On Friday, Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) took some time to recognize the famed “Merrill’s Marauders” group from World War II. The top-secret, all-volunteer group was disbanded in Burma on August 10, 1944, having defeated the much larger, elite Japanese 18th Division in five major battles and 30 minor engagements. The group’s success led to the opening of airspace over Burma, which was a critical entry point for the Allies into China.
“The bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers who volunteered to be a part of this elite group of warriors should be honored and remembered,” said Isakson, who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. “I’m proud that the legacy of Merrill’s Marauders lives on today at Fort Benning with the 75th Ranger Regiment, and I’m proud to continue advocating for this legislation to honor Merrill’s Marauders with the Congressional Gold Medal.”
The Georgia connection for Merrill’s Marauders runs deep. The mountain phase of Army Ranger School takes place in Dahlonega at Camp Frank D. Merrill, named after the unit’s commander. The 75th Ranger Regiment traces its history back to the Merrill’s Marauders and is based out of Fort Benning. The regiment also wears the Merrill Marauder patch on their uniforms.
In honor of the anniversary, Roosevelt’s Little White House State Historic Site hosted a special exhibits event at its museum in Warm Springs on Saturday. The event featured memorabilia from Georgia’s last surviving marauder Vincent Melillo and a presentation from his daughter, Jonnie Melillo Clausen.
The formation of the marauders and it’s all-volunteer force indicate just how perilous the mission was for this group of rangers. President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill came up with the plan for long-range penetration force during the 1943 Quebec Conference. Some 3,000 solders the Caribbean, South Pacific and the U.S. volunteered for the, as Roosevelt called it, “dangerous and hazardous” mission. The volunteers were considered expendable and not expected to survive the mission.
The mission took place in the China-Burma-India Theater, sometimes known as the “forgotten theater,” often overlooked rather than the well-known European and Pacific theaters. Japan had control of much of southeast Asia, and without wresting control back from the Japanese, any Allied attempts at ending the war with Japan were open to supply problems or surprise attack.
Going by the code name Galahad, volunteers were trained in India on long-range reconnaissance. Carrying only backpacks and some pack mules, the group made their way through nearly 1,000 miles of dense jungle and into the Himalayas to seize control of the northern Burma Myitkyina airfield. By the end of campaign, only two of the rangers had not been seriously injured or come down with malaria, dysentery, typhus or other jungle diseases.
To get just a small idea of what the campaign was like for Merrill’s Marauders, publicresource.org put together a great video composed of clips gathered by soldiers as they made their way through the jungle.
Isakson is the sponsor of the bipartisan Merrill’s Marauders Congressional Gold Medal Act, to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the whole unit, in recognition of their extraordinary efforts. That legislation can be found here.
