Men of Merrill’s Marauders: Part II

Those who read Part One of this story (published in the April 2 edition of the Times) of Trempealeau County’s men who served in Merrill’s Marauders in World War II, may have gained a feel for what they went through over a period of only a few months. The climate, the jungle, the mountains, the disease, and the Japanese all exacted a terrible toll on them.

By the time the Marauders and a regiment of Chinese attacked the Japanese at Myitkyina airfield on May 17, 1944, there were only 1,300 Marauders left of the original 2,750 that walked into Burma three months earlier. They totally surprised the Japanese and were able to take the airfield, the Irrawaddy River ferry, and the village of Pamati. Now, however, they had to go up against an estimated 4,600 well-entrenched Japanese defending Myitkyina town itself. The monsoon season was fully upon them and they could not take the town, though they did hold their ground against several intense enemy attacks. 

More and more men were contracting scrub typhus and severe dysentery, and by late May, 75 to 100 men had to be evacuated because of illness alone. The 2nd Battalion of Moen, Christianson, Klimek, and Larson suffered the most. Of its 27 officers and 537 enlisted men (all four were enlisted) that began the march on Feb. 24, only 12 men remained who were physically able to fight. It is not known the condition of the area’s four men, but it can be assumed they, too, had been struck by disease. By this time, the men of Galahad totally despised General Stillwell, believing they were considered expendable and simply being sacrificed. In Stillwell’s defense, however, he, too, was under orders from his superiors to press the attack.

The situation at Myitkyina became so critical that a battalion of combat engineers was relieved from its work on the Ledo Road and brought in as infantry, despite how critical the completion of the Ledo Road was to get supplies to the Chinese through overland means. And, though medical officers had recommended what was left of the Marauders be totally evacuated due to their physical and psychological condition, the recommendation was denied — the unit was simply needed regardless of condition. Orders were also given to the hospitals in India that any men who could still walk were to be sent back to Myitkyina. 

Following another call for volunteers for a “dangerous and hazardous mission,” 2,600 more men arrived in Bombay, India, on May 25, at the height of the Myitkyina battle. None of these troops had any real combat experience and had not been trained in jungle warfare. When they were flown into Myitkyina, the few remaining men of Galahad were incorporated into these two new battalions of what became known as New Galahad. If the four area men were not hospitalized at the time, they would have become the leaders and trainers of these new troops.

On June 1, Norman Moen was among a force of inexperienced soldiers sent out on a reconnaissance patrol to determine Japanese strength in the nearby village of Nankwi. The two companies became separated, with one returning to its roadblock position, while Norman’s Company C fell out for a short break. After eating, they began to move out and walked directly into an ambush. Several men were wounded, including Norman, who was shot through the right cheek with the bullet exiting out the back of his neck. It had fractured his jaw, broke the cheek bone, and damaged the vision in his right eye. He was able to walk out by himself for some distance before requiring assistance. Then, after receiving plasma at an aid station, he was evacuated to the 20th General Hospital in Ledo, India.

The battle for Myitkyina continued, however, but many of the new men were suffering from serious psychological problems and had to be removed from the field as unfit. The day after Norman was wounded, the Chinese took over the fight for the town, which they entered on August 3. The day Myitkyina fell, only 200 original Marauders were present. A week later, the 5307th was disbanded with only 130 officers and men fit for combat. Incredibly, only two of the original force who were still alive had never been hospitalized for wounds or illness. 

That is how bad Burma was, but it wasn’t yet over. The remaining men of Galahad, including Christianson, Klimek, and Larson, were incorporated into the 475th Infantry Regiment, another Long-Range Penetration Group known as MARS Task Force. MARS Task Force was given three missions, and completed them all, ultimately driving the remaining 11,500 Japanese from the region of the Ledo Road and making it safe for truck convoys to travel to China. 

On June 11, 1945, MARS Task Force was disbanded and the men flown to China to advise and train the Nationalist Chinese Army. At some point, Harold Christianson joined an LRPG called Detachment 101, charged with recruiting, training, and leading large numbers of indigenous guerrillas.

All four men returned home following the war and went on to live their lives the best they could. Moen spent 18 months in hospitals, recovering and undergoing plastic surgeries to repair his damaged face. 

Merrill’s Marauders was one of the most abused and misused units of World War II. The incredible 1,000-mile march of 2,750 healthy, strong, and tough young men through the mountains and jungles of Burma, with the disease, jungle sores, exhaustion, and malnutrition they suffered, and their life-and-death struggles against a determined enemy, nearly destroyed them. One officer later wrote that they, as soldiers, simply forced themselves to take the next step. How, and why, could they do that? Because they believed they were the best, that they were not ordinary men. 

The 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) – Merrill’s Marauders – is the only unit of its size in which every man was decorated with a Bronze Star for valor. The unit also was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. 

In October 2020, by an act of Congress, the men of the 5307th were awarded a Congressional Gold Medal. Only four Marauders lived long enough to actually receive it.

But, as Captain Fred Lyons would later write about his days as a Marauder: “All I wanted was unconsciousness.” 

Michael Lyga is the author of “A Small Town Goes to War: Histories of World War II Veterans of Independence, Wisconsin” and founder of the Independence Veterans Memorial Museum at the Independence Public Schools. He can be contacted at: lyga@new.rr.com