Some More on the Marine Raiders

From the August 18, 2014, Marine Corps Times "Name marks a token of distinction" by Hope Hodge Seck.

Both battalions of the Marine Raiders, the 1st and 2nd Marine Raider Battalions activated in 1942, and quickly took on the identity of their iconic leaders as they executed high-risk special operations missions behind enemy lines in the Pacific.

The 1st marine Raider Battalion was led by Col. Merrit Edson, who would receive a Medal of Honor for bravery at Guadalcanal.  the unit would become Edson's Raiders.  The 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, led by Lt. Col. Evans Carlson, who would coin the Marine term "Gung Ho," became Carlson's raiders.

According to the Marine Raider Association and Foundation, the Raiders earned seven Medals of Honor, 136 Navy Crosses and 330 Silver Stars.

One of Carlson's Raiders was Ellis Childers, a sergeant, who saw combat in rubber boats on Makin Island, fought at Guadalcanal and was in the first amphibious assault wave at Iwo Jima.  His son Mark Childers said his father, who died in 2011 at age 91, would be thrilled to see the Raider legacy brought back, "He loved the Marine Corps and was very proud to be one of Carlson's Raiders."

--Return of a Great Name.  --GreGen