The Marauders

 The last of Merrill's Marauders died last month.  His name was Russell Hammer.  

I'm always in search of stories to share with my dad on our daily phone calls.  I knew Mr. Hammer's obituary in the NYT would be just the ticket. Of course Dad knew all about the Marauders, so as I read facts from the obituary, he added facts from his background knowledge. 

Even after the phone call, I can't stop thinking about the Marauders.  They went through hell trekking  through Burma fighting the Japanese in 1943. They only had what they could carry. Every once in awhile, parachutes would drop extra supplies. Between parachute drops, the Marauders were starving, so they threw grenades into a river, skimmed the dead fish from the surface, and cooked them in their helmets. 

Cooked the fish in their helmets.  I don't know why but that part really gets to me.

In the last few years of his amazing life, Russell Hammer spoke about his dream for a warless world:

He proposed a body of international leaders to solve the world’s problems. “This group would get together and iron it out in words instead of bullets,” he said. “I would like to see a peaceful world.”

I admire Mr. Hammer.  His life and his dream for peace will live on in my memory and on this blog.