54-55
246
Croft, Orin,
Second Marine
Carlson’s Raiders ( see
12
1
Crowe, Jim, 43
Raider Battalion) “Carlson’s Raiders" (poem), 58
Daniels, Donald D.,
Carroll, Walter D.,
Davis, James, 147
10
1
Carson, Ben, 35, 36, 45-49, 61, 84, 88,
91,96, 99-101, 103, 105, 118,
Disease, 175, 188, 228-31, 238, 259
"Doctrine of the Raider Battalion’
129, 131, 152, 164, 214-15, 228,
235, 273 Casey, Robert
(poem), 58
Donovan, Alexander Donovan, William
21, 81
J.,
16
1
J.,
108, 113,
20, 31, 32
J.,
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 31
Doolittle, James,
Chapman, Leon
Doolittle Raid, 70, 83, 156, 168
R.,
118
China,
5,
10,
70
Dunkerque, 261
Chase, William, 77
Chiang Kai-shek,
125-26
Dur, Philip A., 274
52
Dutch East
9-18, 40, 46, 52, 59, 67,
20
Indies,
122, 125, 126, 169, 173, 183, 206,
210, 213
Earles,
Chinese Army, The (Carlson), 16
Chinese Eighth Route Army, 11-13, 30, 43, 52, 191,
Teh,
1
1
,
B.,
116
Early,
Cleland
E., 188,
Early,
Stephen
T.,
32-33
157
Edson, Merritt A.,
18, 31, 32, 44, 45, 47,
50,61,67, 250,257, 270,271
52
12-13
Clarke, Dudley, 22
Elterman, Walter,
Clemens, Martin, 180, 181, 183, 184,
Emerson, Ralph Waldo,
Emmons, Delos
213, 249 Clusker, James
Coco
F., Jr.,
203-4
magazine, 27
Columbia Broadcasting System, 52
Committee Policy,
for a
1
C.,
2, 3,
1
1,
99
76
Eniwetok, 277 Espiritu Santo, 174-177, 179, 184,
Patrol, 3
Collier’s
193-97, 251
Eastern Island, 70, 71, 74, 77-79
213
Churchill, Winston, 20, 22,
Chu
15,
I.
Essays (Emerson),
1
1,
252
99
Evans Carlson Collection, Quantico,
Democratic Far Eastern
Virginia,
205
270
Cook, Dallas H., 143
Faulkner, James,
Cook, Rhel, 176, 214, 216-19, 224-25,
Favinger, Richard
229, 248-50
Fiji
Coral Sea, Battle of the, 68, 253
Fire
51, 78,
80
Islands, 175
team concept, 59-61, 212-13,
271-72
Corregidor, 4 First
Marine Raider
Battalion, 32, 44,
61, 67
Cotten, Julius W., 101-2, 107, 110, 111,
151-53, 278
J.,
pamphlet), 268
Cooper, James Fenimore, 3
117, 119, 124, 131, 134, 149, 150,
19
Fighting on Guadalcanal (Marine Corps
Cooper, Gary, 258
Costa, Silvio, 43-44
1
First
Marine Raider Regiment, 266, 268, 269
1
332 Fisher,
Fleet
Ashley W., 214, 273
Marine Force, 22
Index
Gung Ho! (movie), 267-68, 271 Gung ho philosophy, 52-57, 134,
Flink Point, Butaritari, 149
168, 173, 202, 203, 222, 257, 259,
260-62, 265-68, 271, 273
43
Flores, Al,
146,
Fonda, Henry, 81 Ford, John, 76-81
Hailey, Foster,
Forgotten Raiders of 42 (Wiles), 172
Haines, John, 91, 102, 123, 132, 141-43,
Fort
Eben-Emael, Belgium, 21-22
22
149, 151, 153, 165-66, 170
Fortune magazine, 261-62
Halsey, William, 170,
Fourth Marine Raider Battalion, 268, 274
Hammer, Edward
Fourth Marine Raider Regiment, 269
Harvard Universitv, 24
French and Indian War, 3
Hasenberg, Eugene, 213, 220-21,
206
229, 230
Fresno Veterans Administration Medical Center, 278
T.,
178,258
Hastie, Donald H., 71, 72
Hawkins,
Fye, Richard, 192
Jess,
Henderson
134
Field, Guadalcanal, 174,
177—
Gallagher, William, 100, 103, 105, 274
79, 182, 183, 187, 200, 209, 210,
Gaston, Daniel A., 36,
223, 231, 232, 239-41, 246-50, 258
Gay, Lathrop
1
B., 50, 55,
16 188, 195, 197,
Henry, David
J.,
49
204, 205, 213, 216, 219, 220-22,
Hermiston, Albert
227, 228, 229, 231
Herriot, Robert N.,
L.,
246
247-48
Gegende, Guadalcanal, 184
Hersey, John, 178, 218
Gilbert Islands, 83, 85, 162, 168,
Hirohito, Emperor,
171,
Goettge
274
Hoffman, Jon
Patrol, 181,
Government Wharf,
205
Graham,
Garrett, 251
Grajczik, Edward,
213
135
T.,
Holcomb, Thomas, 30-32, 44, 62, 167, 253
Butaritari, 90, 94,
102, 105, 108, 109
258
Holtom, Gerald,
Hong Kong, Howe,
20,
1
1
1-12, 154
89
Louis, 27
Grant, Dell, 132
Hubbard, Lucien, 271
Green, Bernard, 234
Hudman, Denton
E., 123, 130,
132
Green, James C., 123
Green
272
Berets,
Ickes, Harold, 14
Greenlee, Woodrow, 192
Ironbottom Sound, Guadalcanal, 241
Griffith, Joseph, 35, 43, 53, 60, 96, 99,
Iwo Jima,
101,
1
1
74
14, 115, 118, 129, 130, 133,
Franklin Bell (troop transport), 68, 69
135, 137, 170, 175, 179, 216, 227,
].
234, 247, 256
Jacques Farm, 45-46, 222
Griffith,
62,
Samuel
B., 6, 8, 44, 59, 61,
87
Guadalcanal,
Jansen, 8,
49, 89, 115, 170,
174-252, 257-65, 272, 273
Guam,
Jalapa, Nicaragua, 6
20, 33,
89
Guardia Nacional, 6-8
"Joe
Raymond
and Jack and
D., 107 I
(Shaw), 254-55
Johnson, Harris, 105, 112, 154 Johnston, Alva, 26 Jones, James, 38-39, 179
Index 113
July,
Ernest
"Just
Thinkin" (Studer), 225
R.,
333 Los Angeles Times, 64
Loveland, Darrell A., 35-36, 46, 48, 51,
69-70, 73, 75, 78, 176, 181, 182, Kanemitsu, Sergeant Major, 91, 106, 109,
186, 190-92, 198, 200, 204-6, 215,
216,218-20, 223-26, 273
113, 147, 153
Kaplan, Ervin, 35, 54, 181, 194, 195, 197,
Lucas, Jim, 56, 57, 205, 266
Lunga
204.215.220, 226, 229, 237 Kawaguchi, Kiyotaki, 209 Kerns, John
231-34, 238, 251, 263
143
I.,
Kima, Guadalcanal, 184 King, Ernest King’s
MacArthur, Douglas, 17
MacCracken, William
32, 44, 66, 88
J.,
Wharf,
Guadalcanal, 207, 217,
River,
Butaritari, 90, 94,
B., 87, 128, 152,
244, 246
124
Maghakian, Victor "Transport,” 20, 35,
Kipling, Rudyard, 153
Knox, Frank, 20, 57, 62
39-41, 50, 51, 57,85-86, 92, 112,
Koli Point, Guadalcanal, 182
113, 116, 118, 124, 126, 136-37,
Korean War, 273
141, 155, 161, 174-75, 179, 183,
Kurland, Frank M., 195, 219, 221
233, 234, 241, 243-44, 246-47,
Kwajalein, 171, 173
249, 256, 258, 263, 267, 268, 273,
276-78 Lamb, Charles,
109, 110, 128, 143, 149,
162-63
Maghakian,
Makin
Mao
T. E., 2,
Lawson, Frank
seum
72-73, 75, 76, 78-80,
Virgil,
Le Francois, Wilfred, 49, 82, 96, 101, 1
15, 117, 128, 129, 131,
141, 143, 145, 147, 150, 161,
LeHand, Missy, Lenz, Norman,
267
9, 14, 16 1
16-17, 128, 130, 133
Lessons Learned in the Philippines (Marine
Corps pamphlet), 175
Lincoln, Abraham, 9, 14, 258
Lipscomb, Nathan, 206, 221, 230
Makin
at,
274
Marshall Islands, 93, 164, 171
Marvin, Lee, 277-78
Matanikau
River,
Guadalcanal, 238
Matelski, Cyrill, 246
Mather, John, 181, 183, 191, 199, 214, 236, 251
Mathews, Calvin
B.,
McAuliffe, Charles
7
F.,
188, 191-93,
197-201
Levene, Sam, 268
Little
93
Maruyama, Masao, 178
174.220, 221,223,231,252
108-12,
Islands,
Marine Martial Arts Center, Raider Mu-
Leatherneck magazine, 247
Leeman,
214-
Tse-tung, 10-11
Mariana
11,217
142, 187, 223
J.,
Raid, 1-2, 33, 83-173, 202,
March, Frederic, 264
Larson, Carlyle O., 172
Lawrence,
39
15,259, 260, 265, 266, 274, 275
Lansford, William D., 183, 196-97,
208, 222
Virginia,
Island, 91, 97, 171
McCall, William, 36, 139, 140, 146-47, 152, 164
McCullough, Kenneth
L., 35,
43, 47,
Lokot, Lejena, 171
53, 56, 100, 117, 119, 121, 125,
London, Jack, 184
129-33, 136, 140, 145, 146, 149-51,
Long
Patrol, 115,
174-77, 179-252,
257-65, 272, 273
161, 171, 172, 208,212, 231,251,
261,273
1
334 McGlashan, Robert
New York
76
C.,
Index
Media, 155-57, 163, 168, 202, 249,
262
213
148, 153, 163-67, 169, 177, 1
264
12
Noran.A. George, 107, 170
Noumea, 175
156, 168 Miller,
,
Nodland, Franklin M., 36,
64, 68, 71-82,
of,
1
83, 86, 87, 89, 127, 130, 138, 145,
Guadalcanal, 187, 188,
190, 191, 193-96, 207-9, 231
Midway, Battle
22
Nimitz, Chester, 32, 66, 70-75, 80, 81,
Kenneth M. “Mudhole,” 35, 118 River,
56,
126, 169, 173, 183, 210,
Meland, Kenneth, 182, 190
Metapona
1
Nicaragua, 5-8, 31, 59, 67, 122, 125,
257-58, 261-62, 265, 270-71
Merrill,
Times,
Carmen
(m. Michael), 37, 38, 253,
Nugent, William, 135
276-77 Miller,
Henry
S., Jr.,
Miller,
Henry
S., Sr.,
37, 233,
248
Obara, Yoshio, 171
38-39, 248, 253,
Office of Strategic Services, 3
255, 256, 276 Miller,
Mrs. Henry
Office of the Coordinator of Information, S., Sr.,
20 31
38, 253,
,
255, 276
Olbert, Richard N., 143
Miller, Jack, 20,
On
35-39, 41, 48-51, 63,
82-83,85,92,99, 141, 155, 175,
Chong’s Wharf, Butaritari, 90, 94, 109, 147
176, 179, 184, 232-34, 236, 240,
164th Infantry Division, 188
242-44, 246-48, 253-56, 263, 273,
Onstad, William
274, 276-78
Miller, William,
Milligan, Neal
Orrick, William,
148
F.,
199,212,213,
215, 220
148
Miller, Joseph,
J.,
Overesch, Harry, 15
16,
1
242
1
17, 124, 130,
135
Tom, 14
Mitchell, Glenn, 236
Paine,
Mitchell, Vern, 107, 108
Parks, Floyd B. ‘‘Red,"
Mount Austen (Mombula), Guadalcanal,
Pathfinders,
77
273
210, 211, 232-35, 238-44, 246-48,
Peabody, Endicott, 24
250, 263, 276
Pearl Harbor, 19-21, 33,
Mueller, Joseph,
Mundy, Carl
E.,
276-77
Pearson, Drew,
275
Jr.,
1
69-71, 156
58
Peatross, Oscar, 47, 48, 53, 55, 64, 67,
69, 82, 87, 95, 100, 102, 105-8,
Nagumo, Chuichi, Nalimbiu
River,
71,
80
Guadalcanal,
209-11, 217
110, 113, 114, 118, 122, 123,
125—
27, 132, 135, 138-43, 148, 150, 151,
161, 163, 175, 179, 185, 186, 188,
Naval Amphibious Base, Coronado,
199-201, 207, 226, 230, 234-35,
274
237-38, 244, 247, 251, 259, 262,
California,
Netherlands East Indies, 89
Newa rk Evening
Neu’s,
New Caledonia, 175 New Deal, 9 New Hebrides, 174, New Republic, 271
1
58
269, 271-72 Pfeiffer,
Omar T.,
62, 83, 154
Philippines, 4, 17, 20, 33, 36, 89
Phoenix Island group, 175 184
Neu’su'eek magazine, 249, 257
Pierce,
J.
R.,
Pistol Pete,
144
Guadalcanal, 210, 233-35,
258, 260
1
Index Plumley,
Merwyn
Price, Charles
C., 90, 107-9,
F. B.,
335
226-27
275
funeral of,
45
health
of,
23, 27, 28, 65, 66, 144
Makin Raid and,
Pride of the Marines (movie), 39
87-88, 91-93,
2,
96-98, 105-7, 115, 120-21, Quirk, Brian, 42, 62-63, 93, 94, 97,
123, 126-30, 135-38, 140-44,
100-1, 106, 107, 120, 131, 133, 140,
153, 155-59, 161, 169-72, 275
172, 206, 212-13, 221
personality of, 44
promotions
of,
68
Raider Patch newsletter, 275
return to U.S.,
Red Cloud,
weapons and, 60
Mitchell, 35, 36
Reid, Jack, 76
76
Roosevelt, Mary, 27, 29, 44, 138, 140-41,
274, 275
Reko, Guadalcanal, 184, 186 Robertson, Donald
R.,
Rowe, James, 28
143
Robinson, Charles G., 244, 246 Rogers, Robert,
3,
Rogers Rangers,
21,
3,
Ryan, Harold
268
21, 258,
60, 73, 88, 157, 158, 161, 170,
St.
269
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 60, 81, 178, 264
Carlson and, 8-9,
1
E.,
105
258
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 9, 23, 27, 29, 56, 57,
1-14, 16-17, 62,
Louis Post -Dispatch, 26-27
Saipan, 268, 269
Sandino, Augusto Cesar, 6
Sand
Island, 70, 71, 74,
Schoch, John, 233-34
269-70, 271
Schofield, Adrian E., 63
unit,
need
for and, 20,
29-32 death
of,
1
57
199-200 Bill,"
87-88, 157-59, 267
227, 234 Scott, Randolph, 268, 271
Harbor and, 19-20
Seargent, Sergeant, 79
24-25
Seaton, Kenneth
Roosevelt, James, 19-20, 31, 36, 45, 47,
J.,
137-38
Second Marine Raider
Battalion,
creation
230, 255, 267-69, 278
departure for Pacific, 68-70
26-27
diet of,
Carlson and, 23, 29, 64-66, 87-88,
education
of,
270
238, 259 feelings about Carlson, 46, 50, 55, 57,
23-24
as executive officer of
62-63, 213-14, 217, 249, 258, 262, 266, 267, 270
Second Raider
Battalion, 29, 30, 34, 42-44,
fire
team concept and, 59-61, 212-13,
271-72
63-66 father, relationship with,
23-29, 66,
87-88, 157-59, 267 Fourth Marine Raider Battalion com-
mand
48-49, 226-28, 252
disease and, 175, 188, 228-31,
138, 140, 141, 143, 159, 169-70, 176, 260,
of,
20
29-30, 32
49, 53, 57, 71-73, 81-83, 175, 223,
in business,
183,
188, 191, 197-98, 203, 208-9,
James, relationship with, 23-29, 66,
polio and,
Schrier, Harold, 192,
Schwerin, William “Wild
269
76-78
Saturday Evening Post, 26,
64-66, 121, 159, 169, 266, 267,
commando
Pearl
1
and, 268, 274
forerunners
to,
2
Guadalcanal (Long Patrol) and, 1
15,
8,
174-77, 179-52,257-65,
272, 273
)
1
336 Second Marine
Raider,
gung ho meetings
continued
Smedley, Agnes, 14-16, 271
55-57, 134, 146,
Smith, Al, 25
(
of,
Smith, George W., 135
222, 266
Gung Ho!
Index
(movie) about, 267-68, 271
interviews and screening process
for,
42-44
Smith, Holland M.,
Snow, Edgar,
10,
61, 162
1,
271
Snow, Helen, 266, 268, 271
Makin Raid and,
Solomon
1-2, 33, 83-173,
Islands, 91, 109, 155, 156, 161,
202, 214-15, 259, 260, 265, 266,
167, 168, 170, 177, 178. {see also
274, 275
Guadalcanal)
medals awarded 1
to
members
of,
13, 118, 122, 159, 161,
1
12,
197,236,
242, 248, 263, 274
media and, 155-157, 163, 168, 202, 249, 257-58, 261-62, 265
Midway
pack carried
by,
of,
News, 157
Spruance,
Raymond
65
86
Samuel
157
E., E.,
1 1
1-12,
1
18,
124, 131, 138, 143-44, 150, 153, diversity,
156, 168 Stigler,
prisoners and,
204-6
reorganization
of,
266-69
Stone of,
29, 30,
63-66
1
12-13, 121, 128,
256
Pier, Butaritari, 90, 94, 111,
Studer, John W., 225
Sun Tzu, 10
188, 213, 222-23, 261
Surrender controversy, 134-42, 146, 147,
First Battalion to,
44-45
152, 157, 162-64, 169
Swing, Raymond, 202, 205, 259, 267
of, 51,
60, 111, 181, 212,
259
Sendai Division, 178
Tabasui, 183
Seven
Tanimaiaki Village, Butaritari, 90
Years’
War, 2
Shannon, Harold, 73, 74 Shapley, Alan, 266,
Tarawa, 83, 162, 168, 268
267
Tasimboko, Guadalcanal, 183, 184
Shaw, Barnett, 253-55
Tassone, Frank
Shawlee, Ralph, 74
Tenaru
Shoji, Toshinari, 192, 203, 207,
River,
F.,
242
Guadalcanal, 210, 21
217,
1,
231,233-35,239, 249,252
Sherrod, Robert, 56, 81, 201
209-1
1,
Tenth
208
Artillery,
213-15,217, 220-22, 231,232,
Thirteenth Field Artillery Regiment, 4
238, 258
Thomason, Clyde,
Simard, Cyril
T.,
73, 76
161,
334th Regiment, 4
Sino-Japanese War, 9-15
Throneson, Harold
Sioux City Journal,
1
58
Marine Defense 76,
80
Battalion, 72, 74,
49, 108,
1
10-12,
1
17,
274
Singapore, 20, 89
Sixth
149
Sullivan, John, 192
training of, 45-64, 82, 84-86, 176,
men from
Stephen, 49,
133, 153, 240,
Roosevelt as executive officer 34, 42-44,
A.,
214
Stidham, Howard
30-31
34-41
weapons
Springfield
Stavisky,
personnel characteristics and
transfer of
Spotts, Melvin, 117, 140
Staihr, Dick,
and, 68, 71-82
opposition to creation
Somervell, Brehon B., 178
K., 75, 179, 181, 183,
188, 190-93, 197-201
Time magazine, 178, 201,
28, 56, 81, 118, 130, 156,
270
Index
Van Winkle, James
Tina, Guadalcanal, 184 Tinian, 83,
277
Tokyo Rose, 140, 229
Turner,
140,
208
Vouza, Jacob, 183, 190, 193, 205, 209,
Richmond
Kelly,
B.,
1
77
213,216, 233, 273,276
21 1-12, 240,
Wake
266-67, 272 Twin Stars of China (Carlson), 16
Matome, 161
Springs, Georgia, 8, 9
Washburn, June, 202
Ukiangong
Point, Butaritari, 98, 109
Ukiangong
Village, Butaritari, 90,
Washburn, Richard, 20, 35, 40-41, 44, 45, 47, 50, 63, 82, 163, 179-81, 183, 184, 187-88, 190-98, 200-2, 207,
107, 122
United States Marine Raider Association,
273
USS Argonaut,
Island, 20, 33, 73, 83, 89, 91, 93,
178
Warm
172,
224,230,252, 262
Volinivu, Guadalcanal,
55
Twining, Merrill
Ugaki,
192
Voight, Dean, 47, 54, 65, 97, 101, 105,
Tokyo, Doolittle Raid on, 70, 83, 156, 168
1
E., 78,
Vietnam War, 272, 273
Tobin, Thomas, 206
Tulagi,
337
208, 210, 214, 216, 217, 223, 224, 227, 234, 239, 251, 259, 262-63,
84, 90, 92, 93, 95-98,
267, 273, 275-76, 278
276
101, 102, 109, 124, 132, 133,
Watson,
143-45, 149-52
Weapons, of Second Marine Raider Bat-
USS Arizona, 69 USS Jack Miller, 276 USS Makin Island, 274 USS Manley, 179, 180 USS Nautilus, 84, 86, 90,
T. E.,
talion, 51, 60, 111, 181,
White, Philip, 81 Wiles, Tripp, 136, 172
Winters, Dean, 130, 145, 147
92-102, 105,
Wolfert,
Ira,
257
106, 109, 122-24, 132, 133, 141-43,
Woodford, Joseph
149-52
World War
USS Neville, 252 USS Oklahoma, 69 USS Wharton, 174,
212, 259
I,
116
4
Wygal, Corporal,
175
J.,
1
18
Yamamoto, Isoruku, 70-71 Yancey, John, 236, 263
Vandegrift, Alexander M., 62, 179, 182,
187, 210, 238, 258, 260, 262, 263,
Young, Howard, 111, 118, 124 Yount, William, 105
268, 270
Vanlandingham, Jesse, 69, 72, 74, 76, 194, 195, 223, 236-37, 241
Zak, Michael
J.,
54, 169
Zamperini, Louis, 171
WIT H D RAWN No longer the
property of tne
Bos ter. Public
Library.
benefits the Liorary. material this of Sale
JOHN WUKOVITS
a military
is
expert and an
authority on U.S. history in the Pacific Theater
of
World War
II.
He
is
the author of
One
Square Mile of Hell: The Battle for Tarawa
,
Alamo: The Battle for Wake Island
,
Pacific
and several military biographies. He has also written
numerous
articles for
such publications
as
WWII
//,
The Journal of Military History The Naval
War
History Naval History ,
World War
,
,
College Review and Air ,
Power
History.
FRONT JACKET PHOTO OF MARINE RAIDERS FROM THE McCULLOUGH COLLECTION FRONT JACKET PHOTO OF EVANS CARLSON FROM THE KARL
E.
VOELTER COLLECTION,
MARINE CORPS RESEARCH CENTER. QUANTICO, VIRGINIA
BACK JACKET PHOTO FROM THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES JACKET DESIGN BY SCOTT BIEL
AUTHOR PHOTO BY TERRI FAITEL
4 * NAL An
Caliber
imprint of
New American
Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Printed
in
Street,
USA
www.penguin.com
New
York,
NY 10014
PRAISE FOR JOHN WUKQVITS’S ONE SQUARE MILE OF HELL “This fast-paced chronicle of courage
is
a
must read.”
—
Lt. Col.
Oliver L. North,
USMC
(Ret.)
“Naval historian John Wukovits writes about the bloody Tarawa fight as though he had gone ashore with the Marines... a worthy memorial to the Marines who fought there.
—Herman Wouk
—
His vivid account of have ever read about the battle for Tarawa II history horrific amphibious campaign is must reading for all Marines and World War Gunnery Sgt. Jack Coughlin, USMC (Ret.), Author of Shooter:
“The
best
book
I
this
buffs.
—
The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper “In this remarkable book, into flesh,
and
we
taste the bitterness of
us of the American heroes
open the gate
“A
smell the sulfurous stink of artillery, hear the impact of bullets
who
— We owe
a debt to
Wukovits
reminding
for
gave every ounce of their strength and courage to kick
Tokyo.”
to
blood
— Homer Hickam, Author of Rocket Boys
Tarawa [that] reflects the horrible Congressman Ike Skelton (D-MO), and determined glory of the U.S. Marines. Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Committee
well-researched and detailed account of the battle for
battle
—
up the beach with those brave, unlucky Marines who landed harrowing, riveting story, carefully researched and very well told.”
“Wukovits takes you at
Tarawa... a
right
—Evan Thomas, Newsweek “Narrative history at action provides a
who
its
best... [a] masterful
human
blend of personal interviews and combat
face for the thousands of U.S.
fought that landmark battle.”
Marines and Navy corpsmen
— Col. Joseph H. Alexander, USMC
Author of Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa
INCLUDES PHOTOS
(Ret.),