_The 10-man rubber boat was designed to be the primary assault landing
craft of the Marine raiders. These members of the 1st Raider Battalion
sprint ashore after a practice landing through the surf on the island
of Samoa in the summer of 1942._]
Carlson’s outfit hardly had arrived in Hawaii when Admiral Chester W.
Nimitz, commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet and the Pacific Ocean
Areas (CinCPac/CinCPOA), ordered two companies of raiders to Midway to
reinforce the garrison in preparation for an expected Japanese attack.
They arrived on 25 May. Company C took up defensive positions on Sand
Island, while Company D moved to Eastern Island. Trained to fight a
guerrilla campaign of stealth and infiltration, these raiders had to
conduct a static defense of a small area. In the end, Navy and Marine
aircraft turned back the invading force in one of the great naval
victories of the war. Combat for the Marines on the ground consisted
of a single large enemy air attack on the morning of 4 June. Although
the Japanese inflicted considerable damage on various installations,
the raiders suffered no casualties. Not long after the battle, the two
companies joined the rest of the battalion back in Hawaii.
_Makin_
During the summer of 1942 Admiral Nimitz decided to employ Carlson’s
battalion for its designated purpose. Planners selected Makin Atoll
in the Gilbert Islands as the target. They made available two large
mine-laying submarines, the _Nautilus_ and the _Argonaut_. Each one
could carry a company of raiders. The force would make a predawn
landing on Butaritari Island, destroy the garrison (estimated at 45
men), withdraw that evening, and land the next day on Little Makin
Island. The scheduled D-day was 17 August, 10 days after the 1st
Marine Division and the 1st Raiders assaulted the lower Solomons. The
objectives of the operation were diverse: to destroy installations,
take prisoners, gain intelligence on the area, and divert Japanese
attention and reinforcements from Guadalcanal and Tulagi.
Companies A and B drew the mission and boarded the submarines on 8
August. Once in the objective area, things began to go badly. The subs
surfaced in heavy rain and high seas. Due to the poor conditions,
Carlson altered his plan at the last minute. Instead of each company
landing on widely separated beaches, they would go ashore together.
Lieutenant Oscar F. Peatross, a platoon commander, did not get the
word; he and the squad in his boat ended up landing alone in what
became the enemy rear. The main body reached shore in some confusion
due to engine malfunctions and weather, then the accidental discharge
of a weapon ruined any hope of surprise.
First Lieutenant Merwyn C. Plumley’s Company A quickly crossed the
narrow island and turned southwest toward the known enemy positions.
Company B, commanded by Captain Ralph H. Coyt, followed in trace as
the reserve. Soon thereafter the raiders were engaged in a firefight
with the Japanese. Sergeant Clyde Thomason died in this initial action
while courageously exposing himself in order to direct the fire of his
platoon. He later was awarded the Medal of Honor, the first enlisted
Marine so decorated in World War II.
The raiders made little headway against Japanese machine guns and
snipers. Then the enemy launched two banzai attacks, each announced
with a bugle call. Marine fire easily dispatched both groups of
charging enemy soldiers. Unbeknownst to the Americans, they had nearly
wiped out the Japanese garrison at that point in the battle.
[Illustration: MAKIN RAID