The United States first Special Forces unit in World War II were known as Marine Raiders. As one Raider explained, Raiders learned a deadly proficiency with the bayonet, they learned to use knives in hand-to-hand combat, and they learned to throw them with the infallible accuracy of vaudeville experts. They were taught to maneuver as well at night as by day, as well in brush as in open country, as well on the flat as in the hills. They learned camouflage and how to climb up and hide in trees. Nothing that would make them superior to any possible foe was overlooked. They learned everything they had to know to defeat their enemies, and they learned it well. With original interviews and never-before-published letters, diaries, and notes, historian and bestselling author Carole Avriett brings the true stories of four WWII Marine Raiders to life: - Lee Minier, 1st Battalion, KIA - Kenneth “Mudhole” Merrill, 2nd Battalion, died Veterans Day, 12 Nov. 2018 - Col. Archibald Rackerby, 3rd Battalion, living - Edwin “The Swede” Blomberg, 4th Battalion, living Marine Raiders gives a gripping account of what it took to become a member of the elite battalions known as Raiders and how they survived their desperate fight in the South Pacific.
