Merrill's Marauders OK'd for Congressional Gold Medal

From the October 14, 2020, Chicago Tribune "Merrill's Marauders of WW II OK'd for congressional medal" by Russ Bynum (AP).

They spent months behind enemy lines, marching hundreds of miles through the tangled jungles and steep mountains of Burma as they battled hunger and disease between firefights with Japanese forces during their secret mission.

In February 1944, the American jungle fighting unit nicknamed Merrill's Marauders set out to capture a Japanese-held airfield and open an Allied supply route between India and China.  Starting with 3,000 soldiers, the Marauders completed their mission five months later with barely 200 men still in the fight.

The journey of roughly 1,000 miles on foot was so grueling that fighting "was the easy part," said Robert Passanisi, who at age 96 is among just nine known Marauders  still known to be alive.

Now the Marauders, officially designated by the Army as the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), have been approved by Congress to be awarded its highest honor: the Congressional Gold Medal.

--GreGen

Funeral of Britain's Sir Tom Moore

Feb. 27, 2021, CTV News "Second World War plane flyby marks Capt. Tom Moore's  funeral" AP.

Church bells rang  and a Second World War II-era plane flew over Saturday's service to honor Captain Tom Moore who single-handedly raised millions of pounds for Britain's  health workers by walking laps in his backyard.

Soldiers  performed ceremonial duties for Moore, who died Feb. 2 at age 100  after testing positive for COVID-19

The service was small, attended by just eight members of his immediate family.  But soldiers carried the coffin and fired a gun salute while a  C-47  Dakota Transport plane flew past.

Moore served during the war in India, Burma and  Sumatra.

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in a socially distant ceremony at Windsor Castle.

--GreGen

Military Service of Captain Sir Tom Moore-- Part 1

The last four posts have been about this man who had become quite the hero and representative of the Greatest Generation in the United Kingdom this past year.  Here is a short look at his military career.

From Wikipedia.

He was born on 30 April 1920 and grew up in the town of Keighly, West Riding of Yorkshire.

Moore was conscripted to the 8th Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment (8 DWR) in May 1940 and stationed at Weston Park in Otley for eight months and was selected for officer training later that year.  After attending that, he was commissioned a second lieutenant on 28 June 1941.

On 22 October 1941, Moore became a member of the Royal Armoured Corps because 8 DWR  became an armoured unit designated as the 145th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps.  Later that year he was transferred to the 9th Battalion (9 DWR) in India.

While there, he was tasked with setting up and running a training program for army motorcyclists.  He was initially posted to  Bombay and later to Calcutta.

Later, Moore was promoted to war-substantive  lieutenant 1 October 1941 and temporary captain on 11 October 1944.

--GreGen

"Flying the Hump"-- Part 1: Not Designed, Heavier Loads, Worse Weather

This past week I have been writing about Ray "Pops" Merrick and his role in "Flying the Hump" during World War II.  Most Americans have not even ever heard of "The Hump."

From the April 10, 2017, Inside Science  "Flying the Hump: 75 Years Later" by Joel Shurkin.

In April 1940, a few short months after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military began a mission that tested the technical capabilities of its aircraft and the courage of its personnel.  The mission was designed to supply otherwise isolated Chinese forces and civilians after the Japanese cut off the only land-based supply route through Burma.  It was called "Flying the Hump."

Sometimes scientific and technological advances can win a war, like in the case of the atom bomb.  But "Flying the Hump" owes its success primarily on the courage and imagination of the American forces there.

The Himalaya Mountains, the world's tallest,  ran through what was called the China-Burma-India Theater (CBI) during World War II.    The men who crossed those mountains did so in planes not designed to fly that high, carrying loads heavier than they were designed to carry, in weather no one was supposed to fly through.

--GreGen

WW II Vet Ray "Pops" Merrick Turns 95-- Part 1: From Chicago to Burma

You very likely have seen "Pops" around the Legion, enjoying his gambling, beer and occasional blackberry brandy.  Most people, including myself just call him "Pops."  His sidekick is his son Ken.

He was born in Chicago on September 5, 1923, and was a member of the Army Air Corps during the war.  He was drafted right out of high school at age 19 and spent his boot camp training at places in Florida and Georgia.

During the war he served in New Caledonia, India, Burma and Australia and received a concussion from something, he doesn't know what, while in Burma.  Much of the time he was in the service, he was in charge of traffic control and security.

Even as an enlisted man, he could swear at officers if they goofed up as long as he said, "Sir."

Sir!!!   --GreGen

Remains of U.S. Pilots Returned from India

From the April 13, 2016, Voice of America.

The remains of crew members of a B-24 bomber that crashed over the Himalaya Mountains while on a supply run in 1944, have been found. Also found were bones from a C-109 that crashed in the area in July 1945.

The remains are being taken to Honolulu for DNA testing.  This is all part of an ongoing effort to recover the remains of all MIA military personnel.

The U.S. Much Commended for This.  --GreGen

"Hump Pilots" Hold Final Reunion

From the May 4, 2011, Charleston, SC, 4 ABC.

World War II "Hump Pilots" held what might be their last reunion in Charleston back then when five men between the ages of 89-91 met in the city.One was Tex Rankin and another was Bill Thomas, 91, of Charleston.

In the 1940s, they flew support missions over the Himalayas (the Hump) between India and China.

Their first reunion was in 1946 in Detroit, Michigan.

The reason for disbanding, of course, is age and death.

The Greatest Generation.  --GreGen