Merrill's Marauders
I was at the funeral of my wife's great uncle this weekend. He lived far away and I only met him twice.
I was surprised to see a military uniform on display at the funeral. I was checking it out and it had a Merrill's Marauders shoulder patch. I was pretty surprised. The obituary mentioned he fought in Burma.
I checked on the web and found his name. He was one of the original volunteers of Merrill's Marauders. He was wounded in action and recieved a medical discharge.
My wife's family is not interested in military history at all. I was telling them the unit was famous and the source of movies and books. They had no idea.
Me and the kids are going to get the movie this weekend and check out the library for books. I sure wish I had gotten the chance to know him.
I was surprised to see a military uniform on display at the funeral. I was checking it out and it had a Merrill's Marauders shoulder patch. I was pretty surprised. The obituary mentioned he fought in Burma.
I checked on the web and found his name. He was one of the original volunteers of Merrill's Marauders. He was wounded in action and recieved a medical discharge.
My wife's family is not interested in military history at all. I was telling them the unit was famous and the source of movies and books. They had no idea.
Me and the kids are going to get the movie this weekend and check out the library for books. I sure wish I had gotten the chance to know him.
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Burma was a long and brutal campaign. I had the privilige of knowing a few vets from over there. They didn't do that much talking but when they did, they mostly liked to tell of some of the funny things that happened. 0 -
Warpig,
That's amazing. The Burma theater is often overlooked in history and it's sad that so many people seem not to care.
Merril's Marauders and the Chindits did a lot to influence military history and theory and their contributions should be honored.0 -
quote:Originally posted by ElMuertoMonkey
Merril's Marauders and the Chindits did a lot to influence military history and theory and their contributions should be honored.
Exactly what I am thinking.
The least I can do is make my family and my wifes family aware of the sacrifices these men made and how they contributed to what we have today.0 -
Wow! One of the vets from Merrill's Marauders lives (lived? This wasn't the guy was it?) near my folks' lake home in Marblehead, Ohio..... never would talk about it though. 0 -
As an American warrior and a believer in our heritage..I salute him. Nothing else matters. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by oldgunner
As an American warrior and a believer in our heritage..I salute him. Nothing else matters.
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and I salute him as well. 0 -
...another great hero gone. And yes, to me...anyone that goes into combat is a hero.
No medals necessary to "be" a hero...medals are 99.9% unit politics. R.I.P. Semper Fi!
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