This
auction is for the following autographed Nathan Brennan WWII Merrill’s
Marauders Special Operations Jungle Warfare signed 3x5 index card. This is the first
time I have ever offered autographs from the ELITE Special Forces Soldiers who
served with the Merrill’s Marauders. Autographs from members of the WWII Merrill’s
Marauders are extremely rare in the hobby and highly collectable. These would
make a great gift or investment. If you are not familiar with this unit please
read the remarkable biography below.
The
Merrill’s Marauders where the first United States Army elite unit was the equivalent
to today’s Delta Force or Seal Team Six. The Merrill’s Marauders specialized in
jungle warfare, reconnaissance, raiding, special operations and long-range
penetration. Every member of this Merrill’s Marauders volunteered to serve with
this unit. The veterans who made up the Merrill’s Marauders were battled harden
previously seeing combat in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, New
Guinea and Bougainville Campaigns.
If
you are not familiar with the Merrill’s Marauders there is an outstanding film
titled “Merrill’s Marauders” that is based on the exploits unit in the
Burma Campaign and culminating in the Siege of Myitkyina.
The Special Operations Force “Merrill’s Marauders” officially named the 5307th Composite Unit was a United States Army long range penetration Special Operations Jungle Warfare Unit, which fought in the Burma Campaign in the China-Burma-India Theater (CBI). The unit became famous for its deep-penetration missions behind Japanese lines often engaging Japanese forces superior in number. While in Burma, the Marauders were usually outnumbered by Japanese troops from the 18th Division, but always inflicted many more casualties than they suffered. The men of Merrill's Marauders enjoyed the rare distinction of having each soldier awarded the Bronze Star. In June 1944, the 5307th Composite Unit (provisional) was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation.
Formation and Training:
In
the Quebec Conference (QUADRANT) of August 1943, Allied leaders decided to form
a U.S. deep penetration unit that would attack Japanese troops in Burma. A
Memorandum from the Operations Division (OPD) of the War Department dated
September 18th, 1943 listed the proposed composition of the new
American long-range penetration force. The Caribbean Defense Command provided
960 jungle-trained officers and men, 970 jungle-trained officers and men came
from Army Ground Forces and a further 674 "battle-tested" jungle
troops from the South Pacific Command (Army veterans of the Guadalcanal and
Solomon Islands campaigns), with all troops to assemble at Nouméa, New
Caledonia. General Douglas MacArthur was also directed to transfer 274 Army
combat-experienced volunteers from the Southwest Pacific Command, veterans of
the New Guinea and Bougainville campaigns. A few Pacific veteran volunteers
came from stockades where volunteering earned them their freedom. They were
sprinkled throughout the unit and called "The Dead End Kids" after
the Hollywood film series featuring juvenile delinquents. The unit was
officially designated as 5307th Composite Unit with the code name Galahad.
The
men were first sent to India arriving in Bombay on October 31st, 1943
to train. Here they were reinforced with Air Corps and Signal Corps personnel
as well as an animal transport company with mules and experienced muleteers.
Officers and men were equipped with U.S. Herringbone Twill uniform cotton OD
uniforms, M-1943 fatigues, Type II field shoes (with or without canvas
leggings), jungle boots, canvas load-bearing equipment, blanket (one-half tent
or "shelter-half" per man), poncho, and a machete or kukri for brush
clearing. Small arms included the .30-06 M1 Garand, the .30-06 M1903A4 sniper
rifle, the .30 M1 carbine, the .45 Thompson submachine gun, the .45 M1911
pistol, the .30-06 BAR (M1922 machine rifle version), and the .30 M1919 Browning
air-cooled belt-fed machine gun. Mules were used to haul radios, ammunition,
and heavier support weapons, including the 2.36-inch M1A1 bazooka and the U.S.
60 mm M2 Mortar; the latter was often employed without its bipod in order to
speed deployment.
The
5307th was originally destined to train in long-range penetration tactics under
the direction of Brigadier Charles Orde Wingate, Commander of the Chindits. At
Deolali, 200 km (125 miles) outside Bombay, the troops endured both physical
conditioning and close-order drill, before entraining for Deogarh, Madhya
Pradesh.
The
unit was to have 700 animals that included 360 mules. There were to be as many
more but the ship that was carrying them was torpedoed in the Arabian Sea. They
were replaced by 360 Australian Waler horses that had originally been with the
112th Cavalry in New Caledonia who were deemed unfit for jungle warfare. They
had traveled to India where they served with the Chinese Army before being
assigned to the 5307th.
From
the end of November 1943 to the end of January 1944, the 5307th remained at
Deogarh and trained intensively. All officers and men received instruction in
scouting and patrolling, stream crossings, weapons, navigation, demolitions,
camouflage, small-unit attacks on entrenchments, evacuation of wounded
personnel, and the then-novel technique of supply by airdrop. Special emphasis
was placed on "jungle lane" marksmanship at pop-up and moving targets
using small arms. In December the 5307th conducted a weeklong maneuver in
coordination with Chindit forces.
U.S. General Joseph Stilwell was determined that the only U.S. combat troops available in the theater would not serve under British command. As the only Allied ground commander without a subordinate contingent of infantry forces from his own army, Stilwell was aware that he would have minimal influence upon Allied ground strategy in Burma unless he could gain command of the Marauders. Admiral Lord Mountbatten, the supreme Allied commander of the South East Asia Command (SEAC), was persuaded by Stilwell, deputy supreme Allied commander that they should serve under the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC). Stilwell appointed Brigadier General Frank Merrill to command them. Several American war correspondents had come to Deogarh to hear about the unit and its training; the reporters sat around trying to think of an appealing nickname for the 5307th that would capture the interest of the American public. Time correspondent James R. Shepley came up with "Merrill's Marauders" and that name stuck.
Operations:
In
early 1944 the Marauders were organized as a light infantry assault unit, with
mule transport for their 60 mm mortars, bazookas, ammunition, communications
gear, and supplies. Although the 5307th's three battalions were equivalent to a
regimental-size unit, its lack of organic heavy weapons support meant the force
had a combat power less than that of a single regular American infantry
battalion, a fact that General Stilwell and his NCAC staff did not always
appreciate. Without heavy weapons support, the unit would have to rely on
flexibility and surprise to outfight considerably larger Japanese forces.
A
little known secret to the Marauders' success was the inclusion of fourteen
Japanese-American Military Intelligence Service translators assigned to the unit,
including future Army Rangers and Military Intelligence Hall of Fame inductee
Roy Matsumoto.
Weight
was critical to the Marauders, and the need for a compact, lightweight field
ration was essential; unfortunately, the best solution, the dry Jungle ration,
at 4,000 calories per day, had been discontinued for cost reasons in 1943. On
the advice of Army supply officers in Washington, General Stilwell and his G-4
staff determined that a one-per-day issuance of the U.S. Army's 2,830 calorie K
ration (one K ration = three meals) would be sufficient to maintain the
Marauders in the field. While compact the K ration not only had fewer calories
but less bulk and included some components so unappetizing as to be thrown away
by many users.
On
the advice of British General Orde Wingate the force was divided into two
self-contained combat teams per battalion. In February 1944, in an offensive
designed to disrupt Japanese offensive operations, three battalions in six
combat teams (coded Red, White, Blue, Khaki, Green, and Orange) marched into
Burma. On February 24th, the force began a 1,000-mile march over the
Patkai range and into the Burmese jungle behind Japanese lines. A total of
2,750 Marauders entered Burma; the remaining 247 men remained in India as
headquarters and support personnel.
Led
by Kachin scouts, and using mobility and surprise, the Marauders harassed
supply and communication lines, shot up patrols, and assaulted Japanese rear
areas, in one case cutting off the Japanese rearguard at Maingkwan. Near Walawbum,
a town believed by General Stilwell's NCAC staff to be lightly held, the 3rd
Battalion killed some 400–500 enemy soldiers. The Japanese were continually
surprised by the heavy, accurate volume of fire they received when attacking
Marauder positions. Its combat-experienced officers had carefully integrated
light mortar and machine gun fires, and virtually every man was armed with a
self-loading or automatic weapon in which he had trained to a high level of
marksmanship. In March they severed Japanese supply lines in the Hukawng
Valley.
Informed
by the British that the situation in Imphal was under control, Stilwell wanted
to launch a final assault to capture the Japanese Airfield at Myitkyina. Always
guarded against the potential for interference by the British, General Stilwell
did not coordinate his plans with Admiral Mountbatten, instead transmitting
separate orders to his Chinese forces and the Marauders. The men took a brief
rest at Shikau Gau, a jungle village clearing where they bartered with the
native inhabitants for fresh eggs and chickens with an issue of 10-in-one and C
rations. The Marauders also took the opportunity to sunbathe in an attempt to
control the onset of various fungal skin diseases. Now down to a little over
2,200 officers and men, the 5307th began a series of battles on the march to
Myitkyina.
In
April, the Marauders were ordered by General Stilwell to take up a blocking
position at Nhpum Ga and hold it against Japanese attacks, a conventional
defensive action for which the unit had not been equipped. At times surrounded,
the Marauders coordinated their own battalions in mutual support to break the
siege after a series of fierce assaults by Japanese forces. At Nhpum Ga, the
Marauders killed 400 Japanese soldiers, while suffering 57 killed in action,
302 wounded, and 379 incapacitated due to illness and exhaustion. Of the unit's
200 mules, 75 were killed by artillery and mortar fire. A concurrent outbreak
of amoebic dysentery (contracted after linking up with Chinese forces) further
reduced their effective strength. Although the Marauders had previously avoided
losses from this deadly disease (in part by use of halazone tablets and strict
field sanitation procedures), their encampment with Chinese infantry, who used
the rivers as latrines, proved their undoing (the Chinese troops, who always
boiled their drinking water, were not seriously affected).
The
disadvantages of supplying Marauders with a single K ration per day now made
themselves felt, as the troops became increasingly malnourished; the onset of
the rainy season combined with Japanese pressure and inhospitable terrain
prevented many supply drops, exacerbating the problem. Even now, one K ration
(three meals) per day was deemed adequate by General Stilwell's staff, augmented
by occasional drops of dry rice, jam, bread, candy, and C rations. When
encountering Chinese troops, many men began to barter their K ration cigarettes
for rice and other foods.
Myitkyina and the end:
On May 17th, 1944, after a grueling 100-kilometre (62 mi) march over the 2,000-metre (6,600 ft) Kumon Mountain range (using mules for carrying supplies) to Myitkyina, approximately 1,300 remaining Marauders, along with elements of the 42nd and 150th Chinese Infantry Regiments of the X Force, attacked the unsuspecting Japanese at the Myitkyina Airfield. The airfield assault on May 17th, 1944 was a complete success; however, the town of Myitkyina could not immediately be taken with the forces on hand. An initial assault by elements of two Chinese regiments was repulsed with heavy losses. NCAC intelligence staff had once again badly underestimated Japanese troop strength in the town, which had steadily been reinforced and now possessed a garrison of some 4,600 well-armed and fanatical Japanese defenders. Weakened by hunger, the 5307th continued fighting through the height of the monsoon season, worsening the situation; it also transpired that the area around Myitkyina had the largest reported incidence of scrub typhus, which some Marauders contracted after sleeping on infected areas of untreated ground, earth or grass. Racked with bloody dysentery and fevers, sleeping in the mud, Marauders alternately assaulted, then defended in a seesaw series of brutal conventional infantry engagements with Japanese forces. In a 1945 interview Captain Fred O. Lyons a Marauder officer related the nature of the struggle: By now my dysentery was so violent I was draining blood. Every one of the men was sick from one cause or another. My shoulders were worn raw from the pack straps, and I left the pack behind... The boys with me weren't in much better shape... A scout moving ahead suddenly held his rifle high in the air. That meant Enemy sighted... Then at last we saw them, coming down the railroad four abreast... The gunner crouched low over his tommy-gun and tightened down. Then the gun spoke. Down flopped a half-dozen Japs, then another half dozen. The [Japanese] column spewed from their marching formation into the bush. We grabbed up the gun and slid back into the jungle. Sometimes staggering, sometimes running, sometimes dragging, I made it back to camp. I was so sick I didn't care whether the Japs broke through or not; so sick I didn't worry any more about letting the colonel down. All I wanted was unconsciousness.
After
reinforcement by an Airlander Chinese army division, the town finally fell to
the Allies on August 3rd, 1944. The Japanese commander escaped with
about 600 of his men; 187 Japanese soldiers were captured, and the rest, some 3,800
men, were killed in combat.
In
their final mission, the Marauders suffered 272 killed, 955 wounded, and 980
evacuated for illness and disease; some men later died from cerebral malaria,
amoebic dysentery, and/or scrub typhus. Somewhat ironically, Marauders
evacuated from the front lines were given jungle hammocks with protective
sandfly netting and rain covers in which to sleep, equipment which might have
prevented various diseases and illnesses had they been issued earlier in the
campaign. The casualties included General Merrill himself who had suffered a
second heart attack before going down with malaria. He was replaced by his
second-in-command, Colonel Charles N. Hunter, who later prepared a scathing
report on General Stilwell's medical evacuation policies (eventually prompting
an Army Inspector General investigation and congressional hearings). By the
time the town of Myitkyina was taken, only about 200 surviving members of the
original Marauders were present. A week after Myitkyina fell, on 10 August
1944, the 5307th was disbanded with a final total of 130 combat-effective
officers and men (out of the original 2,997). Of the 2,750 to enter Burma, only
two were left alive who had never been hospitalized with wounds or major
illness.
Legacy:
In
slightly more than five months of combat, the Marauders had advanced 750 miles
(1,210 km) through some of the harshest jungle terrain in the world, fought in
five major engagements (Walawbum, Shaduzup, Inkangahtawng, Nhpum Ga, and
Myitkyina) and engaged in combat with the Japanese Army on thirty-two separate
occasions, including two conventional defensive battles with enemy forces for
which the force had not been intended or equipped. Battling Japanese soldiers,
hunger, fevers, and disease, they had traversed more jungle terrain on their
long-range missions than any other U.S. Army formation during World War II.
The
men of Merrill's Marauders enjoyed the rare distinction of having each soldier
awarded the Bronze Star. In June 1944, the 5307th Composite Unit (provisional)
was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation:
The unit must display such gallantry, determination, and esprit de corps in accomplishing its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions as to set it apart and above other units participating in the same campaign. On 10 August 1944 the Marauders were consolidated into the 475th Infantry, which continued service in northern Burma as a component of the brigade-sized MARS Task Force until February 1945. On June 21st, 1954 the 475th Infantry was re-designated the 75th Infantry from which descended the 75th Ranger Regiment.
The commander of the 2nd Battalion of the Marauders, Colonel George A. McGee, was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame (1992) for extraordinary valor and exemplary service. Roy H. Matsumoto (1993), Henry Gosho (1997), and Grant Hirabayashi (2004), Japanese-American interpreters for the Marauders were also inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame. On December 5th, 2019, the United States Senate passed S. 743, the Merrill's Marauders Congressional Gold Medal Act, legislation to honor the Marauders' extraordinary service. On September 22nd, 2020, the House of Representatives also passed the bill by unanimous consent. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest expression by the Congress of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions to the country. On October 6th the Bill approving the medal award was sent to the White House for its final signature.
THIS IS AN
AUTHENTIC HAND AUTOGRAPHED 3x5 INDEX CARD. I ONLY SELL AUTHENTIC HAND
AUTOGRAPHED MEMORABILIA. I do not sell reprints or facsimile autographs. When
you bid on my items you will receive the real deal authentic hand autographed
items. You will receive the same signed 3x5 card that is pictured in the
scan. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me. I ship items internationally and the price for international
S&H varies by country. I currently have other rare autographed military and
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