Colonel
United States Marine Corps
Merritt Edson
Citation
Citation
COLONEL MERRITT A. EDSON
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk
of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer of the First
Marine Raider Battalion, with the First Parachute Battalion attached, during
action against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands on the night of
September 13-14, 1942. After the airfield on Guadalcanal had been seized from
the enemy on August 8, Colonel Edson, with a force of eight hundred men, was
assigned to the occupation and defense of a ridge dominating the jungle on either
side of the airport. Facing a formidable Japanese attack which, augmented by
infiltration, had crashed through our front lines, he by skillful handling of
his troops, successfully
withdrew his forward units to a reserve line with minimum casualties.
When the enemy, in a subsequent series of violent assaults, engaged our force
in desperate hand-to-hand combat with bayonets, rifles, pistols, grenades and
knives, Colonel Edson, although continuously exposed to hostile fire throughout
the night, personally directed defense of the reserve position against a fanatical
foe of greatly superior numbers. By his astute leadership and gallant devotion
to duty, he enabled his men, despite severe losses, to cling tenaciously to
their position on the vital ridge, thereby retaining command, not only of the
Guadalcanal airfield, but also of the First Division's entire offensive installations
in the surrounding area.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
President of the United States
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