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Merrill's Marauders: WWII jungle fighting unit approved for congressional medal [View all]
Source: Associated Press
WWII jungle fighting unit approved for congressional medal
By RUSS BYNUM
October 13, 2020
The soldiers 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 (1,610 kilometers) 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.
Passanisi enlisted his fellow surviving Marauders and the families of many who have died to begin lobbying for the honor four years ago. A final bill approved in September was sent Oct. 6 to the White House, where it awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.
-snip-
By RUSS BYNUM
October 13, 2020
The soldiers 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 (1,610 kilometers) 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.
Passanisi enlisted his fellow surviving Marauders and the families of many who have died to begin lobbying for the honor four years ago. A final bill approved in September was sent Oct. 6 to the White House, where it awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/india-archive-946e49d270ca3485dc5a33bd83d8b477
FILE - This Aug. 2, 1944 photo, courtesy of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, shows members of the famed WWII Army unit Merrill's Marauders less than 75 yards from enemy positions, on display during a gathering of remaining members, family and history buffs, in New Orleans. The unit that spent months marching and fighting behind enemy lines in Burma has been approved to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress' highest honor. Nearly 3,000 soldiers began the unit's secret mission in Japanese occupied Burma in 1944. Barely 200 remained in the fight when their mission was completed five months later. (U.S. Army Signal Corps via AP, File)
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