Merrill's Marauders

Merrill’s Marauders (named after Frank Merrill) or Unit Galahad, officially named the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), was a United States Army long range penetration special operations jungle warfare unit, which fought in the Southeast Asian theater of World War II, or China-Burma-India Theater (CBI). The unit became famous for its deep-penetration missions behind Japanese lines, often engaging Japanese forces superior in number.

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. The new U.S. force was directly inspired by, and partially modeled on Orde Wingate's Chindits Long Range Penetration Force. A call for volunteers attracted around 3,000 men.

A Memorandum from the Operations Division (OPD) of the War Department dated 18 September 1943 (OPD 320.2) listed the proposed composition of the new American long-range penetration force, which would be an all-volunteer unit. The Caribbean Defense Command provided 960 jungle-trained officers and men, 970 jungle-trained officers and men came from Army Ground Forces (based in the Continental United States) 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 (Provisional) with the code name Galahad.

The men were first sent to India arriving in Bombay on 31 October 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 (HBT) 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 week-long 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 24 February, 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.

While in Burma, the Marauders were usually outnumbered by Japanese troops from the 18th Division, but always inflicted many more casualties than they suffered. 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 17 May 1944, after a grueling 100-kilometer (62 mi) march over the 2,000-meter (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 17 May 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 tommygun 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 air-landed Chinese army division, the town finally fell to the Allies on 3 August 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. None of the horses and only 41 mules survived.

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 21 June 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 5 December 2019, the United States Senate passed S. 743, the Merrill's Marauders Congressional Gold Medal Act, legislation to honor the Marauders' extraordinary service. On 22 September 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 6 October, the Bill approving the medal award was sent to the White House for its final signature.

As of 31 December 2020, seven Marauders were still alive. By May 2022, this number had dwindled to just two, Gabriel Kinney and Russell Hamler. Gabriel Kinney died on December 11, 2022, at the age of 101.

Company S-2 within the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets is named after Merrill's Marauders.

Bibliography

Baker, Alan, Merrill's Marauders, Ballantine (1972).

Bjorge, Gary J. "Merrill's Marauders: Combined Operations in Northern Burma in 1944" Army History No. 34 (Spring/Summer 1995), pp. 12–28 online

George, John B. (Lt. Col.), Shots Fired in Anger, NRA Publications (1981).

Hopkins, James Spearhead, Merrill's Marauders Society (2000). Hoyt, Edwin, Merrill's Marauders, Pinnacle Books (1980). Latimer, John, Burma: The Forgotten War, John Murray, (2004).

Kearny, Cresson H. (Major), Jungle Snafus...And Remedies, Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (1996).

Merrill's Marauders, February – May 1944. United States Army Center of Military History. 1990 [1945]. CMH Pub 100-4.

Mortimer, Gavin. Merrill's Marauders: The Untold Story of Unit Galahad and the Toughest Special Forces Mission of World War II (Zenith Press, 2013).

Randle, Fred E., and William W. Hughes. Hell on Land, Disaster at Sea: The Story of Merrill's Marauders and the Sinking of the Rhona (Turner Publishing Company, 2002).

Weston, Logan, "The Fightin' Preacher", Vision Press (1992).

 

Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill, Commanding Officer of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), Merrill's Marauders.

Informal staff meeting, 5307th Composite Unit (Prov). Left to right: Maj. Hancock, Col. Brink, Lt.Col. Hunter, Lt.Col. Still and 1st Lt. Laffin. Burma, 1943.

Col. Francis G. Brink (left), is Training Advisor, and Lt.Col. Charles N. Hunter (right) is Acting Commander of the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) at APO 884, Burma, 1943.

Camp area of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) at Hsamshingyang, Burma, near Deogarrh, India, December 10, 1943.

This pipeline supplied water for the 5307th Composite Unit at APO 884. The pump and rapids in the background furnish the source of the water. Burma, December 10, 1943.

Men learning parachute packing in a class at the Headquarters of the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) at APO 884, Burma, December 22, 1943.

Chickens are being taken from wicker baskets and put in sacks for the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) at APO 884 for Christmas dinner, Burma, December 24, 1943.

Soldier with cleaver in hand looks over the camouflaged pen of turkeys for Christmas dinners at the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) at APO 884, Burma, December 24, 1943.

Parachutes drying in the sun after dropping food to the troops at the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) at APO 884, Burma, December 30, 1943.

Colonel Hunter and Col. Francis Brink with the Marauders, January 1944.

Men of the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) at the activation ceremony at APO 884, Burma, January 1, 1944.

Private Edgar Turner, 5307th Composite Unit (Prov), Battalion A, 1st Col Hqs, uses a signal light during a supply drop near Hsamshingyang, Burma, January 5, 1944.

Food and supplies are being dropped for "A" Battalion Headquarters of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) near APO 884, Burma, January 5, 1944.

Food and supplies are being dropped for "A" Battalion Headquarters of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) near APO 884, Burma, January 5, 1944.

Air-dropped food and supplies are retrieved by soldiers of Headquarters Co., 1st Col., "A" Battalion, 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) near Hsamshingyang, Burma, January 5, 1944.

Troops of "A" Battalion, 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) demonstrate the bazooka during an attack on a pillbox near Hsamshingyang, Burma, January 11, 1944.

Soldiers of Merrill's Marauders under Japanese fire while trying to spot enemy forces during fighting in Burma, January 13, 1944.

A bazooka is loaded in preparation for opening fire on a pillbox during a demonstration by troops of the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) in Hsamshingyang, Burma, January 1944.

Pillbox built by men of the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) serves as a target during bazooka demonstration, Hsamshingyang, Burma, January 1944.

Pfc Leo Godkin and Pfc Raymond Upshaw build a raft to float their equipment across a river, Burma, January 1944.

Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill, Commanding Officer of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), Merrill's Marauders, coming out of a native Basha, Burma, February 1944.

Lt. Col. Russell Blair fought in both World War II and Korea, and was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. One of their early members was then-1st Lt. Russell Blair, born in 1915, who was about one-third of the way through a distinguished Army career. Blair was an enlisted cavalryman in Kansas before the war. He attended Reserve Officer Training Corps at Norwich University. There, he taught map reading to freshmen and pursued a degree himself. He later was a platoon commander in the all-African American 10th Cavalry Regiment in California. Blair retired from active duty in November 1954 with more than 20 years of service. In addition to his two awards of the Distinguished Service Cross, Blair received a Silver Star, two Bronze Star Medals (one with “V” for valor), three Purple Hearts, and two awards of the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Lt. Elbert V. Higgins, 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) shows native boys his field glasses, February 1944.

Troops of the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) move to the front via the Ledo Road, Burma, February 1944.

B Battalion of the 5307th Composite Unit traveling on the Ledo Road, Burma, February 1944.

Troops of B Battalion, 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) move along the Ledo Road, Burma, February 1944.

GIs and Kachins are members of the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov), Merrill's Marauders, Burma, February 1944.

Indigenous Kachins served as guides for the Marauder combat teams through the unfamiliar and unmapped territories of Burma. These mountain tribesman were looked down on by the lowland Burmese, but fiercely resisted the Japanese invasion.

T/Sgt Fred Albers removes a large basket containing this native Burmese refugee's worldly belongings from her back, Burma, 1944.

One of Merrill’s Marauders shows a native child how to enjoy American chewing gum during a rest period of the outfit’s march in the Burma campaign.

Marauder and Kachin guide survey field of fire in jungle. Some Kachin guides were in their teens or even as young as this 12 year old. In spite of his age, he was an expert jungle fighter and guide. North Burma, 1944.

Approaching a sign reading “Welcome to Borderville,” Marauders cross the Pangsua Pass from Assam, India, into Burma at Borderville on 12 February 1944.

General Merrill, left, and Col. Hunter watch a Galahad element on a road march near Pangsua Pass.

The first part of the 5307th’s march followed the newly constructed Ledo Road. While the graded surface helped for a while, the soldiers still had to contend with steep slopes and mud. Soon enough, the soldiers decided that any resting place was a good resting place, even a drainage ditch on the side of a mountain. The attached quartermaster companies packed equipment, rations, and ammunition on sturdy Missouri mules, which could follow almost anywhere a man could walk or crawl, and did not mind a rest stop, either.

Merrill's Marauders move along the road with pack horses and mules for transportation of supplies.

Troops of B Battalion crossing the Tanai Hka River, March 17, 1944.

Troops of B Battalion crossing the Tanai Hka River, March 17, 1944.

After two months of hiking and fighting, the Marauders of 1st Battalion took time to rest and celebrate Easter on April 9, 1944. This was Father Thomas J. Barrett’s first opportunity to say Mass in three months.

L-4 plane, April 15, 1944.

Galahad “kickers” Pfc. Charles Banks, left, and Sgt. Donal Ross, drop master, right, brief Gen. Merrill during a re-supply run, April 16, 1944.

Waiting for the word from the pilot when to drop the load. Merrill is in the back of the plane observing the action.

Men of the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) in a C-47 plane shoving out rations to their fellow soldiers in the field, Burma, 1944.

Supply drop in Burma, spring of 1944. Men can be seen waiting to recover supplies dropped by parachute. Note the small stockpile in the center foreground.

Recovering supplies dropped by parachute in Burma.

GIs carry supplies dropped on a field to the supply dump somewhere in Burma, April 13, 1944.

Examining a Nambu light machine gun, captured by a patrol of the 5307th after killing the crew near Nhpum Ga, Burma, April 15, 1944.

Major Edwin J. Briggs, commander, Khaki Combat Team, and staff of officers, conducts a full field inspection at Hsamshingyang, Burma, April 19, 1944, following Galahad’s fight at Nhpum Ga.

Major Edwin J. Briggs, commander, Khaki Combat Team, inspects rifle during full field inspection at Hsamshingyang, Burma, April 19, 1944, following Galahad’s fight at Nhpum Ga.

Tech 5 Chester Degange, Khaki Combat Team, 5307th Composite Unit, cleans the barrel of his 60mm mortar which has seen plenty of action in the Burma campaign, April 19, 1944.

Medics of Battalion A, 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) barbecue deer meat for wounded men near Hsamshingyang, Burma, April 20, 1944.

Members of the 5307th Composite Unit and local Kachin tribesmen in a group with all nationalities represented in the unit, April 20, 1944.

An American soldier, 3rd Battalion, 5307th Composite Unit, trades American cigarettes to Chinese soldiers for Chinese currency, Burma, April 28, 1944.

Marauder Pfc Peter Guagliand, 5307th Composite Unit shows a Chinese soldier of the 88th Regiment how to operate an M1 rifle during a rest period during their drive to Myitkyina, April 29, 1944.

2nd Lt. W. Murray, Platoon Leader, Khaki Combat Team, 5307th Composite Unit receives a three-day supply of ‘K’ rations as they set out on yet another leg of their march through Burma, April 29, 1944. The daily K ration, divided into three meals, contained three thousand calories compressed into the most compact form possible. Ration staples included the four-ounce U.S. Army field ration D (a dense bar consisting of chocolate, skim milk powder, sugar, oat flour, cocoa fat, vitamins C and B, and artificial flavoring), a small can of chopped ham and egg or a can of processed cheese, a K-1 biscuit, sugar cubes, and coffee or bullion powder. Meant only for survival situations, the K ration was not an adequate diet for men marching through the jungle, but was better than what they ate when the K rations ran out—nothing.

A soldier of the 22nd Chinese Division in a mortar position in the northern part of the Mogaung Valley in northern Burma, several miles north of Shaduzup. Shelling enemy positions only a thousand yards away, this Chinese soldier is placing a projectile into a heavy 4.2-inch mortar, which the Chinese learned to use with great success against their foe in the hills of northern Burma.

Marauder and Chinese ally compare weapons. American shows his M1 rifle as Chinese holds his British Enfield. Note steepness of trail, a characteristic encountered almost daily in the marches of the 5307th, May 1944.

Galahad troops rest along the jungle trail near Nhpum, Burma.

Members of Merrill’s Marauders on the march.

When the 5307th started out on their campaign in February of 1944, they followed the Ledo Road from Assam, India, into Burma. As shown here, the Marauders occasionally marched side-by-side with allied Chinese troops under Lieutenant General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell’s command. Conditions in Burma varied from uncomfortable to downright miserable. The soldiers waded rivers, slogged through mud, hacked bamboo, trudged through elephant grass, crawled up mountains, and stumbled down slopes. The temperature ranged from hot to hotter, inspiring many a Marauder to discard his jacket and blanket the first day on the trail. Many also swapped their hot, heavy combat helmets for the comfort of cloth hats.

Frank D. Merrill (center) explains battle situation to L. Herb Miyazaki and R. Akiji Yoshimura, interpreters for 3rd Battalion, 5307th, Burma, May 1, 1944. U.S. Army photo.

Roy Matsumoto at right, one of 14 Nisei in the 2,700 member Merrill's Marauders.

Akiji Yoshimura, Nisei (American of Japanese extraction) served as interpreter in contacts with Japanese troop movements, message interception, warning of plans and attacks. They were positively invaluable to 5307th. North Burma, 1944.

MP's of 5307th Composite Unit stand by wounded Chinese soldier lying on stretcher near L-5 evacuation plane on landing strip at Naubum, Burma. Left to right: Pvt Myers, Pvt Kotz and Pfc Mihalic, May 1, 1944.

Air evacuation by light aircraft was a lifeline for the 5307th’s casualties. Here, Kachins carry a casualty to a Stinson L-5 while its NCO pilot waits.

Reunion in Burma: Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill, right, confers with Lt. Gen. Joseph Stilwell as the campaign in northern Burma got underway.

Brig. Gen. Frank D. Merrill and Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell meet at Division Headquarters of the American-Chinese Galahad Forces near Naubum, Burma, May 5, 1944.

Two Marauders share a pillbox at Myitkyina which had been occupied by the foe only a few hours previously.

Amid the ruins of Myitkyina, an American sniper, using to advantage a second story window, alertly watches for the slightest movement that would disclose the position of a careless Japanese. A mortar shell has entered through the roof and made a shambles of the building’s interior.

As the Japanese were driven out of the town of Myitkyina, their dead defenders were left grotesquely sprawled near the base of the positions they were ordered to defend to the death. A Chinese soldier stoically views the havoc wrought by his comrades during the heavy fighting.

While two Marauders supply him with ammunition, another Marauder fires at Japanese about a hundred yards away, in the village of Sitapur, on the outskirts of Myitkyina.

Lt.Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell and Col. Charles Hunter of Merrill's Marauders talk to the leader of a patrol that has just returned from the outskirts of Myitkyina, Burma, May 17, 1944.

Col. Charles Hunter, commanding officer of the 5307th, points a stick to orient Gen. Joseph Stilwell, who had just flown into Myitkyina airfield the day it was taken, May 17, 1944.

Bofors gun crew of the Royal Artillery on alert at Myitkyina airfield. These gunners had to fight as infantry alongside the 5307th.

Merrill's Marauders draw a bead on a Japanese plane about to attack the newly captured Myitkyina Airfield, Burma, May 17, 1944.

Two British soldiers and a Chinese soldier fill their canteens at a water hole near an airstrip in Myitkyina, Burma. The wrecked Japanese bomber forms a bridge across the water hole. May 19, 1944.

Chinese troops used wrecked gliders as housing facilities while food-dropping parachutes serve as shelters near ammo and supply depot at Myitkyina Airfield, Burma, May 19, 1944.

A GI of the Airborne Engineers uses a "baby" bulldozer to pull a captured Japanese steam roller past piles of rations and supplies on the airstrip at Myitkyina, Burma, May 19, 1944.

GIs used "baby" bulldozers and trailer-pulling jeeps to level puddle-studded airfield at Myitkyina, Burma. A P 40 fighter attempting to take off splashes through mud holes in the background, May 19, 1944.

Medics of the Seagraves Hospital Unit treat wounded in a field near Myitkyina Airfield, Burma, May 19, 1944.

Members of Col. Gordon S. Seagraves Hospital Unit treat American, Chinese and Japanese wounded in a field at Myitkyina Airfield, Burma, May 19, 1944.

This Chinese soldier, age 10, with heavy pack, is a member of an army division boarding a plane returning them to China, following the capture of Myitkyina airfield, Burma, under the allied command of U.S. Major General Frank Merrill, May 1944. Chinese and allied troops had earlier crossed through the treacherous jungle of the Kumon Bum Mountains before attacking Japanese troops to the south. Exhaustion and disease led to the early evacuation of many Chinese and allied troops before the coming assault on Myitkyina town.

Sick men of A Battalion of Merrill's Marauders being evacuated from Myitkyina Airfield in a C-47 plane, May 21, 1944.

General Stilwell awarding medals at Myitkyina, 1944.

Lieutenant Gen. Joseph Stilwell, commander of the CBI theater, looks out across the airstrip at Myitkyina on 1 June 1944.

Noel Coward, noted British actor and playwright watches a card game in progress at Merrill's Marauders Convalescent Hospital. Left to right: Pfc Mannaghan, Pfc Charles, Coward and Pfc Carey, India, June 27, 1944.

T/Sgt Roy Matsumoto of the 5307th Composite Unit (Prov) is greeted by Noel Coward, on tour, at the 14th Evacuation Hospital in Ledo, Assam, India, June 28, 1944.

Each of the 5307th’s six combat teams had an assigned Nisei (second generation Japanese-American) interpreter for intelligence purposes. In this August 1944 photograph, Technical Sergeant Ed Mitsukado interrogates a Japanese prisoner being held at Myitkyina. The soldier had been found floating down the Irrawaddy River on a raft after the Americans prevailed at the Battle of Myitkyina. All of the Nisei assigned to the 5307th not only had native language proficiency, but many had trained at the Military Intelligence Service Language School in Minnesota. Even with experience and training in the Japanese language, many Nisei had difficulty communicating with captured soldiers having different dialects.

Members of Merrill's Marauders less than 75 yards from enemy positions, August 2, 1944.

While the adventures and glory of K-9 units in the Pacific Theater were well publicized, those of their brothers in the China-Burma-India Theater have largely been forgotten, though the men and dogs were just as deserving. This K-9 detachment joined the Marauders during the two-month battle for Myitkyina, Burma. Front row, left to right: Corporal Peter E. Erdman, Technical Sergeant 5 Robert E. Cross, Technical Sergeant 5 Del. B. Armstrong, Technical Sergeant 5 William Irving, Corporal Jesse Cowan. Back row, left to right: Technical Sergeant 5 Gerald G. Weston, Technical Sergeant 5 Walter A. Geesler, Technical Sergeant 5 Joseph A. Balak, Private Russell P. Miszner, Technical Sergeant 5 Garland Clark, Corporal Kenneth W. Remen. September 2, 1944.

Tech 5 W.A. Gessler and "Duke", a Belgian shepherd. Dogs like this proved themselves in actual combat with their keen sense of enemy snipers, patrol duty, perimeter guard, etc. September 2, 1944.

Cpl Kenneth W. Remen with "Pal", a K-9 dog attached to Marauder infantry. "Pal" stopped plenty of shrapnel and if Purple Hearts were passed out to K-9's he would have one. Burma, September 2, 1944.

Pfc Andrew J. Hines and "Toby" attached to Marauder infantry. Burma, September 2, 1944.

Pvt Russell P. Miszner and "Sailor" attached to Marauder infantry. "Sailor" has one Japanese to his credit. Burma, September 2, 1944.

Tech 5 Del V. Armstrong and "Wo-Tan" attached to Marauder infantry. "Wo-Tan" has one Japanese to his credit. Burma, September 3, 1944.

Maj. Edward T. Hancock talks to a group of Marauders who won citations for outstanding service during the Burma campaign. September 8, 1944.

Marauders' patch.