[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20547]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             MERLE JOHNSON

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am pleased and honored to salute 
my constituent Merle Johnson, who served America with bravery and 
distinction behind enemy lines during World War II.
  Merle Johnson joined the National Guard in 1939, at age 16. He was 
mobilized the following year and was sent to Hawaii 2 weeks after the 
attack on Pearl Harbor.
  In October 1942, he was sent to the Solomon Islands with the Army's 
25th Infantry Division, which conducted mop-up operations after the 
Marines' bloody assaults on Guadalcanal and New Georgia Island.
  After being wounded in action and recovering on New Caledonia, Merle 
volunteered to join a unit that would become known to the world as 
Merrill's Marauders. This elite group of Army Rangers was formed to 
conduct extremely dangerous top-secret missions behind Japanese enemy 
lines in Burma.
  The Marauders' most famous and important mission was to capture the 
strategic airfield at Myitkyina, Burma. To accomplish this goal, they 
had to fight their way for 9 months through more than 600 miles of 
jungle, surrounded by Japanese troops. By the time they captured the 
airfield, more than 2,500 of the 3,000 Marauders had been killed, 
wounded, or struck by illness.
  For his valiant service, Merle Johnson was awarded a Purple Heart, 
three Bronze Stars, three Battle Stars, and a Presidential Unit 
Citation.
  After the war, Mr. Johnson worked on the production line at Rockwell 
Corporation and as a labor organizer for the steelworkers union. He now 
lives in Tustin, CA.
  Earlier this year, Mr. Johnson represented Merrill's Marauders during 
the dedication ceremony for the World War II Memorial. This monument 
now stands as a tribute to Merle Johnson, Merrill's Marauders, and 16 
million other brave men and women who served America in World War 
II.

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