'Merrill's Marauders' Receive Congressional Gold Medal-- Part 1

From the January 2021 Military History magazine.

In October 2020, President Donald J. Trump approved the Congressional Gold Medal for the U.S. Army's 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) the storied World War II jungle fighters better known as "Merrill's Marauders."

Time correspondent James Shepley bestowed that nickname in honor of unit leader Brigadier General Frank Merrill.

Eight of the original Marauders are still living.

The elite unit originated in late 1943, when Lt. General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell, then commander of U.S. forces in China, Burma and India, conceived a long-range penetration mission into Japanese-occupied Burma to disrupt enemy supply and communication lines while a larger Allied force fought to reopen the Burma Road into China.

Some 3,000 U.S. servicemen volunteered for the Marauders.

--GreGen