| All Original Written Material copyright 1999,
Dan Marsh; all original artwork copyright 1999 by Louie Marsh. Please use with permission
only. |
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Comments
in Red are from Louie, the Web Master & son of the author
Comments in Blue are
from Dan Marsh, the author of this page & former Marine Raider.
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Author & Son working on this site! |
Flo, Dan & Louie ready for a Raider Reunion |
It is with great sadness that I am
contacting you to report that another Raider has entered Heaven’s gate.
My father, Retired Sgt Maj. Neil P. Stiles passed has passed away. Neil
P. Stiles joined the Raiders in November of 1942 and served as a CPL. in
4CP. He was wounded 20May45 at Okinawa and received the Purple Heart
and Bronze Star. He retired as a SGT. MAJOR. He was a member of the
Raider Association.
We just received this
from Karen Loving-Carlson:
Carlson Symposium and
Exhibition to be held at University of South Carolina, 23 October 2006.
A Symposium and Exhibition in honor of Brigadier General Evans F.
Carlson, famed leader of the 2nd Raider Battalion, will be held at the
University of South Carolina, Rare Books Wing of the USC Library in
Columbia on Monday, the 23rd of October, 2006.
The opening ceremonies and preview of the Exhibit will start at 3:00 PM
with a symposium following. The Exhibit will continue through December
15th, 2006. In attendance will be a delegation from the Peoples
Republic of China that will include the children of three of the Chinese
guerillas who accompanied Carlson in North China when he was assigned to
observe the Chinese Resistance of the Japanese invasion.
The Exhibition will feature the Carlson family archives of letters,
diaries, photographs, and maps along with medals, weapons and other
artifacts belonging to General Carlson. This will be the first time the
collection has been made available for public viewing.
For further information and to be placed on the invitation list please
contact TCLRareBooks@gwm.sc.edu.
Mini-Reunion
Reno, Nevada-Tuesday &
Wednesday
May 11-12,
2004
John Ascuaga's NUGGET HOTEL/CASINO
1100 Nugget Avenue, Sparks, NV 89431
ROOM RESERVATIONS:
1-800-648-1177
(Code: GMR-4)
Room rates $73.00,
5/11-5/12...
request EAST TOWER
For more
information call:
Bob
Kennedy,1EB
(801) 277-3414
Archie
Rackerby
(530) 273-4220
SENATOR JOHN WARNER INTRODUCES
MARINE CORPS 230TH ANNIVERSARY
COMMEMORATIVE COIN ACT
Senator John W. Warner,
R-Va., Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and several
colleagues, introduced legislation today establishing a commemorative silver
dollar coin celebrating the 230th birthday of the United States
Marine Corps.
Senator Warner said,
"Over the course of its illustrious 230-year history, the United States
Marine Corps has fought gallantly in defense of the United States, just as
thousands of brave marines are doing today in Operation Iraqi Freedom."
Proceeds from sales of the
commemorative coins will provide funding toward the construction of the Marine
Corps Heritage Center in Prince William County, Virginia, near Quantico.
Planned for completion in November 2005, the center will offer historical
displays for public viewing, curation and storage of artifacts, research
facilities, classrooms, offices, and further activities associated with the
mission of the United States Marine Corps
"Through this center,
all Americans will be able to learn about and appreciate the values of the
United States Marine Corps," Senator Warner said. "My hope is
that the center will provide an important contribution to American history,
honoring our Marines as they protect our country."
The bill has been referred
to the Senate Banking Committee, where it awaits further consideration.
Also
- please note that the Raider Museum would appreciate receiving the
serial numbers from former Raiders. You can e-mail them to geo13macglo@verizon.net
or send them to 3332 King Richard Ct., Virginia Beach, VA.
9//7/2001We
have just returned from the annual reunion of the U.S. Marine Raider
Association in Washington DC, which is always a joyous event. Old Raiders,
once again, sharing in the best of times and discussing the worst of
times. However, this gathering was very special, being centered on the
internment at Arlington National Cemetery of thirteen of Carlson's Raiders
who fell during the Makin Raid, 17-18, August, 1942.
We both marveled and rejoiced at the great number of family members,
friends and neighbors who were in attendance. In my mind, the finest
tribute the fallen Raiders would ever receive. The Full Honors Church
Service at Fort Meyers and Full Honors Burial Service at Arlington were
events that touched our hearts and will always haunt our souls.
Relatives remembering their Raiders short life and the times they
were together. Old Raiders, this one anyway, recalling all those we
wrapped in Poncho's, gave a hasty burial whenever and wherever; or later
in the war set aside to be collected by Grave Registration details to
perform their ghastly work.
During the long roll--their was time to remember each and every one--Gung
Ho!
7/4/2001 - Raider
Historian Jerry Beau and George MacRae are asking that all surviving
Raiders or their families help out the Raider Association compile a more
complete record of the Raiders by doing the following:
Please send copies of your discharge papers, copies of
DD214 (issued in later years), a picture of your Raider in uniform (if you
have it) or current photo. If the Raider has died then a copy of his
obituary would also be helpful. Anything else about that person of
interest or historical nature is also welcomed.
You may e-mail some of this info to George MacRae by clicking
here - or snail mail to Jerry Beau, at the address in your Raider
Directory!
Sunday, February 18th,
marked the 3rd anniversary of the initial posting of our website on the
internet. This year the day passed, for various reasons, without fanfare
or special additions to our presentation concerning the legacy of the U.S.
Marine Raiders. That does not indicate, however, that the past year was
less meaningful than preceding ones. We wish to express our earnest
appreciation of the support, encouragement, respect and trust extended to
us by the viewers of our site. Encompassing Raiders, their families,
active duty and retired Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force, the CLHI, and
the many who provided pictures and historical information to enhance our
presentation. We are always blessed when, provided the opportunity via
e-mail or the Raider Talk Page, to answer questions and supply as much
information our resources permit. Since the Talk Page is an open forum,
others may provide helpful assistance as well. The past three years has
created in Louie and I a deep sense of family toward you all!---May God's
Blessings surround you as the current year unfolds!
Gung Ho!
Dan and Louie Marsh
For Immediate Release AP-Chicago City Desks
Subj: Marine Raiders 50th Anniversary National Convention (12-17 Sep00 at
Rosemont, Illinois...
When the expected 250 U.S. Marine Raiders convene
their 50th Anniversary National Convention at the Radisson Hotel,
Rosemont, Il (12-17 Sep00) they are looking foward to visiting with their
Fallen Comrades (KIA) next of kin.
The four Raider battalions, also known as 1st
Raider Regiment, totaled 8,065 from August 1942 until their re-designation
as the 4th Marine Regiment in January 1944. There were former Raiders who
were transferred to Marine Divisions prior to January 1944 to include
combat service of Iwo Jima and Tarawa. During the total war period the
combat statistics totaled: KIA 902...Wounded 2479...Died-Wounds 74...MIA
26.
They were credited with killing a general ratio of 10 Japanese for every
one American Marine. There were few Japanese prisoners.
Other convention business will include; 1)A Wreath Laying ceremony on Lake
Michigan at Great Lakes Training Center on Thursday, 14 Sep 00 - Noon. 2)
a report from the US Army Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii, the
Makin Island recovery team. 3) The naming of Charles Lindberg (richfield,
MN) as the Marine Raider of Year 2000, (Lindbergh, A Silver Star
recipient, is the lone remaining Raider who was a member of the original
flag raising group on Mr. Surabachi, Iwo Jima.). 4) A Peace Corps
representative from Guadalcanal which is currently being
"rocked" by insurgents.
Next of Kin (visiting day is Wednesday,
13Sep00(Noon to 4:00 pm) or any evening except Saturday. All Makin Raider
relatives, and relatives of Marine Raiders are invited to attend.
Convention Scheduled events include the
following;
Wednesday, September 13 Next of Kin Day
Gambling Boat, Roaring 20's & blues Tour
Thursday, September 14
Memorial Service, Grat Lakes Naval Training Center Tour
Friday, September 15
Chicago Sight Seeing Tour & Lake Cruise
Saturday, September 16
Shopping Woodfield Mall
CILHI presentation (Makin Recovery) and banquet
Sunday, September 17
Farewell Breafast
Registration contact Steve Klos
1571 W. Victoria
Street Chicago, Il 60660
Hotel Reservation inquiries; Ramada
O'Hare-Chicago-Rosemont, Illinois - 60018 tele 708-827-1531
5/23/00--Al Careaga, 1D,
has established a fund for the creation of a bronze Memorial Plaque in
honor of Brig. Gen. Harry B. Liversedge, known to the Raiders as
"Harry the Horse." The estimated cost is $2000.00 of which
$425.00 has been forthcoming. The General will be depicted in Bas Relief
on the plaque, the Globe and Anchor, the Suribachi Flag Raising and
pertinent information concerning his service in the Corps. It will be
anchored to a marble base and located in the center of Volcano, the
General's birthplace.
All contributions will
be handled by The United States Marine Raider Assoc. who support the
Memorial project and will pay all invoices. Donations exceeding the
Memorial's cost will be applied to the Liversedge Scholarship fund.
Contributions should be mailed to: The United States Marine Raider
Assoc.,Inc. ATTN: John Dornan, 704 Cooper Court. Arlington, TX 76011.
Please designate for the
Liversedge Memorial fund or LMF. Questions may be directed to Al Careaga
by telephone at (916) 723-3786 or e-mail as follows: alcareaga@webtv.net.
Semper Fidelis!
2/18/2000 - Beginning
Monday, Feb. 21, Louie and I will celebrate, in a special way, the 2nd
Anniversary of our website. Aware of how inadequate words can be in
expressing human emotions; we will travel a different route. Each day, for
five days, we will present new and interesting additions to content of our
site. This will be our way of saying how humbled, and greatly blessed, we
have been by the support, encouragement, kind and generous words received
from the visitors to our site. The site has grown immensely this year
through the generosity of those who have contributed pictures, personal
accounts and other material for which we are very thankful. We invite
everyone to join in our celebration believing you will be pleasantly
surprised.--Semper Fidelis!
Dan and Louie Marsh
1/25/2000
- We have received
the following information concerning the annual Western Area Raider
Mini-Reunion to convene in Reno, Nevada, May 9-10, 2000.
Location: John Ascuaga's Nugget Hotel/Casino
1100 Nugget Ave., Sparks, Nevada 89431
Reservations: 1-(800)-648-1177 (Code GMRRR)
Hospitality Room: Open Tuesday-Wednesday, May
9-10
Transportation: Free shuttle to Hotel from
Airport
Rooms: Tower luxury rooms-$70.00 Plus tax.
Single budget rooms $40.00 plus tax. Handicap rooms available in East
Tower.
For detailed information contact one of the
following:
Bob Kennedy-1EB-(801)-272-3414, Bob
Baldwin-2H-(509)-926-1455
Archie Rackerby-3K-(530)-273-4220, Bob
Mathews-4HQ-(916)-624-3966
NO FEES-NO TOURS-NO MEETINGS-NO BANQUET!
12/15/99 - I
have received this wonderful and encouraging message from Don Harn of The
Fallen Comrades Committee of The Marine Raider Association:
We have word that
Makin MIA's are finally found and will be returned to Hickam field with
full military honors Thursday or Friday.... if you have any
Marines in Hawaii please let them know so
that they can attend the ceremony at Hickam Field... I think there will be
news reports on this . Don Harn,Fallen Comrades Committee..
I have also learned from
Archie Rackerby via telephone that they found eleven gravesites with
remains, some dogtags and other marine related equipment. The remains are
being brought to Hawaii for further work of identification which will be
very time consuming and will require specific DNA samples in the
identification process. Let us keep all involved including surviving
family members in our prayers.
Dan Marsh 4 D/Q
THE PASSING OF A
GREAT MAN & MARINE
6/8/99-
Belatedly, with a deep sense of loss, we report the passing from this life of an
outstanding Marine Raider Officer, Martin J."Stormy" Sexton, June 1, 1999.
I had the privilege, with many others, of serving under Stormy and benefiting from
the exercise of his incredible gifts of leadership and command. It is my conviction that
Stormy would not want us to mope about or "cry in our beer" as some say. Instead
he would say to us in no uncertain terms "saddle up and get on with it".
Accordingly, I intend to do just that, but perhaps he would not mind if now and then I
whispered quietly--SO LONG STORMY.
5/28/99-Plans have been finalized
for the annual U.S. Marine Raider Reunion that will convene September 4-9 at the U.S.
Grant Hotel, San Diego CA. Complete details, including registration forms activities
schedule and travel instructions are provided in the May Issue of the RAIDER PATCH.
Included in the scheduled activities is a tour of the new Raider Museum located in the
MCRD Museum and a day long visit to Camp Pendleton. That should strengthen your resolve to
attend. If you have questions or need more information regarding the activities please
call:
Rob Wallace
Reunion Activities Director
San Diego Inbound Tours
1-800-226-7477
For hotel reservation call:
U.S. Grant Hotel
1-800-334-6957
Louie and I look forward to seeing
you all again in San Diego!
5/22/99-
George MacRae, Assistant Curator of the Marine raider Museum, Richmond VA. is searching
for Photographs, Artifacts, Articles or Stories relating to the Navy Corpsmen who served
with the four Raider Battalions. He wants to enhance the current exhibit and needs our
help. Therefore, if you have any of the above, you can donate to the Museum in honor of
our corpsmen Please contact George in any of the following ways.
Snail Mail- 3332 King Richard
Ct..Va. Beach,VA 23452-5713
Telephone-(757) 498-9881
e-mail-woodlot@erols.com
Your assistance will be greatly
appreciated by all concerned---Gung Ho!
1st Anniversary Message from
Raider Dan
Words are important, and for most of us,
have a well defined meaning. Through them we express the entire range of our innermost
thoughts and emotions. They are a very basic and integral part of our daily lives.
There are times however, when they will not
encompass all that we want to communicate. This was the frustrating situation that
confronted us, as the anniversary of our first year on the internet drew near. How could
we express our appreciation to the thousands who had visited our site and made each day an
exciting yet humbling experience.
Louie saw the need to go beyond words and
suggested we hold a week long anniversary celebration at our site. His plan was to upload
new information each day for five consecutive days beginning 22 Feb. to demonstrate how
thankful we were for the support we had received. I scrambled aboard and we set about
transforming his plans into reality.
The new material that will be presented, was
for the most part, made available through the cooperation and consent of some very
gracious people. You will meet them day by day as our celebration unfolds.
The "new stuff", as Louie calls
it, will be displayed on a new anniversary page that he has designed. Including, a new
Raider anniversary logo, new Raider banner and new navigation bar.
Our purpose is to thank you for entering
into our effort to keep the Raider legacy alive. We are saying--you are SPECIAL--you are IMPORTANT to us!
Gung Ho!
9/25-The annual Marine Raider
Reunion is something we look forward to with great excitement and anticipation. The recent
Reunion in Springfield, Missouri was outstanding in many ways but, suddenly became very
special by one specific event.
During the business meeting we were
informed that, following an absence of 54 Years Marine Raiders were again to be an
official operational combat unit in the U.S. Marine Corps. "Stormy" Sexton
explained to us that one company of each BLT had been officially designated a Raider
Company. They will be assigned true Raider missions, and receive the specialized training
required to accomplish those missions, utilizing the sophisticated weaponry, equipment and
modes of transportation available today. The designated companies will also be authorized
to wear the same Raider Patch we have worn proudly for so many years.
I think all of us received the news
initially with great shock then slowly realized what an honor we had received by these
specialized units being designated Raider Company's. We would like to welcome the new kids
on the block with a resounding Gung Ho!----and the slogan we inherited from the Fourth
Marines "HOLD HIGH THE TORCH!
8/1 - We did indeed have an
amazing July! The month began with 982 hits, and ends with a whopping 1775!! That means in July we had a total of 793 hits!
That's almost equal to what we had done in the 4 1/2 month prior! All we can say is
THANK YOU ALL! Semper Fi!
7/31- We've had a fantastic
month thanks to all of YOU! Please notice the new Navagation drop down menu, new little
messages on our graphics, and tomorrow I'll be back to give you our July stats!
7/2 - Well, you guys have done it
again and in achieving our goal of 1000 hits by 4 July, you have demonstrated the true
meaning of Gung Ho! We are not equal to such support and encouragement, so empty of words,
we extend to you all our sincere thanks and--Hand Salute.
Hey what else can I say except -
Whooooooo Hoooooooooo!
The Raider
Challenge!!
Here's a goal Dad
and I have set for the site - and it's a doozy. We'd like to see the site reach 1000 hits
by July 4th! Yes - you read that right - 1000!! Can we do it? Only with the Gung Ho (work
together) spirit! So let all your friends know about the site and let's go over the top!!
5/12/98--The number of visitors to our site
has passed the 500 mark and we continue to be astonished at the wonderful reception given
our presentation of the Raider story. We have been encouraged and blessed by those who
signed the Guest Book and shared their thoughts with us. Louie and I are also very pleased
that we have been able to answer the enquiries of some or provide the assistance they
needed. We appreciate and give a hand salute to those retired marines who have provided
links from their sites to ours and in many other ways actively supported our endeavor.
Thanks to all--Semper
Fidelis.
5/2/98--We experienced a deep sense of loss
on learning that Steve Zentner 2EH, suffered a massive heart attack and passed from this
life 30 April,while vacationing in Death Valley. His presence among the Raiders will be
greatly missed and we seek God's comfort and strength for his family. The Raiders Present
Arms--and Sound Taps.
4/7/98 - If you haven't checked it out
yet be sure and go to our NEWEST feature yet - and discover what a Raider
Reunion is all about! Thanks for all the visits and kind comments - please keep
telling your friends about this site!
3/18/98--Our web site has been on line for a
month and the response of viewers has been overwhelming to both Louie and I. The number of
visitors has far exceeded our expectations, and the comments shared in the Guest Book are
both humbling and encouraging. This old Raider has been deeply touched by the interest and
respect shown by the younger generations of marines. To all who have made our debut on the
web such an exciting experience, Louie and I want to say simply from our hearts--Thank
You-and Gung Ho!
3/14 - Friday the 13th turned out to
be a GREAT DAY for our site - as we passed 100 hits! Thanks for your works of
encouragement, and keep spreading the word about this site!
3/4--Louie and I are very pleased and feel
honored that our site has passed inspection by Geocities Pentagon inspection team. Louie
was so excited, that he placed the Award notification in the center of the Homepage, where
it would not be missed. For myself standing inspection brought back memories of the
various inspections routinely required of all marines. You understand of course, that
since I am 76 I remember nothing about inspections of the SHORT kind. The Award is a
source of encourgement to us both, however, we know there are a few pits in the bore of
our site. When you discover one please let us know.
2/25--Some of the literature I have
recommended may not be available in local book stores. The majority of the histories and
books however, are available through the Marine Corps Association
Bookservice. Their
address is; Box 1775 Quantico, Va. 22134 or call toll free (888)-237-7683.
Membership is not required but, prices are slightly higher for non-members.
I have been thinking about the legacy of the Raiders. Perhaps the easiest way to define it
is by utilizing our name and the phrases that represent that name.
Such as:
Marine--Semper Fidelis--Always Faithful
Raiders--Gung-Ho--Look out for the man on your right and the man on your
left.
The definition derived is:
If your are always faithful to the principles on which this country was founded, and
always look out for the man on your right and the man on your right, you will do well and
so will this nation.
Our Slide Show test.
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