Warrior's WWII End: Russell Hamler and Merrill's Marauders

In the dense jungles of Burma, now called Myanmar, during WWII, a small group of warriors embarked on an agonizing mission to capture a Japanese airfield. Three months later, the force of 2,600 soldiers, known as Merrill's Marauders, was reduced to a mere 130 survivors. These resilient men, were the forerunners of the Army's Special Operations elite, the 75th Ranger Regiment. Join me as we talk about this extraordinary tale of survival, sacrifice, and the unconquerable spirit that defined these band of brothers and the last survivor, Russell Hamler. This is a chapter of history that demands to be heard. 

Welcome to That's Life, I Swear.  This podcast is about life's happenings in this world that conjure up such words as intriguing, frightening, life-changing, inspiring, and more. I'm Rick Barron your host. 

That said, here's the rest of this story  

When orders are handed over to soldiers, there’s no discussion of why, or feedback on why you don’t agree. You go. 

Such was a mission of men during World War II, to tackle what was not only a dangerous encounter to capture a Japanese-held airfield, but a journey of more than 500 miles through mountainous jungles in North Burma, and dealing with relentless monsoon rains, combat tropical diseases, and struggle with the challenges of malnutrition.

For the 2600 soldiers who took on this mission, their adrenaline was constantly at a high rate as they had to face fierce attacks from superior numbers of enemy troops, The stakes were high, and the dangers were ever-present, 24 by 7.

It was three months into this unbearable journey, that the objective of capturing the airfield was achieved. It was one of the greatest victories that emerged during World War II. Yet, the cost was immense. Of the 2600 soldiers who took on this mission in 1944, only 130 able-bodied soldiers remained. Do the math and you see that 95% of the unit was taken down or wounded in order to achieve the final goal. 

These were just common men. Farmers, mechanics, men with families; individuals who may have not seen the other side of the world, until now.

So, who were these brave souls that did their duty to contribute to the ending of World Two? They were the legendary unit known as Merrill’s Marauders, a unit that was one of the forerunners of the Army’s Special Operations elite, the 75th Ranger Regiment.

One of those brave souls was Russell Hamler. On December 26, 2023, the echoes of history resounded as Russell Hamler, the last survivor of Merrill’s Marauders, took his last breath as he passed away at a veterans’ hospital in Pittsburgh, marking the end of an era. He was 99.

Very young, Russell Homer. Courtesy of New York Times

So, how did Russell find himself in this brave band of men? Imagine yourself in the shoes of this very young man, who, on his 18th birthday in June 1942, left high school to enlist in the Army. Originally stationed in Puerto Rico, he volunteered, like his comrades, for a secretive mission with anticipated casualties reaching up to 85 percent. "In essence, they didn’t think any of us would pull through," Mr. Hamler recalled, reflecting on the audacity of their undertaking.

As a private first class, Mr. Hamler may not have been a leader, but he experienced the full intensity of jungle combat behind enemy lines. Armed with a Thompson submachine gun, he fought in three of the five major battles and numerous lesser engagements. "The jungles were full of Japanese," he recounted. "We did a lot of shooting because they kept coming."

It didn’t take long after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, that Japan's forces overran Southeast Asia, capturing Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indochina. Forced into a humiliating retreat, American General Joseph Stilwell paved the way for a courageous return to Burma. Winston Churchill described the country as the "most forbidding fighting country imaginable," setting the stage for a long-range penetration unit challenging Japanese control.

General Stilwell appointed Gen. Frank Merrill to command the unit, officially known as the 5307th Composite Unit. 

As stated earlier, Russell and the other members of Merrill’s Marauders, had no idea what to expect when they starting marching over 500 miles through mountainous jungles in North Burma.

Try to visualize marching single file through impenetrable bamboo, twisted vines, and menacing banyan trees of the jungle. Along the way these men felt the suffocating tropical inferno. The jungle, a relentless adversary teeming with endemic dysentery and malaria, matched, if not more, the ferocity of the Japanese army.

Envision the profound weariness gripping Russell as he trudged tirelessly until his boots unraveled, his bare feet scorched by the unforgiving ground and eventually walking bare footed.  Russell, eventually got new footwear from parachute drops. Leeches draining the lifeblood along with insects that would burrow into the arms of these soldiers, was a nightmare to deal with. It became a quick harsh reality of survival with each passing moment.

As if Russell and his unit were not dealing with enough already, they learned that for the current environment they were in, silence was not just a choice; it was a matter of survival. The darkness held a sinister secret – any sound, no matter how faint, beckoned the wrath of relentless Japanese shelling. Russell, haunted by the echoes of war, spoke of a chilling reality: absolute silence was the thin line between life and a rain of enemy artillery.

In this ominous theater of conflict, pairs of men became silent sentinels, carving out foxholes in the unforgiving earth. One slept, while the other stood guard, a vigilant watcher in the shadows. Yet, even the exchange of roles was a ritual of silence, a deadly dance choreographed to avoid detection. A taut rope, a lifeline in the stillness, connected the vigilant sentry to his slumbering comrade.

When the time came to switch the guard, the sentry would tug on that lifeline – a silent summons in the blackness. No words uttered; no breath released; just the quiet communication of survival in a nocturnal battleground. In this relentless jungle symphony, the very act of waking became a covert operation, a whispered defiance against the looming threat of Japanese shelling. 

In short, the night itself held its breath, and silence was the currency of life.

The Army provided meager k-rations, which amounted to about 2,830 calories a day, insufficient for soldiers expending far more in the gauntlet of battle. Sometimes facing starvation, the unit resorted to desperate measures—tossing grenades into rivers, scavenging lifeless fish to cook in their helmets. The jungle enforces an eerie silence at night, where any sound became an invitation for relentless Japanese bombardment, echoing through the ominous darkness. The struggle for survival intensifies, echoing through the dense foliage of this harrowing battleground. There were moments I’m sure where some of the soldiers asked themselves, ‘what the hell am I doing here!?’

It wasn’t long before Russell and his comrades found themselves in an intense battle that would last ten days. Marauders dug themselves in on a ridge-top village known as Nhpum Ga. Tasked with holding a position against relentless Japanese banzai assaults, the Marauders found themselves in a brutal defensive struggle, a role they were ill-prepared for. They were constantly hit hard by Japanese mortars and large artillery. For these brave souls, they saw death coming at them for ten days, which may have felt like ten years.

Surrounded, the Marauders fought tooth and nail, orchestrating their battalions in a desperate dance of survival. As the Japanese forces relentlessly attacked a small village, Nhpum Ga, which became a battleground of unimaginable ferocity. 

Yet, victory of the battle came at a staggering cost. The Marauders, battered and depleted, counted 57 of their own as fallen heroes, 302 wounded warriors, and 379 incapacitated by the relentless grip of illness and sheer exhaustion. The Japanese suffered 400 losses. Artillery and mortar fire claimed 75 of their indispensable mules, rendering the battlefield even more treacherous. 

The death of the mules brought another problem, swarms of maggots. Running out of what drinking water they had, the men suffered dehydration and delirium. Learning to quickly improvise, the soldiers chopped apart bamboo in order to suck water from the joints.

Amidst the chaos, a sinister outbreak of amoebic dysentery swept through the ranks, a deadly specter that had eluded them until now. The Marauders, once resilient against the scourge of disease, now found themselves grappling with this unseen enemy, further diminishing their dwindling strength.

In the aftermath, the soldiers renamed the village Maggot Hill as a testament to the sacrifices made, with mules killed in the assault decaying and attracting swarms of maggots. 

Russell was hit during the fighting in the hip by a motor fragment and was immobilized in his foxhole during the 10 days of fighting. That didn’t stop him from fighting as he blasted away with his Thompson submachine gun. Help finally arrived by the Third Battalion that broke through to the village. General Merrill himself suffered a heart attack, and command passed to Col. Charles N. Hunter.

In May 1944, three months after entering Burma, the airstrip in the fortified town of Myitkyina, the mission’s key objective, fell to the Americans and Chinese troops. In August, the town itself was captured, and the Marauders disbanded a week later.

The unit's sacrifice was staggering. In the end the final numbers were 93 combat fatalities in Burma, 30 deaths from disease, 293 wounded, and 8 missing. An additional 1,970 men were hospitalized, including 72 with "psychoneurosis."

After the battle of Nhpum Ga, Russell was evacuated to northern India, spending five weeks in a hospital. Returning home to Pennsylvania, he served as a military policeman until his discharge in December 1945, honored with a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

Russell Hamler's journey continued as he became a mechanic for Trans World Airlines, retiring in 1985. Born on June 24, 1924, in Mt. Lebanon, Pa., he leaves behind a legacy survived by his sons Jeffrey and James, following the passing of his wife, Imelda Hamler, in 2018.

99 year old Russell Homer, receiving the Congressional Gold Medal. Courtesy of the New York Times

In 2022, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to Merrill’s Marauders, a well-deserved recognition, and long overdue, fueled by the lobbying efforts of surviving veterans and family members. At a ceremony near his home, Mr. Hamler received his medal, passionately expressing the horror of war and advocating for the outlawing of wars.

In his vision for a peaceful world, Mr. Hamler proposed a body of international leaders to resolve global issues through dialogue instead of bullets. As reflected in this story, you heard not just the heroism of Merrill’s Marauders but also the enduring spirit of one man who was the very last survivor of this unit, that dealt with the horrors of war and championed the cause of peace. [997 words]

What can we learn from this story? What's the takeaway?

When someone who was once our so-called Commander-In-Chief, says that those who fought and died in such wars as World War Two, as ‘suckers and losers’, remember this. These unselfish group of common men, and others, answered the call to protect and secure the safety of our country.

They didn’t ask, ‘what’s in it for me?’

The United States has its faults for sure, but in the end, it’s a country we can be proud that people like Russell Hamler, and others, was there. [1892 words]

Well, there you go, my friends; that's life, I swear

For further information regarding the material covered in this episode, I invite you to visit my website, which you can find on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, for show notes calling out key pieces of content mentioned and the episode transcript.

As always, I thank you for listening and your interest. 

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