In August of 1942, as American forces were battling to hold their ground on Guadalcanal, another group of Marines was slipping quietly across the Pacific with a very different mission. Packed inside two submarines, Carlson’s Raiders of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion set out to strike the Japanese on a remote atoll called Makin. Their raid was meant to destroy outposts, capture intelligence, and draw enemy attention away from the Solomons.
What followed was a chaotic mix of bravery, confusion, and tragedy. Motors failed, surf overturned boats, and men fought through exhaustion as much as they did enemy fire. The results were far from the plan, yet the raid carried symbolic weight. It showed the reach of American arms, lifted morale, and left a lasting mark on the Pacific War. Today, the Makin Island raid still reminds us of the grit and sacrifice that defined the early days of America’s fightback.
