Edson Raff
Edson Duncan Raff
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Nickname(s) | "Little Caesar" |
Born | November 15, 1907 |
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ |
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Unit | 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment |
Commands held | 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 77th Special Forces Group |
Battles/wars | World War II Operation Torch, Operation Overlord, Operation Varsity |
Awards |
Edson Duncan Raff (November 15, 1907 in New York City – March 11, 2003 in Garnett, Kansas) was an officer of the United States Army and author of a book on paratroopers. He served as commanding officer of the first American paratroop unit to jump into combat, the 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, near Oran as part of Operation Torch during World War II.[2] His book, We Jumped to Fight, was based on his experience in that operation and was published in 1944.
Raff had served as First Captain of Cadets at a small prep school in Winchester, Virginia called the Shenandoah Valley Academy before serving in the Army. Due to the tough training course he gave the paratroopers in the 509th (and his stocky physique), Raff was nicknamed "Little Caesar" by them.[3][4] He first saw combat during Operation Torch as the commander of the 509th:[5]
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...the main force with Lieutenant Colonel Raff also jumped early some 35 miles east of the objective airfields. Although he broke several ribs in a hard landing, Lieutenant Colonel Raff continued to lead his paratroopers toward their objectives. After a full day and a night forced march, a company of weary paratroopers reached the airfield at Tafaraoui on the morning of November 9. Both airfields had already been captured by Allied amphibious forces. Thus ended the first and rather disappointing American Airborne combat operation in history.
He spent time as an airborne planner on General Omar Bradley's staff and was assigned by General Matthew Ridgway to lead Task Force Raff, a composite unit of M4 Sherman tanks and scout cars landed at Utah Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944, to support the 82nd Airborne Division.[6] When the commander of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was captured in Normandy, Raff was assigned on June 15, 1944, to command the regiment. Raff led that unit, nicknamed "Raff's Ruffians", through the rest of the war, including its participation in Operation Varsity in March 1945.
As the plane neared the DZ, Raff recalls:[7]
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I was alone standing in the door of the plane looking down at the river passing beneath the plane, smoke partially obscured my view. At that moment, I said a prayer to the infant Jesus, The Little Flower, 'Little Flower, in this hour show Thy power.' The prayer was given to me by my sister who was a nun. I said the prayer before every jump.
After the war in 1954, Raff would command the 77th Special Forces Group, based at Fort Bragg and is credited by Lieutenant General William Yarborough[8] as the "father" of the then-controversial green beret now routinely worn by US Army Special Forces.
See also
References
- ↑ "French Honor U.S. Paratroop Chief", Stars and Stripes (ETO), Dec 14, 1942, page 1
- ↑ Atkinson, Rick. An Army at Dawn. New York, New York: Henry Holt & Company. pp. 89-90. ISBN 0-8050-7448-1
- ↑ Military.com Content
- ↑ "Good God. Gaston" Time Oct 12, 1942
- ↑ research at the Wayback Machine (archived April 17, 2003)
- ↑ Nordyke, Phil. All American, All the Way. Zenith Imprint, 2005. pg. 310. ISBN 0-7603-2201-5, ISBN 978-0-7603-2201-7
- ↑ A Legend
- ↑ LTG Yarborough to BG Emerson
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- American military personnel of World War II
- United States Army colonels
- Recipients of the Silver Star
- Recipients of the Legion of Merit
- Recipients of the Bronze Star Medal
- Recipients of the Purple Heart medal
- Légion d'honneur recipients
- Recipients of the Croix de guerre (France)
- 1907 births
- 2003 deaths
- Operation Overlord people