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Getting to the Fight (Midway Island) (1-1
p. 6)
It did not take long for the raiders to move toward the sound
of the guns. In early April 1942 the majority of the lst Raiders boarded
trains and headed for the West Coast, where they embarked in the Zeilin.
They arrived in Samoa near the end of the month and joined the Marine
brigades garrisoning that outpost. Company D, the 81mm mortar platoon,
and a representative slice of the headquarters and weapons companies remained
behind in Quantico. This rear echelon was under the command of Major
Samuel B. Griffith II, the battalion executive officer. (He had recently
joined the raiders after spending several months in England observing
the British commandos.) This small force maintained some raider
capability on the East Coast, and also constituted a nucleus for a projected
third raider battalion.
The 2d Raiders spent the month of April on board ship learning
rubber boat techniques. The Navy had transferred three of its APDs to
the West Coast, and Carlson's men used them to conduct practice landings
on San Clemente Island. In May the 2d Raiders embarked and sailed for
Hawaii, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 17 May.
Midway Island
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.
BATTLE OF MIDWAY: Action Reports
Battle
of Midway: 4-7 June 1942: Online Action Reports relating to the Battle
Battle
of Midway CinCPac Report
Interrogation
of Japanese Prisoners
Action
Report: Cruisers, Pacific Fleet
Action
Report: Carriers, Pacific Fleet
Action
Report: USS Hornet (CV-8)
Action
Report: USS Enterprise (CV-6)
Action
Report: USS Yorktown (CV-5)
Action
Report: Commander Destroyer Squadron Six, Pacific Fleet
Action
Report: USS Hammann (DD-412)
Action
Report: Oral History - Ensign Gay
* * *
Battle
of Midway: Selections Online
Stopping
the Tide: The Battle of Midway, 4 - 6 June 1942
Marines
at Midway
Campaigns
of the Pacific War - The Battle of Midway
Decision
at Midway
A
Priceless Advantage: U. S. Naval Communication Intellegence
The
Role of COMINT in the Battle of Midway (SRH-230)
The
Japanese Story of the Battle of Midway
Battle
of Midway Photographs
Battle
of Midway - In Commemoration of Lt. (jg) O. B. Wiseman USN
Killed in Action in the Battle. (A must see site)
Battle
of Midway - An Ambitious Site in Preperation
The
Battle that Turned the Tide of the Pacific War
World
War II History Information - Battle os Midway
Why
the Japanese Lost At Midway
The
61st Anniversary of the Battle of Midway
Oral
History - Battle of Midway - Recollections of Commander John Ford, USNR
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