Marine Raiders visit Kwajalein
To see a larger view click on the picture.
The Arrival
Welcome by Col. Jerry Brown
Welcome Dinner hosted by Col. Brown and 1st Sgt. Dennis Neal
Shopping at the Mic Shop
Then the 228th Marine Birthday Ball
The Makin Raider Monument Dedication Ceremony
Awards from the VFW Post on Kwajalein
The Makin Raiders
The Marine Raiders
Karen Carlson Loving granddaughter of Gen. Carlson
The year 1942, and an elite fighting force was taking shape, the Marine Raiders.
In two short years these young men would make their mark in history with well-known campaigns such as, Guam, Okinawa, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. But these were only a few of the battles of WWII.
Those who were there also remember some of the other battles, like Makin Island.
After the Makin battle 30 Marine Raiders were unaccounted for.
In 1999, CILHI recovered and repatriated 19, who died during the Makin battle and were buried on Butaritari Island. For many, the fate of the remaining 11 Marine Raiders, still missing from the Makin campaign, remains a mystery.
Several WWII Marine Raiders along with other veterans will be on Kwajalein, Nov. 8-12, to attend the dedication of the Makin Raider plaque which honors their fallen and missing comrades. They will participate in the dedication of the plaque, Veterans Day ceremonies and the United States Marine Corps Ball along with several other activities during this time
Some of the veterans, attending the ceremonies, have provided some brief information on themselves.
*Elmer Mapes
Mapes was a 2nd Raider, but didn't join the Raiders until several months after they returned from the Makin Raid. He took part in the Bougainville, Solomon Islands Campaign, the Liberation of Guam and in the Okinawa Campaign. His battalion, which was at that time the 2nd Battalion 4th Regiment, was the first to set foot in Japan.
Mapes was 20-years-old when he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He served for three years, one month and one day. His hometown was Muscatine, Iowa and currently lives in Bettendorf, Iowa.
Jack Freeling
Freeling was in the 4th Marine Raiders. He was at Kwajalein on the way to the Guam Operation in mid 1944.
He enlisted at Kansas City, Mo. at 19-years-old and was discharged in 1945.
Col. James Roosevelt selected him with three others to the 4th Raider's, with only a l0 minute interview.
He carried a B.A.R. in the early part of the war, an M-1 and during his last trip, a carbine.
"We did make the landings at New Georgia and Vangunu in1943 and a landing on an un-named Solomon Island, reported to have a Jap outpost," Freeling said. "It was reported by a low flying Navy Pilot on his was back to the island of Guadalcanal. He thought he saw a Jap outpost. Turned out the Navy and Marines ran us out on the S168 Nautilus and made a landing that scared the h--- out of a bunch of Army guys. Lucky no one was hurt. Case of lack of communicating at the time," he added.
According to Freeling, the Japanese's left him with a piece of shrapnel in his arm, which has moved up about four inches, resulting in the loss of some dexterity.
"It [the war] kept me off the streets and out of jail," Freeling said. "Pay at discharge with overseas add on was $ 69.30, as a Corporal."
*Ashley (Bill) W. Fisher
Fisher enlisted on Jan. 27, 1942 at age 16. He served in the Guard Detachment on Ford Island until he joined B Company, 2nd Raider Battalion, on Sept. 4, 1942.
He did not participate in the raid on Makin, but served with the Raiders through 1943, including the Long Patrol on Guadalcanal.
Fisher served 38 years Reserve and Active, retiring at the rank of Major. He was born and raised in Memphis, Tenn. and now lives in Brighton, Tenn., 36 miles north of Memphis.
"I know I speak for all of us that we are especially grateful to Jack Miller for conceiving this memorial and to Dr. Bernstein for his diligence," Fisher said. "It is long over due."
*Ervin
Kaplan
Kaplan was born June 19, 1918 at Independence, Iowa. He attended
premedical school in Chicago from 1937-40, which was interrupted
when he enlisted in the United States Marine Corp, May 12, 1941.
He attended boot camp and Radio School at San Diego with H and S Company, 2nd Marines at Camp Elliot.
Kaplan volunteered for 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, Feb. 1942, at first call. He trained at Jacque's Farm, San Clemente and Oahu, as a radioman.
Following the Makin battle he embarked for Midway.
Kaplan was at Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides with Company E during the assault landing at Aola Bay, Guadalcanal, Nov. 4, 1942, and did a 30-day guerrilla mission behind Japanese lines. He was also involved in the battle at Asamana village, Nov. 11, 1942 and the battle of Numa-Numa Trail, Nov. 19, 1943.
After disbandment of Raiders he returned to San Diego, Feb. 14, 1944.
*George MacRae
MacRae joined the Marines at 25-years-old. He was called "Pop" by the 17-year-olds.
He stayed almost four years and then received a medical discharge.
MacRae is from Avalon, Catalina Island, Calif. but was born in Halifax, Canada.
He currently lives in Virginia Beach, Va.
MacRae was a private and a rifleman for the Raiders and carried a B.A.R. He also worked as a demolition man at Emirau.
He arrived late as a Raiders and only saw action at Bougainville, Emirau and Guam where he was wounded by a sniper and spent two years in Naval Hospital in California.
MacRae's memories of Kwajalein, during the war, were of, "only of riding around in a small boat, in a rain squall, at night, looking for the ship that had our mail," MacRae said. "We were on the way to invade Guam in July 1944 and came to Kwajalein to await a date for landing at Guam."
*Mel Heckt
Heckt enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 19. He served 30 months.
He came from Grundy Center, Iowa and now resides in Golden Valley, Minn.
Heckt trained as a Marine Raider replacement in camp Pendleton and trained with it until the Raiders were disbanded Feb.1, 1944.
He became a 4th Marine Regiment and fought the Japanese on Emirau.
"Fortunately, the Japanese had departed a few days before we landed," Heckt said. "Thanks to our Admiral prevailing over Gen. MacArthur, we landed on Emirau instead of the General's designation, namely Kavieng. There were 200,000 to 400,000 Japanese troops on Kavieng. Had the General won the argument, I undoubtedly would not be going to Kwajalein," he added.
"I was a machine gunner on Guam, a squad leader and then section leader and also platoon leader on Okinawa. I ended up a Corporal and was sent back to Quantico for officer training when the war ended."
"Out of 53 machine gunners who made the first wave on Okinawa, I was one of four who were not wounded or killed," Heckt said. "I received a bronze star for my service on Sugar Loaf Hill. The marines were knocked off this hill 11 times before capturing it," he added.
"We set up our evening perimeter, the first night on Okinawa. I heard a marine yelling for help!" Heckt said. "I got five other Marines, who had been Raiders, and started down this thick brush ravine. This Marine started to swear at us to hurry up. His profanity would have made an old salt blush. I swore back and advised we were coming as fast as we could."
"We get down to the bottom of the ravine and who is lying in a ditch, pinned down by a Japanese machine gun, but the most beloved chaplain in the Raiders and 4th Marines, Father Paul Redmond," Heckt added. "My face is red to this day."
"At his 90th birthday party I went up to him as he was sitting in his wheel chair and said, I am Mel Heckt from Minnesota., I promise not to swear at you tonight if you promise not to swear at me. He remembered," Heckt said.
*Ben Carson
Ben Carson was a Private, 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, B Company, 2nd Marine Raider Battalion.
Carson was on the Makin Raid, fought on Guadalcanal, Bougainville and Iwo Jima where he was wounded on his 22 birthday.
"After I got out of the hospital at Pearl Harbor, I returned to what was left of our former battalion and was almost immediately recruited as a squad leader in a newly formed recon platoon," Carson said. "While playing cops and robbers in the hills of the big island of Hawaii I learned that Japan had surrendered. Immediately I began making homecoming plans since I had accrued 123 points toward my discharge and people with 78 points were going home. The Marine Corps succinctly reminded me that I had signed up for a four year hitch and I had four months more to serve," he added.
Carson continued," I was appointed an acting platoon Sgt. and placed in charge of a mob of 32, just graduated, recruits, destined for the occupation of Kyushu Island, Japan."
"The morning we landed at the Sasabo Naval Station seaplane ramp, the contingent officer questioned me as to what controls I had taken to prevent the most feared incident that could screw up an occupation--an accidental discharge of a weapon," Carson said. "I showed that officer the contents of my back-pack. Every single ammunition clip and rifle round issued to my mob was in my pack."
"As a Makin Raider I performed all the duties that could possibly be assigned to a rear rank private. Everything from peeling potatoes to operating the enlisted men's toilet on the Argonaut submarine underway to Makin," Carson said. "My official post was Tommy Gunner in a three-person fire group."
"My only memory of Kwajalein during the war was a brief touchdown and refueling of our hospital plane, on our way from Guam to Pearl Harbor. The greatest impression made upon that group of shot-up gyrenes, at that brief stop, was the pilot and co-pilot supporting an almost inert navigator who, apparently had just been rescued from some officers' bar, and as that trio passed through us, sitting on the floor of the plane, the skipper kept assuring everyone that the inert figure would not be permitted to drive," Carson added.
Lewis Marsh son of Marine Raider Dan Marsh
Lewis Marsh was Dan Marsh's youngest child. When he was five-years-old the family moved to Phoenix Ariz., where they live today. He went to Bible College and is a Minister, serving Christ's Church on the River in Parker, Ariz., where he has been for 16 years.
His father, Dan Marsh signed up to be a Marine right after Pearl Harbor and trained at the Marine Recruit Training Depot in San Diego. After graduating he spent time training others, guarding the newly formed Camp Pendleton, until it was established, and preparing to go overseas.
He heard about the Raiders right as he left for a weekend leave. By the time he returned a buddy joined the 2nd Raiders. Marsh interviewed and joined Company Q, which later changed to Company D, of the 4th Raiders.
He served with the 4th Raiders Battalion throughout its entire existence. He fought with them in New Georgia and transferred to the 3rd Battalion when the Raiders became the 4th Marines.
He served there under Stormy Sexton, throughout the campaigns of Guam and Okinawa. He was among the Marines who occupied Japan.
Returning home, Marsh married, had two girls and then shipped off to Korea, where he served in A Company, 1st battalion, 1st Marines of the 1st Marine Division. He fought in the Chosin Reservoir campaign, before returning home.
"Almost six years ago my father and I put together the first web site on the internet solely devoted to the Raiders," Lewis said. "It's still there today and has a lot of info on him and the Raiders that I know you'd find helpful. He wrote the original articles, I do the web page design and posting."
*John McCarty
McCarty is an honorary member of the Marine Raider Association and editor of the Raider Patch a quarterly newsletter.
He served in the United States Army in the 2nd Infantry Division, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion.
A family friend and a man who was engaged to McCarty's sister, Robert B. Maulding, was and original member of the Carlson's 2nd Raider Battalion. Maulding was killed in action during the Makin Raid.
"I am indeed looking forward to our visit to Kwajalein and bringing final closure to the Makin story," McCarty said. "Bob Maulding was one of the 19 Raiders discovered, recovered and repatriated by CILHI and I worked very closely with them during the ID process."
"Thirteen Raiders were buried at that time," he added. "Six were buried at the hometowns at the requests of family."
William Carroll
William Carroll, originally from Indiana, at 18-years-old enlisted in the Marines.
He was a 2nd Battalion Marine Raider in the battles at Guam, Bougainville, Solomon Islands Campaign and Okinawa.
Carroll hasn't seen Kwajalein since 1944, when his ship was on its way to invade Guam and they stopped off on Kwaj to stretch their legs, according to Carroll.
"We got a couple of warm beers," he said. "I can't believe there is anything but sand there [Kwajalein]", Carroll added.
History of the Marine Raiders
In 1942 the idea of a new and elite fight force brought about the inception of the Marine Raiders. This guerrilla-type force changed the face of warfare with amphibious raids and commando-type fight styles being their focal point. The Marine Raiders disbanded in 1944.
Below is the timeline of the formation of the Marine Raiders.
Feb. 16, 1942 - 1st Raider Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Merritt A. Edson.
Feb. 19, 1942 - 2nd Raider Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Evans F. Carlson. [Makin Raiders]
On Aug. 7, 1942 - The 1st Raider Battalion attacked Tulagi as a part of the first amphibious ground counter offensive against the Japanese.
On Aug. 17-18, 1942 - Two companies of the 2nd Raider Battalion debarked in rubber boats from the submarines Nautilus and Argonaut and slipped ashore on Makin.
Sept. 12, 1942 - A and B companies prepared to enter Guadalcanal. They landed on Aola Bay led by Lt. Col. Carlson and operated behind enemy lines for 37 days. This mission is also know as the Long Patrol
Sept. 20, 1942 - 3rd Raider Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Harry B. Liversedge. This was the only Raider Battalion formed overseas.
Oct. 16, 1942 -Japanese Vice Admiral Koso Abe executed nine Marine Raiders on Kwajalein.
Oct. 23, 1942 - Lt. Col. James Roosevelt commanded the 4th Marine Raider Battalion until May 1943 when Lt. Col. Michael S. Currin took over the command.
Marines Arrive on Kwajalein
On Nov. 8, 2003, Marine Raiders, accompanied by family and friends, disembarked Continental Airlines and stepped foot on Kwajalein, some for the first time.
Yet for the other Marines this was the final chapter of a story, which started 61 years ago, with a raid on Makin Island.
One by one, they came down the ramp and crossed the tarmac. Applause broke out, from Kwaj residents, as each member of the Raider party entered the terminal.
Looks, on the faces of the Marines, ranged from sadness to joy. They were here to pay tribute to their missing and fallen comrades and dedicate a monument to those who died on Kwajalein.
They attended an island orientation at the Yokwe Yuk Club and a welcome dinner, hosted by Col. Jerry Brown, that evening.
Col. Jerry Brown gave an introduction speech, at the dinner and compared Kwajalein to cross between Star Wars and Leave It to Beaver. He also praised the 11 on-island Marines for all their hard work and dedication on the Marine Birthday Ball, held Monday night.
He ended his speech with a Semper Fi and Hooah, a tribute to the Marines.
Elmer Mapes, a 2nd Battalion Marine Raider, and sponsor Diane Atchley, went for a sunset-drive around Kwajalein.
"This is so beautiful," Mapes remarked, as he looked out over the lagoon.
For many revisiting Kwajalein sparked memories of other battles. For those who had never been to Kwajalein, just the South Pacific atmosphere brought back those memories.
Brian Quirk
Kwajalein is civilized now, Makin Raider, Brian Quirk said. It was very primitive then.
"The hospitality of the Kwajalein people transcends all else," Quirk said.
In 1944, we laid over for four hours, drinking beer and playing ball here, Quirk said, but we were mainly drinking beer.
Quirk was on of the 222 marine Raiders who stormed the beaches of Makin Island in 1942 under the command of Lt. Col. Evans Carlson.
Norm and Debbie Black, residents of Kwajalein, sponsored Quirk.
Quirk said, "The Blacks treated me like I am someone special and I am not."
He admitted, "I have been dealt a good hand."
He returned from the Makin raid, has a loving wife of 60 years and seven children, Quirk said.
Dr. Ervin Kaplan
It was a long flight Dr. Ervin Kaplan said, but it was easier to get here on a plane than an outrigger canoe.
Kaplan was a 2nd Battalion Marine Raider, who took part in the Long Patrol on Guadalcanal.
Kaplan said he came on this trip, to Kwajalein, as a Marine Raiders and as a tribute to the men executed on Kwajalein.
This trip to Kwajalein brought back his memories of serving as a Raider during the Long Patrol at Aola Bay, he said.
Kaplan said, 266 men were in the Marine Raider B and C Company and about 3,000 Japanese held the mouth of the river. In 1942, they attacked the East-West trail, a Japanese strong hold, he added.
Kaplan said they knocked out the "Pistol Pete" a gun which the Japanese used shell American troops.
After the assault, 16 Marines died and the Japanese officially lost 415, according to Kaplan.
He recalled eating only one meal a day while on the Long Patrol. The only food they carried with them was some salt pork, sugar, dry rice and raisins, he said. They could not carry C-rations because it was in a can and that was too heavy, and K-rations didn't exist yet, Kaplan added.
He cooked in his helmet. He rendered the salt pork and cooked it with the rice and river water, then added sugar and raisins to it, Kaplan said.
"That was our meal," Kaplan said. "When we finished the mission we looked like pale ghosts," he added. "We were a skinny beat up bunch, but we accomplished the goal."
Kaplan returned to the 1998 Guadalcanal dedication ceremony.
"It was quite a change from sleeping in a hole in the ground to an 18x18 square foot room, in a hotel," he said.
Mel Heckt
Marine Raider Mel Heckt said his memory of Kwajalein is vague.
"They tell me I was here but I don't remember it," Heckt said. "We were on one of the islands here. It was much more desolate [than now]. They gave us two cans of beer and that was our R and R."
This was after he had spent two months on a landing craft.
Hecht said, "I am so happy to have made this trip. We are grateful for what the Army has done."
He said the people here have bee so warm and friendly he really enjoyed his trip.
"It meant a great deal to me to make this trip to eulogize and memorialize the lives of the nine Makin Raiders who were beheaded here by Japanese Vice Admiral Koso Abe. Thank God he got his." Heckt said as his eyes watered-up. "It brings a partial closure."
"We have been working hard to bring the four Raider Battalions together," Heckt said.
He added Lt. Col. Harry B. Liversledge, Lt. Col Evans Carlson and Maj. James Roosevelt were all good leaders.
Heckt recalled when he was with the Raider replacement training unit he was in two movies, Gung Ho and Marine Raiders.
His job in Gung Ho was to run and hit the barbed wire fence and then everyone would run over his back.
A young actor, lying on the fence next to him, cut his finger. According to Heckt the actor received immediate medical attention while Heckt said, "I was bleeding like a stuck hog."
He added that was part of being a Raider.
Heckt also played a small part in the Marine Raiders movie where he was part of a detachment landing on the beach, in a rubber raft.
At 81, Heckt is still a practicing attorney. He deals with estate planning and wills.
Heckt has a mentally challenged child he helps other families plan their estates to care for their mentally challenged children.
Heckt said, "I can't retire. My wife won't let me come home for lunch."
Kenneth [Mac] McCullough
Kenneth [Mac] McCullough, Marine Raider, said Kwajalein reminded him of a vacation resort. Everything is so neat and the people are so wonderful, he added.
He added, "The last Marine Ball I attended was in 1948."
Chuck Meacham
Chuck Meacham, president of the United States Marine Raiders Association, and former Marine Raider, was on Kwajalein during the war.
"It was my first airplane ride in route from Guam to Okinawa," Meacham said. "We landed [on Kwajalein], blew out a tire and almost creamed that thing [the plane]. We were in that tin can [plane] until they finally got it jacked up and the tire fixed."
They were on the tarmac, in the hot sun for about an hour.
He added," I didn't know where I was."
When he stepped of the plane last Saturday Meacham said, "I am impressed with the golf type atmosphere."
Meacham said this was the second Marine Ball he had attended. His first ball was five years ago in Port Angles, Wash.
"How did those folks put that [Marine Ball] together," he added.
During the memorial dedication ceremony Meacham admitted, "That made one get watery eyed." He added, "I choked up."
"We trained hard together. We fought hard together. There is a certain kinship between us, once a Marine always a Marine. Don't tread on us," Meacham said.
Jack Freeling
Jack Freeling, Marine Raider, said, the people here on Kwajalein reminded him of the Marine Raiders. They are so caring and loyal. It is just like being with family.
Roi-Namur Tour
On Tuesday the Marine Raiders went on a tour of Roi-Namur historic battle field. Raiders stated how impressed they were with Roi.
It is like a park on Roi-Namur. There was none of that jungle brush, which tears your clothes, Meacham said.
"It is more than I expected," Mac said. "Roi was interesting. I got a lot of good pictures."
"I thought it [Roi] was beautiful," Marine Raider Milton Horton said. "It is a gorgeous island."
228th Marine Ball
Monday night was a night filled with pageantry and protocol at the 228th Marine Corps Ball. The oldest Marine Raider George McRae, 86, was honored with the first piece of cake. He then passed it to the youngest Marine, Joanna Bucknam, a Kwajalein resident.
Many of the Marine Raiders commented how they felt so honored by the display of respect and warmth.
Horton had never attended a Marine Ball. He said this one was fantastic.
Meacham said he couldn't believe only 11 Marines put together such a wonder ball. This was only the second Marine Ball he had attended.
Makin Monument Dedication Ceremony
In 1993 Jack Miller, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command visual information team lead, started the monument dedication project. On Tuesday, he saw his hard work finalized with the formal unveiling of the Makin Raiders Monument.
Horton said, the dedication ceremony was extremely moving. He added, "I was not completely prepared. It dug a little deeper than I thought."
Horton added, "The two sergeants were two of the best sergeants I ever ran into."
In Meacham's speech, during the dedication of the Makin monument, he said, "Could it be that the location of the remains of the nine young Raiders, who were brought to this island, as prisoners of war, only to be murdered by beheading, will be known only to their God?" He added, "You were and still a part of us. You were and always be Marine Raiders. Semper Fidelis. May you rest in peace."
Kenneth [Mac] McCullough, and Brian Quirk
It was two days in history for the Marine Raiders, who stormed the beaches of Makin Island, in 1942.
Kenneth [Mac] McCullough, and Brian Quirk were two of the 222 Marine Raiders who remembered what it was like to be on Makin Island, during the raid.
"They [Japanese] had no chance with us," Quirk said.
Mac said all the Marines knew where they had to go and what they had to do, once they landed on Makin Island.
"We had dummy runs in Honolulu," said Quirk. "We trained for 10 days."
Mac explained when they left the subs, for Makin Island, they faced 10-15 foot waves and a coral reef, before getting to the beach.
"We knew where we had to go," Mac said.
Both Mac and Quirk said weather and acts of God played a part in the original planned raid on Makin.
The raid hinged on the plan, the Japanese were sleeping. All that changed, according to Quirk
"There was a shot fired upon landing," Quirk said. "If it hadn't been for our training each one of us had we would have been in trouble. Some of the squads were hit hard," he added.
The shot woke the Japanese and in stead of a surprise invasion the Japanese came to them.
Quirk said he was lying on the beach, after the landing and thought, "they can hear that [the shot] in Tokyo."
Quirk said he laid on the beach with his feet in the water he remembered looking at his feet and thinking, "I wonder if I am ever going to get the hell of this island."
Mac said the battle was over around noon and the Raiders had 10 or 11 wounded.
According to Mac, two Japanese planes strafed the Marie's rubber rafts and the subs when the Marines attempted to get back to the subs.
"We were all washed back to the same place [on the beach]," Mac said.
There wasn't much to do until they could make another attempt to get to the subs, Mac said. They had four rubber boats left, he added.
According to Mac the intelligence officer and the other four communication officers died the first morning. He was the only communication officer left.
Mac recalls Lt. Col. Evans Carlson saying to him, "Stick close to me Mac."
"His [Lt. Col. Carlson] outsides were always calm," Mac said. "I don't know what his insides were doing. He was a very unexcitable man."
Mac added, "I was a 20-year-old man. I took to him."
According to Mac, around dusk that night Lt. Col. Carlson decided the only way to get the remaining Marines off Makin was to have the subs meet them on the lagoon side of the island. He instructed Mac to signal the subs with the change of plan.
"I was in this coconut tree," Mac said. "I was signaling the subs."
He was trying to signal the subs with Lt. Col. Carlson plan, using a military issue flashlight. All the radios were destroyed, Mac added.
"I asked them [the subs] to come to the lagoon side around 7 p.m.," Mac said. They kept signaling back one word, "Who".
Mac said he just kept signaling the subs and they kept signaling back, "Who".
Mac told Lt. Col. Carlson what the sub was saying and Lt. Col. Carlson gave Mac the code word. Then he was able to complete his message to the subs.
According to Mac the subs were just verifying who was signaling them.
Mac added once they were on the subs they did not know who got on which sub.
"We couldn't break radio silence to check on the other sub," he added.
When we got to Honolulu there was "brass knee deep" on the dock, Quirk said. They said the raid had been a success, he added.
Milton Horton
While laying in the Kwajalein hospital this last Tuesday, Marine Raider Milton Horton's memory went back to the two days spent on Makin Island in 1942.
Horton joined the Marines on Dec. 31 1941, at 20 years old, but he said "I got much older faster."
According to Horton, when Lt. Col. Carlson made his pitch, about Marine Raiders to a room full of young Marines, he thought, "Who wouldn't want to join that organization."
Horton said, Lt. Col Carlson asked the Marines can you march 50 miles a day, "and we did," Horton added.
"You wanted to be in his organization because it was going to be a good one," Horton said.
Horton recalled the raid on Makin Island and when they Marines left the subs Horton said they were hit with 20 foot waves which would toss the rafts right back at the subs.
According to Horton the waves swept some of the Marines out of the rafts. He was one of those men.
"I cut off my gear," Horton said. But, even with his gear gone he was still sinking.
He then cut off his boot laces and kicked his off his boots.
"I came up then and hit the bottom of the boat," Horton said.
He said he kept hitting the bottom of the boat and bouncing off, when someone reach into the water and grab him, by the shirt collar and pull him on board.
According to Horton he was back in the same seat he had been swept from.
When they reached Makin, Horton said there was a plan to fight in three-man groups. He carried the Thompson machine gun for his group.
"It was a wonderful way to do it [fight]," Horton said.
"We had a plan laid out," Horton said. "We were just following the plan.
After they had taken control of the island Lt Col. Carlson gave out duty assignments.
Horton said, Lt. Col. Evans Carlson ordered him and Earling, "Saki" Matson to burn the stockpiled aviation fuel.
"I was told it looked like we were burning the island down," Horton said. "I didn't see it I ran."
He says he didn't care about being barefoot all he could think of was, "All that airplane gasoline and all those airplanes didn't fly against us or anyone else again."
After two days they left on the lagoon side of the island and rowed out to the waiting subs.
"I was in an oversized row boat, after dark." Horton added. "On the lagoon side it was real nice. We didn't have any trouble at all," he added.
When they arrived back in Honolulu Horton said they had a band playing, an honor guard on the dock and Admiral Nimitz to greet them, Horton said.
"That was a good welcome," he added. "A returning soldier's welcome, but we just did our job."
Horton said he has no doubts about joining the Marines.
"I am proud to be a Marine and proud to be a Marine Raider," he added.
Missing Makin Raiders
from 1942 Makin Island
raid
Anything contained within this site may not be reproduced, copied, printed, distributed or altered in whole or in part without the specific written permission by the author and Website masters.
©2008 All rights reserved. This includes, but is not limited to pictures. They may not be reproduced, copied, printed, distributed or altered in any way without written permission.