The raid inflicted heavy damage and forced the Japanese to divert troops from reinforcing Guadalcanal. Carlson, landed from two submarines on Butaritari Island, Makin Atoll. Ten days later a force of 221 men from the 2d Raider Battalion, nicknamed “Carlson’s Raiders” for its commanding officer, LtCol Evans F. Tested first during the 7 August 1942 Guadalcanal landing, Edson’s Raiders, the 1st Raider Battalion, struck at Tulagi, an island across the channel from the main landing force. Organized in January 1942 and disbanded just two years later, the Raider Battalions were developed as a Marine Corps special missions force, based on the success of the British commandos and Chinese guerrillas operating in northern China.įrom Guadalcanal and the Makin Atoll to Bougainville and New Georgia, lightly armed and intensely trained Raiders had a three-fold mission: spearhead larger amphibious landings on beaches thought to be inaccessible, conduct raids requiring surprise and high speed, and operate as guerilla units for lengthy periods behind enemy lines.

Edson and almost 5,000 Marine Corps Raiders of World War II were legend in the South Pacific.

World war 2 navy ship uss thompson