NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MERRILL’S MARAUDER DAY

The 70th Anniversary of the disbanding of the 5307th Composite Unit Provisional, or Merrill’s Marauders is coming this August 10th.  Long overshadowed by other combat theaters and more famous units, Merrill’s Marauders and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations rarely receives the attention it deserves.  Family members of these heroes now are working feverishly to get every State in the Union to designate August 10, 2014 as National World War II Merrill’s Marauders Day.  Please see the information below and see if your state is listed.  If not, contact me and I’ll get you in touch with the Descendants.  Karl

The Merrill’s Marauders Proud Descendants, a non-profit organization that plans reunions for the aging WW II Merrill’s Marauders of the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, is in the process of having August 10, 2014, declared National WW II Merrill’s Marauders Day by the governors of all theUnited States. 2014 is the 70th anniversary of the Merrill’s Marauders campaign … including its battles, history-making 1,000-mile march behind enemy lines and the August 10, 2014, disbanding of the unit. The MMPD hopes the proclamation will generate recognition for this “forgotten unit” and its “forgotten theater,” the China-Burma-India Theater. There are approximately 50 remaining original Merrill’s Marauders, out of almost 3,000, who served under General Frank D. Merrill with the 5307th Composite Unit Provisional. The 2014 Merrill’s Marauder reunion will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin over Labor Day weekend. Bob Passanisi, who turns 90 in July, is the Merrill’s Marauder historian/spokesman and out-going editor of the “Burman News.” The Merrill’s Marauders website, which is linked with the MMPD website, is http://www.marauder.org/   The website is currently being updated to reflect the addition of three more Merrill’s Marauders into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame, making that total 25. Below are the proclamation clauses the MMPD is sending for consideration to the individual governors:

    NATIONAL WORLD WAR II MERRILL’S MARAUDER DAY

WHEREAS: In 1943, almost 3,000 men from the jungles of Panama and Trinidad, Guadalcanal, New Guinea, New Georgia and the United States answered President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s call for a secret “dangerous and hazardous” mission, not knowing where they were going or what they would be doing; and

WHEREAS: This unnamed provisional unit of U.S. Army volunteers, expected to have more than 85 percent casualties, landed October 31, 1943, in Bombay, India, and was officially designated January 1, 1944, as the 5307th Composite Unit Provisional, code-named “Galahad” and later nicknamed Merrill’s Marauders by the press after their commander, Gen. Frank D. Merrill. They were the first American ground troops to fight the Japanese in Asia, and,

WHEREAS: With only what they could carry on their backs or pack on mules, Merrill’s Marauders walked farther, almost 1,000 miles, than any other WW II fighting force, trudging behind enemy lines up the foothills of the Himalayas and into the jungles of northern Burma to capture the only all-weather airstrip May 17, 1944, at Myitkyina, crushing Japan’s control of the sky and enabling the Allies to begin flying supplies into Burma so the Ledo and Burma roads could be connected and a crucial pathway opened up into China; and

WHEREAS: It has been 70 years since the short-lived Merrill’s Marauder unit of the mostly overlooked China-Burma-India Theater of Operations was disbanded August 10, 1944, after defeating the Japanese 18th Imperial Division, which vastly outnumbered them, in five major battles and 30 minor engagements. Jungle diseases ravaged their numbers so only about 300 of the approximate 1,300 remaining Merrill’s Marauders were still fit for combat when they reached their objective, and later went on to join replacements who continued to fight in Burma as the 475th Infantry, which became part of the Mars Task Force; and

WHEREAS: For their accomplishments in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, Merrill’s Marauders were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, and have the extremely rare distinction of every member of the unit receiving the Bronze Star Medal. There were six Distinguished Service Crosses, four Legions of Merit and 44 Silver Star Medals awarded. Twenty-five Merrill’s Marauders have been inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame. The Merrill’s Marauder legacy continues to be honored today by members of the 75th Ranger Regiment who wear the Marauder patch as their crest; now

LIST OF STATES COVERED as of JUNE 29

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
California
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Iowa
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming