28 Marine Raiders

The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. "Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and "Carlson's" Raiders of 2nd Marine Raider Battalion are said to have been the first United States special operations forces to form and see combat during World War II.

Kenneth Dillon Bailey was a United States Marine Corps officer who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroic conduct during action during the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. He also earned the Silver Star Medal during the initial landing on Tulagi in the Solomon Islands and the Purple Heart.

Fred Dale Beans was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of brigadier general, who is most noted as commanding officer of the 3rd Marine Raider Battalion during the Bougainville Campaign. He was the father of James D. Beans, who also served in the Marines and rose to the rank of brigadier general as his father did.

Richard Earl Bush was a United States Marine master gunnery sergeant who received the Medal of Honor as a corporal for heroism on Okinawa during World War II. On April 16, 1945, Cpl. Bush placed himself on a thrown enemy grenade, absorbing the force of the explosion, saving the lives of his fellow Marines and corpsmen. In World War II, twenty-seven Marines similarly used their bodies against thrown enemy grenades in order to save their comrades' lives. Four of these Marines survived and were awarded the Medal of Honor — Richard Bush, Jacklyn H. Lucas, Carlton R. Rouh, and Richard K. Sorenson.

Evans Fordyce Carlson was a decorated and retired United States Marine Corps general officer who was the legendary leader of "Carlson's Raiders" during World War II. Many credit Carlson with developing the tactics and attitude that would later come to define America's special operations forces. He is renowned for the "Makin Island raid" in 1942, and his raiders' "Long Patrol" behind Japanese lines on Guadalcanal, in which 488 Japanese were killed. Carlson popularised the phrase "gung-ho".

Carlson's patrol, also known as The Long Patrol or Carlson's long patrol, was an operation by the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion under the command of Evans Carlson during the Guadalcanal Campaign against the Imperial Japanese Army from 6 November to 4 December 1942. In the operation, the 2nd Raiders attacked forces under the command of Toshinari Shōji, which were escaping from an attempted encirclement in the Koli Point area on Guadalcanal and attempting to rejoin other Japanese army units on the opposite side of the U.S. Lunga perimeter.

Colonel Justice Marion Chambers was a United States Marine Corps officer who received the Medal of Honor for actions in World War II during the Iwo Jima campaign.

Major General Merritt Austin Edson, Sr., known as "Red Mike", was a general in the United States Marine Corps. Among the decorations he received were the Medal of Honor, two Navy Crosses, the Silver Star, and two Legions of Merit. He is best known by Marines for the defense of Lunga Ridge during the Guadalcanal Campaign in World War II.

Brigadier General Samuel Blair Griffith II, was an officer and commander in the United States Marine Corps. Griffith entered the Marines in 1929 after graduating from the United States Naval Academy. He served in and commanded Marine units in the Pacific theater of World War II and retired from service in 1956. After his retirement, Griffith wrote several books and numerous articles on military history and lectured widely. He died on March 27, 1983, in Rhode Island.

Private First Class Henry Gurke was a United States Marine who was killed in action in 1943 in the Bougainville Campaign of World War II. For his heroic actions, he was posthumously received the Medal of Honor — the highest military honor bestowed by the United States.

Edward Earl Gyatt was a United States Marine killed during World War II who received the Silver Star for his actions in the Battle of Tulagi. The USS Gyatt is named in his honor.

Harold Paul Keller was a United States Marine corporal who was wounded in action during the Bougainville campaign in World War II. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, he was a member of the patrol that captured the top of Mount Suribachi and raised the first U.S. flag on Iwo Jima on February 23, 1945. He is one of the six Marines who raised the larger replacement flag on the mountaintop the same day as shown in the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.

Foster Carr LaHue was a lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps. He saw combat in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War he commanded Task Force X-Ray which was involved in the heaviest fighting at the Battle of Huế.

Brigadier General Harry Bluett Liversedge, whose regiment figured in the historic raising the flag on Iwo Jima, was a United States Marine who died in 1951 after almost 25 years of service. His last assignment was as director of the Marine Corps Reserve.

Andrew Jackson Lummus Jr. was a two-sport athlete at Baylor University, a professional football player with the New York Giants, and an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He fought, and died, at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II and received the Medal of Honor for his valor.

Victor Maghakian, also known as Captain Victor "Transport" Maghakian, was an Armenian American member of the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Having received over two dozen medals and awards, he is considered one of the most decorated American soldiers of the war.

The Marine Raider Museum is located at Raider Hall, 24191 Gilbert Road, Camp Barrett, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Quantico, Virginia. It contains exhibits related to Marine Raiders. It was originally located in Richmond, Virginia, but was moved to its current location in 2005. In 1997, the museum won the prestigious Colonel John H. Magruder III Award from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.

Marine Raiders is a 1944 RKO war film showing a fictional depiction of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion and 1st Marine Parachute Battalion on Guadalcanal, R&R in Australia, retraining in Camp Elliott and a fictional attack in the Solomon Islands. Produced by Robert Fellows, and directed by Harold D. Schuster, it stars Pat O'Brien, Robert Ryan, and Ruth Hussey.

The 1st Marine Raider Battalion is a special operation unit of the United States Marine Corps and a subordinate combat component of the Marine Corps Special Operations Command. The Battalions' organization was finalized in 2006 and is one of three battalions of the Marine Raider Regiment.

The Marine Raider Regiment, formerly known as the Marine Special Operations Regiment (MSOR), is a special operations force of the United States Marine Corps, part of Marine Corps Special Operations Command (MARSOC). Renamed for its predecessor, the elite World War II Marine Raiders, this unit is the principal combat component of MARSOC, which is the Marine Corps' contribution to the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

Oscar Franklin Peatross was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of major general who served as Marine Raider in World War II and was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism on August 17–18, 1942. He also served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

James Roosevelt II was an American businessman, Marine, activist, and Democratic Party politician. The oldest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, he received the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism while serving as a Marine Corps officer during World War II. He served as an official Secretary to the President and in the United States House of Representatives representing California.

Lieutenant General Alan Shapley was a United States Marine Corps officer who survived the sinking of the USS Arizona during the World War II attack on Pearl Harbor, and went on to serve with distinction in the Pacific Theater and later in the Korean War. He was awarded the Silver Star for his gallantry on December 7, 1941, and later the Navy Cross for his extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Guam. His last command was as the commanding general of the Fleet Marine Force, Pacific.

Michael Strank was a United States Marine Corps sergeant who was killed in action during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. He was one of the Marines who raised the second U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi on February 23, 1945, as shown in the iconic photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima by photographer Joe Rosenthal. Of the six Marines depicted in the photo, Strank was the only one to be correctly identified from the beginning; the other five were either assigned the wrong locations, or, were given the names of Marines who were not actually in that particular photo.

Sergeant Clyde A. Thomason was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism at the cost of his life while leading an assault in the Makin Islands on August 17, 1942. Thomason was the first enlisted Marine to receive the Medal of Honor during World War II.

Gunnery Sergeant William Gary Walsh was a United States Marine who heroically sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow Marines during the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. For his actions on February 27, 1945, he posthumously received the Medal of Honor.

Lewis William Walt, also known as Lew Walt, was a United States Marine Corps four-star general who served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Walt was decorated several times, including two Navy Crosses for extraordinary heroism during World War II, one for leading the attack on "Aogiri Ridge" during the Battle of Cape Gloucester ; the ridge was renamed "Walt's Ridge" in his honor.

Edwin Bliss Wheeler was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of major general. He served with famous Marine Raiders during World War II and earned the Silver Star for gallantry in action. Wheeler served two tours of duty in Vietnam, as commanding officer of 3rd Marine Regiment in 1964–1965 and later as commanding general of 1st Marine Division in 1969–1970.