COL Charles N. Hunter De facto field Commander of Merrill’s Marauders (1906-1978)
BIO: Colonel Charles N. Hunter is best known as the deputy commander in the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), code named GALAHAD, but informally known as Merrill’s Marauders.
A 1929 West Point graduate, by the start of WWII Hunter had gained experience in jungle warfare in both Panama and the Philippines. In late 1943, while running a combat training course at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was called upon to help form a new Long Range Penetration Group, modeled on the British Chindits, for service in Burma.
Colonel Hunter arrived in India where he oversaw the training of nearly 3,000 men in jungle warfare and long-range penetration tactics. As the second in command of this new unit, the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), Hunter assumed de facto command when Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill suffered a heart attack and had to be evacuated. This was followed by command of a combined Marauder/Chinese unit known as “H Force,” which seized the Japanese-held airfield of Myitkyina by surprise on 17 May 1944.
In recognition of his extraordinary courage and gallantry exhibited as a combat leader with Merrill’s Marauders, Colonel Hunter was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 1993.
Source: https://arsof-history.org