The Forgotten Paramarines of World War II,When one thinks of World War II paratroopers, famous units

The Forgotten Paramarines of World War II,When one thinks of World War II paratroopers, famous units such as the 101st and 82nd Airborne come to mind.  After all these units became famous for their daredevil combat airdrops all over Europe.  However during World War II in the Pacific, a little known force of “paramarines” was created.  Called the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment, which consisted of 3,000 men, they were much like their Army counterparts in that they were an elite force who used special equipment and training to accomplish their unique missions.  They had higher standards of fitness, received higher pay, and because of the dangerous nature of their missions were required to be unmarried.  Another unique aspect of of the paramarines were that they were issued with some of the less common American weapons used during World War II, such as the Reising Submachine Gun, Johnson Semi-Automatic Rifle, and Johnson Light Machine (pictured below in order).Throughout the Pacific Theater the paramarines were known as some the toughest and hardest charging devil dogs in the corps.  Their list of combat tours include Guadalcanal, Bougainville, and the Soloman Islands Campaign.  Casualties were especially high at Guadalcanal where the unit suffered a 20% casualty rate, among the highest of all Marine units who participated in the battle.Despite being highly trained and motivated parachutists, the paramarines never made a combat jump during the war.  The only exception was small group of paramarines who dropped into France to help the French Resistance.  Rather the paramarines conducted amphibious operations just like regular marines.  This was due to two factors.  The first was that the Marine Corps lacked aircraft from which to conduct paradrops.  Rather the paramarines were dependent on US Army Air Corps planes to conduct training and operations.  Finally, and more importantly, the Pacific Theater lacked the terrain needed for successful airborne operations.  Since most of the Pacific’s battles were fought in either dense jungle or small heavily fortified islands, there was little chance the paramarines would ever conduct a combat jump.On December 30th, 1943 the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment was officially disbanded, and its marines transferred to other units.  Most would be transferred to the 5th Marine Division who landed at Iwo Jima on February 19th, 1945.   Former Paramarines, Cpl. Harlon H. Block and Pfc. Ira H. Hayes, assisted in the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi on 23 February 1945.  Of the 81 Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients during World War II, five were former paramarines who fought at Iwo Jima. -- source link

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