Evans Carlson
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| Evans Fordyce Carlson | |
|---|---|
| February 26, 1896 – May 27, 1947 (aged 51) | |
 BGen Evans Carlson |
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| Place of birth | Sidney, New York |
| Place of death | Portland, Oregon |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1912–1916, 1916–1921 (USA) 1922–1939, 1941–1946 (USMC) |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands held | 2nd Raider Battalion |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II *Makin Island Raid *Guadalcanal campaign **Carlson's patrol *Battle of Tarawa *Battle of Saipan |
| Awards | Navy Cross (3) Legion of Merit Purple Heart (2) |
Brigadier General Evans Fordyce Carlson (26 February 1896–27 May 1947) was the famed U.S. Marine Corps leader of the World War II "Carlson's Raiders". He is renowned for the "Makin Island Raid" on August 17, 1942 and their "Long Patrol" from November 4, 1942 to December 4, 1942 behind Japanese lines on Guadalcanal, in which 488 Japanese were killed, 16 Raiders were killed and 18 wounded, during the Guadalcanal campaign.
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[edit] Biography
Evans Carlson was born on 26 February 1896 in Sidney, New York, the son of a Congregationalist minister.
[edit] Early military career—U.S. Army
Carlson began his long and colorful military career in 1912, when at the age of 16 he ran away from home and enlisted in the U.S. Army. During his four years in the Army, he served in the Philippines and Hawaii. He was discharged in 1916 as a "top" or first sergeant. Less than a year later, he returned to the Army and participated in the Mexican punitive expedition.
[edit] World War I
During World War I, he saw action in France, and was awarded a Wound Chevron (later exchanged for the Purple Heart) for wounds received in action. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in May 1917, and made captain of field artillery in December 1917. He served in Germany with the Army of Occupation. He was discharged from the Army in 1921.
[edit] Marine Corps career
Carlson's famed career as a Marine started in 1922 when he enlisted as a private. In 1923, he was commissioned a second lieutenant. After duty at Quantico, Virginia, he sailed for Culebra, Puerto Rico in 1924 and remained there five months before being ordered to the West Coast for duty with the Pacific Fleet. Applying for aviation training in 1925, he went to Pensacola, Florida, for instruction, but subsequently returned to duty with ground units. He served another tour of foreign shore duty from 1927 to 1929 at Shanghai, China.
[edit] Nicaragua
Carlson was ordered to Nicaragua in 1930 as an officer in the Guardia Nacional. A first lieutenant at the time, he earned his first Navy Cross for leading 12 Marines against 100 bandits during the Banana Wars. He was also commended for his actions following the 1931 earthquake at Managua, and for performance of duties as Chief of Police in 1932 and 1933.
[edit] Friendship with the Roosevelts
Returning to the United States in 1933, he was placed in command of the Marine Corps Detachment at President Roosevelt's alternative White House and vacation retreat at Warm Springs, Georgia where he became closely acquainted with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his son James Roosevelt.
[edit] China
After his Warm Springs tour Carlson was posted to the 4th Marines in Shanghai. Shortly afterward he was transferred to the Marine Detachment, American Legation, Peiping, China, where he served as Adjutant and studied the Chinese language. In 1936, he returned to the United States via Japan. At home he served at Quantico while attending Marine Corps Schools, and studying International Law and Politics at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
He went back to China for the third time in 1937 as an official student of the Chinese language and as a military observer with Chinese forces. There he was afforded the opportunity to learn the tactics of the Japanese soldier.
He met Edgar Snow in China and read Snow's Red Star Over China. This encounter led him to visit the Chinese communist troop headquarters in northern China, where he met Chinese Communist leaders such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping. Traveling thousands of miles through the interior of China with the communist guerrillas, often on foot and horseback over the most hazardous terrain, he lived under the same primitive conditions. He was impressed by the tactics used by Chinese Communist guerrillas to fight Japanese troops.
When he left China in 1938, he was commended by the Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet for his services. He was so impressed with the danger of Japanese aggression in the Far East that in 1939 he resigned his commission as a captain in order to be free to write and lecture on that subject. When the danger he foresaw neared reality in 1941, he applied to be recommissioned in the Marine Corps and was accepted with the rank of major.
[edit] World War II—Carlson's Raiders (Makin, Guadalcanal); Tarawa, Saipan
A year later, in 1942, he was placed in command of the Second Marine Raider Battalion with the rank of lieutenant colonel. His organization of the battalion was heavily influenced by his observations of Communist Route Armies he had made during his time in China. In the pre-WWII era, there was a sharp caste-system divide between officers and enlisted personnel, and even experienced noncommissioned officers were expected to be subservient to even the newest, greenest second lieutenant. Carlson's experience having gone back and forth between officer and enlisted status in both the Army and the Marine Corps convinced him that this was not in the best interests of the service. Carlson saw the Communist approach as superior. Leaders were expected to serve the unit and the fighters they led, not to be served. Responsibility, not privilege, would be the keyword for battalion leadership when the Second Raiders formed up. Using an egalitarian and team-building approach, Carlson promulgated a new way for senior NCOs to mentor junior officers and work with the officers for the betterment of the unit The later deactivation of the Raiders and the spread of its personnel through the Corps took this proven strategy for successful units across the Corps. Interestingly, the formation, training, and eventual deactivation of the paratroops and Rangers in the Army spread similar ideas as both services' elite units crosstrained and copied each other.
Carlson's leadership of the Second Raiders in the Makin Raid, 17 August 1942, earned him a Gold Star in lieu of a second Navy Cross. A second Gold Star was awarded him for heroism and distinguished leadership on Guadalcanal in November and December of that year.
Colonel Carlson was ordered back to the United States for medical treatment in spring 1943, and served as a technical advisor to Walter Wanger's Gung Ho!: The Story of Carlson's Makin Island Raiders (released December 1943). He subsequently returned to Tarawa as an observer. In its November 1943 engagement he was cited for volunteering to carry vital information through enemy fire from an advanced post to division headquarters.
He was wounded during the 1944 Saipan operation while attempting to rescue a wounded enlisted radioman from a front-line observation post, and was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Purple Heart.
[edit] Retirement
Physical disability resulting from the wounds received on Saipan caused Carlson's retirement on 1 July 1946. He was advanced to the rank of brigadier general on the retired list at that time for having been specially commended for the performance of duty in actual combat.
On 27 May 1947, at age 51, Carlson died as the result of a cardiac ailment at Emmanuel Hospital, Portland, Oregon. He had been living in Brightwood, Oregon, since his retirement. He was survived by his wife, Mrs. Peggy Tatum Carlson, and a son by a previous marriage, Evans C. Carlson.
General Carlson is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
[edit] Navy Cross citations
Evans Carlson was awarded three Navy Crosses—his first for service in Nicaragua and two for his service during World War II.
[edit] First Navy Cross—Nicaragua (May 16, 1930–May 1, 1931)
CARLSON, EVANS FORDYCE
First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps
Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua
Date of Action: May 16, 1930–May 1, 1931
- Citation
The Navy Cross is presented to Evans Fordyce Carlson, First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while attached to the Guardia Nacional from 16 May 1930 to 1 May 1931. Upon joining the Guardia Nacional, First Lieutenant Carlson was assigned at Jalapa in the bandit area of Nueva Segovia. On 8 July 1930, he received a report that a group of one hundred bandits were looting the town of Portillo. He immediately left with a detachment of sixteen men to gain contact. Four the men deserted en route but with the remaining twelve men he pushed on and overtook and gained contact with a group of forty bandits, completely routing them, killing two and wounding seven, without any casualties to his detachment. Arms, ammunition, equipment and clothing looted from the town of Portillo were recaptured. Lieutenant Carlson maintained his district in a most excellent manner and by his activities and well-directed operations kept it singularly free from banditry.[1]
[edit] Second Navy Cross–Makin Island Raid (August 17–18, 1942)
CARLSON, EVANS FORDYCE
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (Reserve)
Commanding Officer, 2d Marine Raider Battalion
Date of Action: August 17–18, 1942
- Citation
The Navy Cross is presented to Evans Fordyce Carlson, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service as Commanding Officer of the Second Marine Raider Battalion in action against enemy Japanese forces on Makin Island, 17–18 August 1942. In the first operation of this type ever conducted by United States forces, Lieutenant Colonel Carlson personally directed his forces in the face of intense fire of enemy ground troops and aerial bombing barrage, inflicting great personnel and material damage on the enemy. In the withdrawal of his forces under adverse sea conditions, he displayed outstanding resourcefulness, initiative and resolute purpose in evacuating all wounded and disabled men. His high courage and excellent leadership throughout the engagement were in keeping with the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.[2]
SPOT AWARD, October 1942
[edit] Third Navy Cross—Long Patrol (November 4–December 4, 1942)
CARLSON, EVANS FORDYCE
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (Reserve)
Commanding Officer, 2d Marine Raider Battalion
Date of Action: November 4–December 4, 1942
- Citation
The Navy Cross is presented to Evans Fordyce Carlson, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism and courage as leader of the Second Marine Raider Battalion in action against enemy Japanese forces in the British Solomon Islands during the period from 4 November to 4 December 1942. In the face of most difficult conditions of tropical weather and heavy growth, Lieutenant Colonel Carlson led his men in a determined and aggressive search for threatening hostile forces, overcoming all opposition and completing their mission with small losses to our men while taking heavy toll of the enemy. His personal valor and inspiring fortitude reflect great credit upon Lieutenant Colonel Carlson, his command and the United States Naval Service.[2]
SPOT AWARD, January 1943
[edit] Decorations
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Navy Cross with two award stars |
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Legion of Merit |
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Purple Heart with one award star |
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Presidential Unit Citation with three award stars |
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Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal |
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World War I Victory Medal with France Clasp |
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China Service Medal |
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Yangtze Service Medal |
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Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal |
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American Defense Service Medal |
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American Campaign Medal |
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Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars |
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World War II Victory Medal |
- Italian Croix de Guerre
- Nicaragua Presidential Order of Merit
- Nicaraguan Medal of Distinction
[edit] Bibliography
Carlson wrote books about his third tour in China when he was attached to the Chinese 8th Route Army:
- Twin Stars of China, Dodd, Mead & Company, 1940.
- The Chinese army its organization and military efficiency, International Secretariat, Institute of Pacific Relations, 1939. (ASIN B00089LO5S)
- Evans F. Carlson on China at War, 1937–1941, China and U.S. Publication. (ASIN B0006F13D2)
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Navy Cross Awards during the 2nd Nicaraguan Campaign, Home of Heroes.
- ^ a b Navy Cross Awards to members of the U.S. Marines in World War II, Home of Heroes
[edit] References
- Brigadier General Evans Fordyce Carlson, USMCR, Who's Who in Marine Corps History, History Division, United States Marine Corps. (URL accessed May 18, 2006)
- Evans F. Carlson, Brigadier General, United States Marine Corps, Arlington National Cemetery profile.
[edit] Further reading
- Blankfort, Michael. The Big Yankee: The Life of Carlson of the Raiders, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1947. (ASIN B0007HNZ8K)
- Haughey, David W. "Carlson's Raid on Makin Island", Feature, Marine Corps Gazette 85(8): 56–64, August 31, 2001.
- Merillat, Herbert C. (Captain, USMCR) The Island: A History of the Marines On Guadalcanal, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1944. (Details Carlson's Long Patrol on Guadalcanal)
- Quirk, Brian J. "Reflections of Carlson's Raiders", Commentary, Marine Corps Gazette 85(8):58–61, August 31, 2001.
- Peatross, Oscar F.; John P. McCarthy and John Clayborne (editors) (1995). Bless 'em All: The Raider Marines of World War II. Review. ISBN 0965232506.
- Smith, George W. Carlson's Raid : The Daring Marine Assault on Makin, Presidio Press, 2001. (ISBN 0-425-19019-6)
- Young, Howard. "Carlson's Raiders on Makin, 17–18 August 1942, Marine Corps Gazette 87(8): August 31, 2003.
- Wiles, W. Emerson "Tripp" (2007). Forgotten Raiders of '42: The Fate of the Marines Left Behind on Makin. Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1-59797-055-6.
[edit] External links
- Richardson-Moore, . "A Marine Legacy", Furman Magazine. Carol Carlson Loving on her grandfather. (PDF file, from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing China)
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