WW2 USMC Good Conduct Medal +Badges + Ribbons REAL THING SEE STORE WW1-WW2 For Sale

WW2 USMC Good Conduct Medal +Badges + Ribbons REAL THING SEE STORE WW1-WW2
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WW2 USMC Good Conduct Medal +Badges + Ribbons REAL THING SEE STORE WW1-WW2:
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PLEASE SEE STORELOT MORE --COMBINE SHIPPINGSAVE $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$YOU AREBUYINGGOOD CONDUCT MEDAL /RIBBON WITH STARS3 RIBBONS5 BADGESMarine Raiders
Marine States of AmericaBranchUnited States Marine CorpsRoleAmphibious warfare
Direct action
Raiding
Special operationsSize800Garrison/HQMarine Corps Base Camp LejeuneMotto(s)"Gung-ho!" (Carlson's Raiders)EngagementsWorld War II
    Guadalcanal Campaign
      Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo
    • Battle of Edson's Ridge
    • Battle for Henderson Field
    • Carlson's Patrol
  • Raid on Makin Island
  • New Georgia Campaign
      Battle of Enogai
    • Battle of Bairoko
  • Bougainville A. Edson
    Evans Carlson

    TheMarine Raidersarespecial operations forcesoriginally established by theUnited States Marine CorpsduringWorld War IIto conductamphibiouslight infantrywarfare. "Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and "Carlson's" Raiders of 2nd Marine Raider Battalion are said to have been the firstUnited States special operations forcesto form and see combat during World War II.

    Despite the original intent for Raiders to serve in aspecial operations capacity, most combat operations saw the Raiders employed as conventional infantry. This, combined with the resentment within the rest of the Marine Corps that the Raiders were an "elite force within an elite force", led to the original Raider units being disbanded.

    Four Raiderbattalionsserved operationally but all were disbanded on 8 January 1944, when the Marine Corps made the doctrinal decision that the Raiders had outlived their original mission. The changing nature of thewar in the Pacific, with many large-scale amphibious assaults to come against well-defended islands, negated the requirements for small light units that could strike deep into enemy territory.

    On 1 February 1944, the 1st Raider Regiment was redesignated the4th Marine Regiment, thus assuming the lineage of the regiment that had garrisoned Shanghai in the interwar years and fought gallantly on Bataan and Corregidor. The 1st, 3rd, and 4th Raider Battalions became respectively the 1st, 3rd, and 2nd Battalions of the 4th Marines. The 2nd Raider Battalion filled out the regimental weapons company. Personnel in the Raider Training Center transferred to the newly formed 5th Marine Division. Leavened with new men, the 4th Marines went on to earn additional distinctions in the assaults on Guam and Okinawa. At the close of the war, the regiment joined the occupation forces in Japan and participated in the release from POW compounds of the remaining members of the old 4th Marines.

    In 2014, the Marine Special Operations Regiment, serving under theUnited States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command(MARSOC), was renamed theMarine Raider Regiment. This change was implemented as homage to the World War II Raiders. Marine special operators of the Marine Raider Regiment are once again called "Marine Rubber Boat Companies[edit]

    One of the deficiencies of theFleet Marine Forcewas a lack of fast transport ships that could keep up with a Naval fleet. Until fastattack transportsentered the Navy, either the fleet would have to keep its speed down to the speed of the transport ships, or the fleet would have to split in two components; neither option was desirable. With the start of World War II in 1939, a group was formed to come up with a solution that could be rapidly implemented. The group found a large number ofdestroyersbuilt for the First World War that were in themothball fleet. These destroyers had four boilers and four smoke stacks and were fast enough to keep up with the fleet. The group discovered that by removing two boilers and smoke stacks room could be found to quarter a company of 130 Marines who would be landed byinflatable boats.[2]Thesehigh speed transportswere named APDs by the Navy. The APDs later had fourHiggins boatsattached to them.

    In February 1941 one company ("A", "E" and "I") from each battalion of the recently formed7th Marineswere designated "Provisional Rubber Boat Companies" and participated in aFleet Landing Exercises(FLEX-7) in 1941.[3]After the exercise, GeneralHolland Smithassigned the APDs and rubber boat function to the1st Battalion 5th Marines.[4]

    Creation[edit]Lt. Col. Evans F. Carlson

    With America thrust into the war,PresidentFranklin D. Rooseveltbecame interested in creating an American counterpart to theBritish Commandosand the Marine Corps was the natural place for this organization. Indeed, the commanding general of the2nd Marine Divisioninitially proposed the name "Marine Commandos". TheCommandant of the Marine Corps, Major GeneralThomas Holcomb, was of the opinion, however, that "the term 'Marine' is sufficient to indicate a man ready for duty at any time, and the injection of a special name, such as 'Commando,' would be undesirable and superfluous." General Holcomb redesignated the1st Battalion 5th Marinesas the "1st Separate Battalion" and created the 2nd Separate Battalion to be commanded by Carlson in response to pressure from the President.

    The debate over the creation of these elite units came to a climax when the new commander of the Pacific Fleet, AdmiralChester Nimitz, requested "commando units" for raids against lightly defended Japanese-held islands. The commandant selected the term "Raiders" and created two battalions. The 1st Raider Battalion was activated on 16 February 1942, followed by the 2nd Raider Battalion on 19 February. Carlson was given a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and placed in command of the 2nd Raiders, and Lt. Col. (later, Major General)Merritt A. "Red Mike" Edson, command of the 1st.

    The Raiders were created by an order from President Roosevelt, acting on proposals fromColonelWilliam J. DonovanandMajorEvans F. Carlson. Carlson had been a soldier in thePunitive Expeditionto capturePancho Villain Mexico andWorld War I, became a Marine officer during theAmerican occupationofNicaragua, and served as anIntelligenceOfficer of the4th Marinesin China. He had seen the tactics and strategy ofCommunist Chineseirregulars,Zhū Déand theEighth Route Armyin particular, as they fought the occupyingJapaneseand became enthralled with their version ofguerrilla warfare. In 1933 Carlson had commanded the Marine Detachment at theWarm Springs, Georgiavacation retreat of President Roosevelt, where he formed a close friendship with bothFranklin D. Rooseveltand his sonJames. Carlson resigned from the Marines to speak to American businessmen to warn them against providing materials to Japan. Carlson rejoined the Marines in April 1941, gaining a commission from the Commandant as a reserve major. Carlson still had the President's ear as well as FDR's sonJames Roosevelt, who was now a Marine Captain and was his friend and protégé.

    The Raiders were given the best of the Marines' equipment, and were handpicked from available volunteers. The two units approached their common mission from different directions. Carlson used egalitarian and team-building methods: he treated officers and enlisted men with minimum regard to rank as leaders and fighters, gave his men "ethical indoctrination," describing for each man what he was fighting for and why, and used the Chinese phrase "Gung-ho!" as a motivational slogan which he learned from the Communist forces during his years in China.[5]He also eschewed standard Marine Corps organization, forming sixrifle companiesof twoplatoonseach, and innovating 3-man "fire teams" as its basic unit.[5]Edson's battalion, however, more closely followed standard Marine Corps doctrine in training, organization, and discipline.

    Combat in the Central Pacific and Solomons[edit]Marine officers on Tulagi. Lt. Col. Edson is second from left in front row.A Marine Raider, injured during the Makin operation, is lifted through a hatch on USSArgonautto be taken ashore at Pearl Harbor, 26 August 1942.

    Both Raider battalions were put into action at roughly the same time. On 7 August 1942, Edson's 1st Raider Battalion, assigned to the1st Marine Division,landed on Tulagiin the BritishSolomon IslandsProtectorate as the opening phase of theGuadalcanal Campaign. After the capture of Tulagi, the Raiders were moved to Guadalcanal to defendHenderson Field. One of their most notable engagements was the "Battle of Edson's Ridge", where the 1st Raiders, remnants of the1st Parachute Battalion, and the2nd Battalion 5th Marinesscored a major defensive victory overImperial Japanese Armyforces on the night of 13–14 September. Out of the action both Edson and MajorKenneth D. Baileywere awarded theMedal of Honor, the latter posthumously. The Marine Raidersbattledresswas theM1942 Frog Skinpattern.[6]In 1942, the Marine Raiders were the first unit issued with the M1942 Frog Skin pattern, which was reversible with a five-colourjunglepattern on one side and a three-colourbeachpattern on the other side.[7][8]

    Carlson's 2nd Raider Battalion boarded thesubmarinesNautilus(SS-168, Cdr William H. Brockman, Jr.) andArgonaut(APS-1, Cdr John R. "Jack" Pierce) andraided Makin Islandon 17–18 August. During the raid, SergeantClyde A. Thomasonwas posthumously awarded theMedal of Honorand was the first Marine recipient of this honor during World War II.[9]Unfortunately, nine men were unintentionally left on the island when the Raiders returned to the submarines. These men were captured and later beheaded atKwajalein.[10]

    After theBattle of Savo Island, 1400 men in various support units of the2nd Marine Regimentwho had not yet landed on Tulagi were returned toEspiritu Santoafter the transports they were on were withdrawn from the area. Deeming them "idle Marines", AdmiralRichmond K. Turnerdecided to form them into a "2nd Provisional Raider Battalion" without consulting theCommandant of the Marine Corps.[11]The unit was ordered created on 29 August 1942 but the order was superseded on 28 September 1942 by theater commander AdmiralRobert L. Ghormley.[12]Admiral Turner believed that regimental or larger sized Marine units were not suitable for Marine amphibious forces and desired that all Marine battalions be re-formed as Raider battalions,[11]which may have influenced the Marine Corps to take a dim view of the entire Raider concept.

    In the fall of 1942, two additional Raider battalions were created; the 3rd Raiders inSamoa, commanded by Lt. Col.Harry B. Liversedge, and the 4th Raiders atCamp Pendleton,California, commanded by now-Lt. Col.James Roosevelt. These battalions distinguished themselves in heavy combat alongside the 1st and 2d Raiders in the 1943 campaigns in theupper Solomons. On 15 March 1943, the four battalions were organized as the 1st Marine Raider Regiment at Espiritu Santo, with Liversedge as commander and Carlson as executive officer. Lt. Col.Alan Shapleywas named commander of the 2nd Raiders a week later and immediately returned it to a standard organization.[13]

    Marine Raiders gathered in front of a Japanese dugout onBougainville.

    The 1st Raider Regiment enforced a common organization among the battalions. Each had aweapons company, and four rifle companies composed of three rifle platoons and a weapons platoon. The result reflected a mixture of Edson's and Carlson's ideas. Carlson's 3-man fire team and 10-mansquadorganizations were adopted, first by the Raiders and then by the entire Marine Corps. Edson contributed the concept of a highly trained, lightly equipped force using conventional tactics to accomplish special missions or to fill in for a line battalion.[13]

    During theNew Georgia Campaign, the 1st Marine Raider Regiment was task organized for a new mission with the 1st and 4th Raiders, and two attached battalions of the37th Infantry Division, commanded by Liversedge.[14]At the same time, the 2nd and 3rd Raider Battalions were temporarily attached to the 2nd Marine Raider Regiment (Provisional) under Shapley, for theinvasion of Bougainville, the final combat action of the Raiders before their dissolution.[15]PFCHenry Gurkeof the 3rd Raider Battalion was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions of 6 November 1943, on Bougainville.

    In December 1943 command of the 1st Raider Regiment passed to Lieutenant Colonel Samuel D. Puller. The regiment left New Caledonia on 21 January and landed onGuadalcanalthree days later. The provisional 2d Raider Regiment disbanded and rejoined into the 1st, with the senior Shapley in command and Puller the executive officer.

    Deactivation[edit]

    In early 1944 the Marine Corps had four divisions, with two more being formed. Even with nearly a half million Marines in service, the Corps had insufficient manpower to allocate to the new divisions, because of large numbers of men assigned todefense,parachute, raider,barrage balloon,amphibious tractorand other specialized units. With no further expansion of the Corps planned, the only way to add manpower to the new divisions was to obtain it from existing organizations.

    The anticipated need for commando-type units had not materialized, and the development of the amphibious tractor and improvedfire supporthad ended the need for light assault units. The Raiders had generally performed the same missions asline infantrybattalions, either wasting their training and skills, or exposing the lightly armed Raiders to excessive casualties. There was also institutional opposition to the existence of an elite force within the Corps. Two senior officers who had been opposed to the Raiders on this basis advanced to positions where they could abolish the units. On 1 January 1944, Gen.Alexander Vandegriftbecame Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Gen.Gerald C. Thomasbecame the Director of Plans and Policies.

    The previous Director of Plans and Policies had already proposed to disband the Raiders and the Paramarines as "handpicked outfits ... detrimental to morale of other troops." AdmiralErnest King, Chief of Naval Operations, concurred in the proposal, and Vandegrift ordered the change on 8 January 1944. Manpower from the deleted units and their stateside training establishments were redirected to the new divisions, and supply requirements were simplified by the increased uniformity. On 1 February 1944, the 1st Raider Regiment was redesignated the4th Marine Regiment, and eventually became part of the6th Marine Division. The 1st, 4th, and 3d Raider Battalions became respectively the1st,2d, and3d Battalions, 4th Marines. The 2nd Raider Battalion became the regimental weapons company, lacking the manpower to form an entire Battalion after the costly fighting in the Solomons. Personnel of the Raider Training Battalion at Camp Pendleton transferred to the5th Marine Division. Many of the men who were formerly assigned to Raider units went on to serve with distinction during 1944 and 1945. For example,Michael Strank, one of the six men in the iconic photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima was a former Raider.

    During the war, a total of 8,078 men, including 7,710 Marines and 368 sailors, were assigned to Raider units. Raiders receiveda total of sevenMedals of Honorand 136Navy Crosses.[16]

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