American Commando: Evans Carlson, His WWII Marine Raiders, and America's First Special Forces Mission

I have read a lot of military books and this one is just outstanding. The author has done a remarkable job documenting a group of WW II Marines who were the forerunner of todays popular Spec Ops. Only when you read about their leader, Evans Carlson, and his commitment and leadership style in spite of directions to the contrary, it is one remarkable story. And it isnt just a story, it is a true story of some remarkable men who laid it all on the line for this country and then some. And I learned the origin of the Marine phrase line Gung Ho; and I learned where Marine organization at the squad level into Fire Teams came from ... and did the maverick Carlson get credit, you'll learn after his group nearly single handedly saved the airstrip on Guadalcanal, he was drummed from the Corps in a wave of politics. A unique man, a unique group of men and an unbelievable story of real leadership and human triumph and real war.

This book is extremely well written and thorough. It covers Evan Carlson's life, the genesis, birth and history of Carlson's Raiders including their two most famous actions: The Makin Raid and the Long Patrol. It details Carlson's history with the Chinese Communists studying their tactics against the Japanese and his long, close relationship with President Roosevelt as well as the critical reception his unorthodox methods received from many of his contemporaries in the Marine Corps.

Lt Col Carlson was so far ahead of his peers in the stogy Marine Corps it is hard to imagine. From my own experience in the Army and reading about all American wars, politics still rules the day...Anyone who thinks "out of the box" even when it saves American Soldiers lives is not appreciated by the "Top Brass". Lt Col Carlson is "every fighting mans dream leader"....not a boss, he LED BY EXAMPLE!!! Among others like General Frederick who trained and led the FSSF (First Special Service Force in Italy). Japanese-American soldiers also proved themselves in Italy to be another of the Best soldiers. WW-II had so many heroes but few had the "out of box thinking of Lt Col Frederick and Lt Col Carlson..both are must read books. There is much to learn and REMEMBER from our heroes from WW-II both books mentioned above are MUST READ for a serious History buff.

American Commando By John Wukovitz The "Big Yankee" Evans Fordyce Carlson lives again, he converts a battalion of marines volunteers to Marine Raiders, by training, equipping and indoctrinating them with the philosophy of Nicaraguan jungle fighting and the Japanese terrorizing Chinese 8th Route Army. Follow Carlson from a high school dropout, enlisting in the Army, the Marines, a guerrilla fighter in Nicaragua, to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's personal intelligence officer in China. A predictor of the Jap- anese war he resigns his commission to warn the nation. Comes the war, finding a crippled navy and Japan occupying twenty million square miles of the Pacific. FDR demands commandos and a reluctant Marine Corps succumbs. The Marine Raiders are born, the first special force in the United States military. The 2nd Raiders led by Carlson and Jimmy Roosevelt are trained to a well honed killing machine. The infantry squad is reorganizes into massive fire power by three fire groups each equipped with an M1 rifle a Browning automatic rifle and a Thompson sub machine gun, eventually adapted by the entire Marine Corps. They participated in the defense of Midway; a raid by sub- marines to Makin Island, where the Raiders can not leave the island as their rubber boats are toppled by the raging surf. Carlson is confronted with 120 men ashore, the wounded, 20 armed raiders all other arms lost in the surf and the Presidents son on the island. Spearheading a failed airfield site on Guadal- canal2nd Raiders are ordered to plunge into the back- waters of the Island. They decimated an enemy force of superior size. After thirty days in a jungle hell they emerge victorious from behind enemy lines having killed 488 Japanese and losing 16 killed in action. Not the darling of the Marine Corps, Carlson looses his command, he die at 51 following wars end. The Raiders participated in every assault in the Solo- mon Islands as Raiders and as 4th Marines and indi- viduals in all island hopping events in the Pacific. The Raiders were disbanded in February 1944 after two years of existence. They were the forerunner of the Special Forces now found in every branch of the U. S. military. I can verify the accuracy of this book as I served as a 2nd Marine Raider for the duration of the battalion and of the 266 who made the original landing was one of the 57 who completed the long patrol. This book is incredible well documented. Many surviving Raiders were interviewed and their 65year old memories stim- ulated. the actions of dead raiders was culled from numerous sources. Perhaps this is the best books of many about the Raiders. Ervin Kaplan MD

"American Commando" delivers what it promises: a thorough telling of the story of Carlson's Raiders. In fact, it delivers more than I expected, with a complete narrative starting prior to the inception of the Raiders, their training, then with their first mission to Makin Island, and through their extraordinary ordeal on Guadalcanal. For one who had only the Hollywood movie "Gung Ho" to go by, this book was truly an eye-opener; the film has a long way to go to match the reality. The story is obviously expertly researched and has a good collection of photos.