OT: Last of WWII unit "Merrill's Mauraders" has died
Just one of numerous remarkable groups of men (and women) that performed truly heroic feats during one of the darkest times in this world. Now, one of those groups has left us completely - may they never be forgotten.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:33 PM ^
Such amazing men, we owe them so much🙏 🇺🇸
January 26th, 2024 at 2:42 PM ^
Sleep well, my fallen heros.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:43 PM ^
Relax in Peace
January 26th, 2024 at 2:48 PM ^
"My thing is that I would like to see them outlaw wars." -RH
January 26th, 2024 at 2:49 PM ^
I worked at a place about 20 years ago where a MM veteran lived. He was one tough old dude and not someone to be messed with.
January 26th, 2024 at 3:02 PM ^
Those soldiers were tough as nails, as they say. I thought I knew a lot about WWII history, but I don't recall reading about Merrill's Marauders. But it sounds like they were the ground version of the Flying Tigers. I can't imagine trying to fight in those conditions. RIP Mr. Hamler
January 26th, 2024 at 6:19 PM ^
In 1964, my father took me to the theater to see "Merrill's Marauders (1962)" starring Jeff Chandler. I thought it was an awesome movie. IMDB says it is average but young minds are impressionable.
I believe they reported to General (Vinegar) Joe Stillwell who played a large role in U.S./China policy after the war.
January 26th, 2024 at 7:48 PM ^
I saw the movie on TV. Merrill's Marauders were pretty well known to Boomers.
January 26th, 2024 at 3:03 PM ^
The begining of the Army Rangers, proud of our lineage, Rangers lead the way, Sua Sponte
January 27th, 2024 at 4:39 AM ^
My mother's Uncle Tony was in the First Ranger Battalion, aka "Darby's Rangers." And (swear to God), he designed the shoulder patch you've got in your icon. From what I was told, the original Ranger patch wasn't popular, because it looked too much like the Shell Oil emblem. So they held a contest, and my Uncle Tony submitted the black/red/white scroll design. (Evidently, he got the color scheme from a German Army emblem. I guess inspiration comes from the oddest places.)
The story goes that Uncle Tony won a $25 war bond for his winning design, which was much more popular with the Rangers, probably because it was unauthorized.
I didn't know him well, but I remember him being a very nice man. My Dad told me that he tried to get Tony to talk about the war, but he never would. I guess he wanted to keep things like the horror of Anzio buried in the past.
January 27th, 2024 at 8:10 AM ^
Cool story.
January 27th, 2024 at 7:40 AM ^
All the Way
January 26th, 2024 at 3:04 PM ^
The greatest generation ever!!
My uncle was stationed in New Guinea fighting the Japanese for almost a year. No shower, no change of clothes, just walking around the jungle engaging the enemy. He contracted malaria so bad he was pulled from the front line and spent the rest of the war as a mail clerk. He had worked for the post office before enlisting in the Army. That possibly saved his life. He showed me pictures of some of the natives. If you lived to be 25-30 years old, you were an elderly member of your tribe.
God Bless all of our WW2 veterans 🙏
January 26th, 2024 at 3:24 PM ^
Thank you for linking the story. It is dramatic and gripping. Such heroes. Those extraordinary souls who chose not to become ordinary. Thank God for them.
January 26th, 2024 at 4:01 PM ^
My grandfather was in the European theatre. Other relatives served in the Pacific. Amazing men and truly the greatest generation. Every generation since have been disappointing in one way or another and couldn’t (pardon the pun as per my name) hold their jock straps. And we don’t even have kids now that have an inkling of what they had to endure or an appreciation of their many enormous sacrifices. What a shame.
January 26th, 2024 at 8:07 PM ^
That was the last generation to live a life that toughened them and left them prepared for the hardships that came with WWII. I'm talking about the generation as a whole. Of course, there have been tough people in every generation since. But it has been a rapidly shrinking percentage since.
January 26th, 2024 at 4:55 PM ^
I had several relatives who served in WWII, including two uncles who fought in the Pacific theater. One was a Marine on Guadalcanal. Never got a scratch, although he carried a lifelong hatred of the Japanese and an equal hatred of rice. (He had to eat so much of that maggot-infested slop that he swore to never touch it again.)
Another uncle was a platoon leader in the Army's 25th (Tropic Lightning) Division in the Philippines. He was killed by a Japanese sniper on St. Patrick's Day, 1945.
I've often wondered: If by some quirk of fate I had been born 40 years before, in 1920 instead of 1960, I would have been of service age. Could I have done what they and millions of others of that generation did? Would I have had the guts to charge a beach or man a gun or patrol a jungle? Or would I have been curled up in a foxhole pissing myself?
We never really know unless we have to. Here's hoping we never have to. And bless the men who did.
January 26th, 2024 at 6:34 PM ^
Great post. My hats off to your family and their sacrifice. I had a great uncle who died in the assault on Tinian, in the Pacific. I never knew him, but I knew his wife who was a wonderful person. And i was able to visit their graves in the Cemetary of the Pacific in 2020. I feel blessed to understand the sacrifice these Americans made.
January 27th, 2024 at 4:18 AM ^
My uncle George was originally buried in the military cemetery on Luzon, but his parents arranged to have his body shipped home and re-buried in the family cemetery in Flint. He rests on a hillside near his parents.
This leads me to a question: I have the flag that was covering his casket. It passed through several family members' hands and finally came to my mother. When she died, I got it. Someone long ago stored it in a garment bag to protect it, but it's folded like a blanket. I'd like to have it properly folded with the appropriate reverence.
Does anyone have any idea how or where I can have that done? Thanks.
January 27th, 2024 at 7:46 AM ^
You could stop by a National Guard office, or even a military recruiting office, and ask about it. I'm sure they'd know someone to check with, or point you to the public affairs office. If anyone can fold a flag properly, with respect, it's the military.
Be careful, though - that 75-80 year old flag may not be in very good material condition...
You can get nice flag display case in any store that sells picture frames (ie: Michael's Crafts; JoAnn Fabrics, etc...)
January 27th, 2024 at 10:50 AM ^
Go on you tube to Folding a US flag.
January 26th, 2024 at 9:22 PM ^
My grandfather never told me what he did or saw except that he was his company‘s golden gloves champion. Though he didn’t seem like it affected him with respect to PTSD. I think that it might be due to either getting lucky and not experiencing the depths of depravity that others went through in the Bulge or Italian campaigns, or possibly just because he wanted to shield us from the harsh realities of the experience. I can only imagine what Guadalcanal must have been like. The Pacific theatre was more brutal than the European theatre for American servicemen. Like your uncles, to day he died my grandpa refused to buy Japanese or German cars.
January 26th, 2024 at 5:18 PM ^
Article is worth reading (not too long but much more than just a blurb).
January 26th, 2024 at 9:57 PM ^
Here’s their Wikipedia entry:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merrill%27s_Marauders
They (the WWII unit) have the distinction of every member being awarded a Bronze Star.
January 26th, 2024 at 5:22 PM ^
Thanks for posting
I am still amazed by that generation and fascinated by that war.
I'm looking forward to the new Tom Hank's series about the Airmen. Hope it lives up to Band of Brothers and the Pacific..... two of my favorites.
My WWII vet story: I served in the 82nd Airborne and as I left the service, I had 60 days leave saved up. So I was able to fly to Europe for free by hitching a ride on an Airforce flight. While waiting in a hangar, I met a Vet who had Parachuted into battle in the War to end all Wars and we became traveling buddies. He was an amazing chess player, and he repeatedly kicked my ass (I'm a pretty good player myself so our games were epic). We ended up sharing the cost of a hotel room in England and Germany. After words we corresponded for several years until he passed. He was an amazing person, with amazing stories and told them all humbly.
Anyway, I can't imagine the sacrifices they made.
January 26th, 2024 at 6:27 PM ^
Wait? 82nd? How old are you? My deceased uncle was in the 82nd. Interweb says he parachuted into France on D-Day. I thought he told me he was at Anzio, but the Anzio brigade wasn't available for D-Day. Then the Battle of Bulge, so an epic experience regardless.
On a different track, "Bomber Moon" is my next war book.
January 26th, 2024 at 10:03 PM ^
I am 51, served from 1996 to 2000. I met this former Colonel in 2000 on my way to backpacking around Europe. Met my future wife in Berlin a few days after parting ways.
My unit (1/325) was a paraglide unit in WWII
During my trip I was able to visit Normandy in France which was a nice trip through history.
January 27th, 2024 at 9:07 AM ^
Thank you for the follow up. It admire your energy and intentional behavior. Good things like that don't happen to people sitting on their hands.
January 27th, 2024 at 3:33 PM ^
Great story about your traveling buddy.
In regards to "Masters of the Air," I watched the first two episodes yesterday. Speaking as someone who thinks "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific" are some of the finest television ever produced, "Masters" so far is ... OK. It's certainly not bad, and I'll definitely watch the whole series. But so far, it hasn't grabbed me like the the other two. Those shows captured my attention from the first half-hour and never let it go through the entire series. This one suffers from no stand-out characters, at least so far. There's no Dick Winters or Bill Guarnere or Eugene Sledge or Snafu Shelton. The stories are fine, so I'm hoping the character development catches up.
January 26th, 2024 at 10:53 PM ^
They were indeed the Greatest Generation.
A big thanks to all those that served and their sacrifices should never be forgotten.
Had the honor to visit Arlington and the Tomb of Unknown Soldier recently and just get chills thinking about all those who gave so much so that we could enjoy the freedoms we have today.
January 27th, 2024 at 9:11 AM ^
I enjoy reading WWII stories. My grandpa served in the war in the USS Gambier Bay, a baby aircraft carrier. His ship was sunk by the Japs in the battle of Leyte. It was the only carrier sunk by surface fire in WWII. Grandpa and the rest of the survivors spent two days floating in the Pacific waiting for rescue. Many shipmates were eaten by sharks. Truly the greatest generation.