American Commando: Evans Carlson, His WW II Marine Raiders, and America's First Special Forces Mission 9780451226921, 0451226925

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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,

WC2R

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Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

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.

Without limiting the in or

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effort to provide

accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses

ot publication, neither the publisher nor the author

assumes any responsibility

for errors, or for

at the time changes that occur

after publication.

Further, publisher does not have any control over and does not

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v ia any other means without the permission and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors rights is

scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or

of the publisher participate in

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

0)

E a>

o a>

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

Ltd., 1979.

(Ret.), edited

Who

Served.

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

Institute of Pacific Relations, 1940. told to

Helen Snow

in

China, 1940. Casey, Robert

J.

Indianapolis:

Torpedo Junction: With the Pacific Fleet from Pearl Harbor

The Bobbs-Merrill Company,

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Clark, George B. With the Old Corps in Nicaragua. Novato,

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Clemens, Martin. Alone on Guadalcanal. Annapolis,

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Naval Institute Press,

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with David Horowitz. The Roosevelts:

Collier, Peter,

An American

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New

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Simon & Schuster, 1994. Cook, Blanche Wiesen. Eleanor Roosevelt, Volume Two: 1933-1938.

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Vi-

king, 1999.

Costello, John.

The

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DeNevi, Don. The West Coast Goes

Company,

Feldt,

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Eric A.

Quill Books, 1982.

Brown and Company, 1962.

Davis, Burke. Marine Boston: Little,

Histories Publishing

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Inc.,

The Coastwatchers.

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1946. Fighting on Guadalcanal. Washington: United States

Government

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New York: Random House, 1990. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company,

Frank, Richard B. Guadalcanal.

The

Garrett, Richard.

Raiders.

1980.

Gleason, James. Real Blood! Real Guts Irvine, CA: Raider Publishing, 2003.

W.

Griffin,

E. B. Call to

New York: Jove Books, 1987. Line. New York: The Macmillan Company,

Arms.

Hailey, Foster. Pacific Battle

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Healy, Mark.

Heinl, Lt. Col. Robert D.,

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Publishing, 1993.

Midway. Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps:

Historical Section Division of Public Information, 1948.

Hersey, John. Into the Valley.

Hoffman, Major Jon .

From Makin

T.

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Divisions, Headquarters, U.S.

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Hoffman,

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New York: Random House, 2001. Frank O., USMCR, Major Verle E. Ludwig, USMC,

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Washington, D.C.: Historical Branch, G-3

Marine Corps, 1958.

Raider Battalion. Los Angeles: Pinnacle Books, 1980.

Ickes, Harold L.

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MacKinnon, Janice

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MacKinnon. Agnes Smedley: The

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The Commandos. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1981.

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Sunnvor’s Story. Logan, UT: Watkins Printing, 2007.

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with Jayson Lowery. Trust. Truth. Evil. Victoria, BC: Trafford Publishing,

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Jonathan

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The Nail's Struggle Against Japan. Englewood Prange, Gordon W., with Donald

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in the Pacific:

NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1963.

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Roosevelt, Eleanor.

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Don. Where the Sun Stood

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&

Brothers Publishers, 1961. Roosevelt, James. Affectionately, F.D.R.

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My Parents: A

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Rose, Lisle A. The Ship That Held the Line. Annapolis,

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Richmond, VA: The American Salisbury, Harrison E.

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Sexton, Col. Martin

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mond, VA: The American

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Sherrod, Robert. Tarawa: The Story of a Battle.

New York:

Duell, Sloan and Pearce,

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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.

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Charles Scribner’s

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OH: The World

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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.

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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

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York:

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No Bended

Knee. Novato, CA: Presidio,

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Matome. Fading

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New

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York: E.

P.

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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.

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.

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Dick. “Valiant Sacrifice,” Part

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I,

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Carlson, Evans Fordyce. “Strategy of the Sino-Japanese War,” Far Eastern Sumey, 19, 1941, pp.

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He See

Eye-To-Eye, Says Carlson,” Waterkury Republican, June

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Crowther, Bosley.

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Ho!’ a Lurid Action Film

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7

York Times, January 26, 1944, pp. 1-2, found at http://movies2.nytimes.com.

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American, August 26, 1942.

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Son

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It,”

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Johnston, Alva. “Jimmy’s Got

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2,

1938, pp. 8-9,

57, 60.

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erneck,

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Pants

Down: The

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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

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,

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Employed

‘Raider’ Battalions

Solomons Offensive,”

in

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limes

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Up

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.

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.

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

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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

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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.),