3RD RANGER BATTALION

The 3rd Ranger Battalion was organized on May 21, 1943, in the vicinity of Nemours, Algeria, from a cadre of personnel from the 1st Ranger Battalion. After training in Nemours and at Zeralda, Algeria, the Battalion was assigned to support the Green Assault Force in the invasion of Sicily, and made a combat assault on July 10, 1943, near Licata. After reducing the beach defenses, the Rangers attacked the Port and City of Licata, and then captured Hill 313, East of Favara.

Attached to the 3rd Infantry Division, the Rangers moved West from Licata and helped secure Porto Empedocle and continued to fight across the island, capturing and holding a series of roadblocks. On August 12, the Rangers captured Popo di Norco and helped to cut the main road along the north coast of the island. Crossing overland, the battalion moved to Monaforte and on August 16, made a reconnaissance of the Straits of Messina, and entered Messina the following day as the campaign in Sicily came to a close.

After moving to Coreone to rest and train replacements, the battalion made its second combat assault on September 9, at Maiori, Italy, as part of a Ranger force formed to protect the left flank of the Fifth Army. After securing their sectors, the Rangers rapidly advanced inland and captured the Chiunzi Pass where a combined Ranger Force of the 1st and 3rd Battalions was hit with artillery and mortar fire, and was attacked by an enemy force of greatly superior numbers.

The Rangers stopped seven major enemy attacks and a large number of enemy patrols in hand-to-hand fighting. Fighting mostly with small arms and mortars, the Rangers established a line and held out for 14 days without rest or relief and with little food or water. On September 17, the Rangers were reinforced and immediately mounted an attack on enemy positions, broke through, and reached the Plains of Naples, and were among the first troops to enter the City of Naples. After a rest at Naples and San Lassaro, the 3rd Battalion entered into a fight against the German Winter Line.

On November 29, they infiltrated and fought their way down the San Pietro Valley, into San Pietro and out again. Although the battalion was almost completely surrounded and had suffered terrible losses, the Rangers launched an attack towards the high ground above San Pietro on November 30, and reached the crest of Hill 950 only to have to withdraw when they ran out of ammunition. After two more days of hard fighting, the Rangers reached the point for further attacks towards San Pietro and Cassino.

After a period of offensive patrolling and rest, the 3rd Battalion made their third combat assault at Anzio on January 22, 1944, and advanced inland capturing objectives and widening the beachhead. On January 30, the 1st and 3rd Battalions advanced into the outskirts of Cisterna, where the two battalions were cut off and surrounded by a vastly superior force. The few survivors from the battalion returned home on April 15, 1944, after having fought in four campaigns. The battalion was disbanded August 15, 1944, in the United States.

 

4TH RANGER BATTALION

The 4th Ranger Battalion was organized on June 8, 1943, at Nemours, Algeria, from a cadre of personnel furnished by the 1st Ranger Battalion. After training at Nemours and at Zeralda, the battalion was assigned to Force X for the invasion of Sicily and made a combat landing at Gela on July 10, 1943. Landing in two waves, the Rangers assaulted and held the eastern half of Gela and advanced through the town eliminating enemy resistance. The battalion then dug in and repulsed a series of enemy infantry and tank attacks which threatened to drive the force back into the sea.

After the beachhead was secured, the Rangers remained attached to Force X and occupied Salemi on July 21, establishing a civil affairs office and a perimeter defense while guarding ammunition and gasoline dumps. Records were not available to indicate the battalion's combat highlights from July 11 to September 8, but on September 9, the battalion was assigned to the Ranger Force and made a combat assault on the Italian mainland at Capo D'Orso, near Maiori. After helping to establish the beachhead, the battalion cleared Maiori and Minori, and neutralized enemy observation points and gun positions along the coastal roads to Salerno.

Separated from the Ranger Force, the 4th Battalion cleared the Sorrento-Meta area and reinforced the troops at Salerno. From September 14 through September 27, the battalion remained in continuous contact with the enemy and was subjected to heavy mortar and artillery fire. After a brief rest, the Rangers marched to Sesto Campano and established a radio relay station there while fighting off enemy patrols.

Earl Morris, HQ 4th Ranger Bn., Darby's Rangers, 43-45 recalls:

"A Lt. Marshner came to our outfit somewhere in Sicily. He was assigned as our communications officer. I think he had some training with either the 2nd or 5th Ranger Bn in England. I'm not sure. We had pulled back from the front and the 36th Division moved on ahead towards Naples, while we bedded down on a hillside in a big olive grove. Well, our new Lt. Marshner and a Ranger named Stewart got into one hell of a hassle. They both claimed the same sleeping spot. To tell the truth, Stewart had it first. I was there and I know. When Stewart left the area the Lt. moved Stewart's equipment and took the spot. That Lt. should have gotten more training because he sure as hell didn't know Rangers.

Later Stewart came back from wherever and saw what had happened. He tore down Lt. Marshner's setup, kicked his stuff around, said something about repossessing territory, rolled out his own bedroll and went to sleep, I think. When Marshner came back, he almost had a heart attack. To think an enlisted man could do this to him. It freaked him out. He went to Col. Darby, and they say, almost "demanded" (and maybe rightfully so) that Stewart be court martialed for insubordination refusing a direct order & etc... Well one of our officers came down, disarmed and put old Stewart under arrest and guard. After that we had to build a stockade. Simple we just strung three strands of barbed wire around four different tree trunks, let old Stewart crawl in and that was that. Then we got to wondering what would happen to old Stewart. Someone suggested that he could even be shot, and maybe could have, being in a combat situation and all that B.S. From here on no one explains anything. No pre-op or later post-op briefings, no nothing. But the same night or the next we got an alert with orders for everyone to pack up with everything ready to move out A.S.A.P.

Shortly afterwards, we loaded up on great big ass earth moving trucks belonging to the combat engineers. How we ever came by them is still a mystery. But leave it to Darby. He could do anything. We could have used a cherry picker and a parachute to get on and off those damn trucks. We moved out, no one knew where or why. The best I can remember we rode around most of the night. It wasn't a joy ride. At one time we could smell sulphur burning from sulphur pits that dated back to Biblical times, I'm told. Hours later we off loaded, exactly where we started from. Same spot. When we got the alert Stewart was given back his side arms, and turned back to duty with his unit. After the joy ride (we named it) nothing was ever said about Stewart's court martial. We were given the understanding that by rearming and turning Stewart back to duty, it nullified the pending court martial. Anyway it didn't happen. And there's not a Ranger who was there, who will ever believe anything other than Col. Darby initiated this joy ride to save old Stewart's ass from a court martial.

Almost forgot! Stewart kept his sleeping spot. We built his stockade around it."

During the terrible fighting against the German Winter Line, the battalion was attached to the 45th Division, and was given the mission of protecting the flanks of the 3rd and 45th Divisions in their attacks on the heights above San Pietro Valley. On November 9, the Rangers moved to an area northeast of Ceppagna, and two days later, were attacking south to capture the high ground above the village. After advancing to the crest of the mountain, the Rangers were forced back by an attack on their open left flank, but re-grouped to attack again, take the hill, and advance down the ridge.

The following day, the Germans launched a series of counterattacks in strength, and one extremely heavy attack forced the battalion back to their original objective and closed around both their flanks. With the help of mortar support from the 83d Chemical Mortar Battalion, the Rangers held until they were relieved on November 14th. The men of the 4th Battalion maintained defensive positions, engaged in aggressive patrol activity, and rested until they were called upon to make their third combat assault.

 

5TH RANGER BATTALION

The 5th Ranger Battalion was activated on September 1, 1943, at Camp Forrest, Tennessee, and arrived in the European Theater in January of 1944. After additional training in Scotland, Braughton (Devon), and Swanage, the battalion joined a Ranger Group for the invasion of Normandy and landed on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), making a combat assault on the beaches near Vierville. Along with elements of the 2nd Battalion, the 5th Battalion was given the mission of capturing an enemy coastal battery located on the high cliffs of Pointe du Hoe, but was assigned an overland route to the guns.

After extremely heavy fighting, the 5th Battalion, elements of the 2nd Battalion, and 116th Infantry Regiment, attacked West and North through Vierville-sur-mer and St. Pierre du Mont and crossed the coastal highway to reach three companies of the 2nd Battalion on the Pointe on the morning of D+3. On June 10, the 5th Battalion assisted clearing out an enemy strongpoint southwest of Maisy, while other elements captured coastal fortifications in the Grandcamp les Baines-Isigny Sectors. The battalion participated in the reduction of enemy forces on the Plougastel Peninsula and at Brest, and from September 15 through September 18, captured several fortifications, including Le Conquet (after a two-hour assault), La Mon Blanche, and Le Cosquer.

Landing at Anzio on January 22, 1944, as part of the Ranger Force, the battalion helped to secure and widen the beachhead and was advancing towards the town of Cisterna di Littoria on January 30th, when a large enemy force drove a wedge between the 4th Battalion and the 1st and 3rd Battalions, which were leading the assault. Compelled to withdraw, the 4th Battalion reassembled and launched an assault on January 31st, against an overwhelming enemy force, in an attempt to reach the other Ranger battalions. After advancing to a road junction near Cisterna, the battalion strength was so reduced by casualties that it could go no further. Infantry regiments on the left and right flanks of the 4th Battalion were also thrown into the attack, but could not advance against the emplaced enemy.

Following this battle, the remainder of the 4th Battalion was assigned to reserve and guard duties until March 25, when they were divided into two groups. One consisting mostly of new men was assigned to the 1st Special Service Force, while the second group, consisting mostly of veterans from Africa, returned home after having fought in four campaigns. The battalion was disbanded on October 24, 1944, at Camp Butner, North Carolina.

During October and November, the battalion reorganized, trained, and provided security for the 12th United States Army Group Headquarters in Belgium. After being attached to the Third Army in November, the battalion participated in offensive and defensive actions in the Boulay-Forbach areas, and was assigned to defensive positions in the St. Avold area during the Battle of the Bulge.

On January 23, 1945, the Rangers moved to Johannisbannberger, improved positions, and patrolled until February 9, when they attacked towards Oberleuken in support of the 94th Division's move up the West side of the Saar-Moselle Triangle. After clearing the town of Serrig on February 25, the Rangers, under cover of darkness, infiltrated the enemy front-line positions and seized the high ground commanding the main German military supply route West of Zerf. Two counterattacks were repulsed and after five days of fighting, the 5th Ranger Battalion had killed 378 men, wounded an estimated 550, captured 562 more, and destroyed two armored vehicles.

Seizure of their assigned objective aided the armor breakthrough that overran Trier and brought elements of the XX Corps to the banks of the Rhine River. The Rangers rested, patrolled, and trained reinforcements during the remainder of March, and also furnished security guards for the displaced persons camp at Trier, while other units performed military government duties in the Freidberg area. On April 21st, elements of the battalion, attached to the 3rd Cavalry Group, captured a bridge crossing the Danube River at Burglengenfeld, and other Ranger units advanced as far east as Reid, Austria, when the war in Europe ended.

After performing occupation duties in the Regensburg-Straubing area, the battalion returned home and was inactivated on October 22, 1945, at Camp Miles Standish, Massachusetts, after having fought in five campaigns and having earned Distinguished Unit Awards at Pointe du Hoe and the Saar River. The 5th Battalion originally wore the regular Ranger lozenge patch, but changed to the scroll design worn by other Ranger units.

29th RANGER BATTALION

The 29th Ranger Battalion that was formed December 20th, 1942, with volunteers from the 29th Infantry Division then stationed in England and commanded by Major Randolph Milholland. The volunteers were trained by the British Commandos at Achnacarry, Scotland. The 29th Rangers were attached to Lord Lovat's Number 4 Commando Troop. Some members of the 29th Rangers participated on a raid with the Commandos on an island off the coast of France and on the 20th of September, 1943, a company moved to Dover to take part in a raid on the European Continent. But the raid was canceled. Headquarters, 29th Infantry Division issued General Orders disbanding the unit on October 18, 1943.

 

6TH RANGER BATTALION

The 6th Ranger Battalion was organized on September 25, 1944, when the 98th Field Artillery Battalion was redesignated while stationed in New Guinea. The 6th Ranger Battalion, operating in the Pacific, was the only Ranger unit fortunate enough to have been assigned only those missions applicable for Rangers. All of its missions, usually of task force, company, or platoon size, were behind enemy lines, and involved long range reconnaissance and hard hitting, long range combat patrols. The three most noteworthy were during the campaign on the Philippines.

The first American contingent to return to the Philippines was the 6th Ranger Battalion with the mission of knocking out the coastal defense guns, radio stations, radar stations, and other means of defense and communications in Leyte Harbor. On A-Day minus three, October 17, 1944, the 6th Ranger Battalion was landed from fast attack-type converted destroyers, in the midst of a storm, on Dinagat, Suluan, and Homonohan Islands in Leyte Bay. The three islands are located at the eastern entrance of Leyte Gulf and were secured to deny their use by the Japanese and to provide locations for signal lights to guide the two Leyte invasion Task Forces. Through November 14, the Rangers remained on the island searching out and destroying enemy troops while guarding against any attempted Japanese reoccupation.

After moving to Leyte, the battalion established defensive positions in the Tanuan-Tibosda area and began aggressive patrol actions that continued until January 2, 1945, when Rangers loaded up for the Lingayen Gulf invasion. The advance elements began landing at noon on January 10, and were followed by the remainder of the battalion, which landed in the Dagupan Barrio area the following day.

After establishing defensive lines, the Rangers were given the mission of defending the Sixth Army Headquarters, and two companies were sent to occupy Santiago Island and help establish a radar station there. The Rangers also sent patrols into the mountainous area of mainland Luzon and discovered large quantities of abandoned Japanese equipment which was turned over to Philippine guerrilla forces.

After a move to Calasio, a reinforced company from the 6th Ranger Battalion formed the entire rescue force which liberated American and Allied prisoners of war from the Japanese Prison Camp at Cabanatuan, the Philippines in January 1945. On January 28, they made a 29-mile forced march into enemy territory, obtained full support of local civilians and guerrillas, and determined accurately the enemy's dispositions. They crawled nearly a mile through flat open terrain to assault positions, destroyed a Japanese Garrison nearly double the size of the 121 man attacking force, and in the dark, assembled 513 prisoners of war. The prisoners were evacuated from the stockade area within twenty minutes after the assault began. In this action, more than 200 enemy troops were killed. Ranger losses were two killed and ten wounded.

During the first part of February, elements of the battalion cleared the Cabaruan Hill area of enemy forces, and then moved to San Fernando where the Rangers continued to provide guards for the Sixth Army Headquarters. From March 10 to April 14, half of the Ranger force was assigned to penetrate enemy lines and reconnoiter enemy strongpoints and lines of communication deep in the mountains of Baguio, Trinidad, Atok, Ambuclao, and Boakad. Contact was often made with the Japanese in a series of small battles which usually resulted in the destruction of the enemy forces, as Rangers employed shoot and scoot tactics and refused to be where the Japanese expected them.

On April 15, a company of Rangers was sent to Dingalan Bay Area on the eastern coast of Luzon, to block Japanese troops attempting to withdraw from the Baguio area. Ten days later, a patrol of Rangers wiped out an enemy pillbox and strongpoint in five minutes of fighting, and found the bodies of 17 officers killed in the fighting.

The Rangers' last mission was the 250-mile trek behind enemy lines, by Company B, to the City of Aparri on the northern tip of Luzon. Aparri was the last seaport and major city held by the Japanese forces. For twenty-eight days behind the lines, they successfully infiltrated and reconnoitered the Japanese defenses at Aparri. They prepared the landing facilities at Camalugian Airfield for the 11th Airborne to make one of the major airdrops of the Pacific Campaign. Following the successful airdrop, the Rangers initially supplied point and later flank security for the 11th Airborne Task Force driving southward along the Cagayan River to link up with the 32nd Infantry Division and thus, end the Philippine campaign.

It is noteworthy that all of the Japanese prisoners captured during this operation and turned over to the 11th Airborne Division were captured by one platoon from the 6th Ranger Battalion. On July 1, the battalion was relieved of further combat operations, after having participated in three campaigns and one combat assault. On September 15, 1945, the battalion embarked for occupation duties in Japan, and was stationed in the Kyoto area when it was inactivated on December 30, 1945. The scroll worn by the 6th Ranger Battalion is similar in design to those worn by the other Ranger units.

 

MERRILL'S MARAUDERS

The 75th Infantry Regiment was first organized in the China-Burma-India Theater on October 3, 1943 as Task Force Galahad. Also known as Shipments 1688 A, B, C, 5307th Composite Regiment and as the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), the unit served until July 1, 1945, when it was deactivated in China.

The 75th infantry Regiment (5307th Composite Unit) was the first United States ground combat force to meet the enemy on the Continent of Asia during World War II. It was during the campaigns in the China-Burma-India Theater that it became known as "Merrill's Marauders," after its commander, Major General Frank D. Merrill.

The 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) was organized to participate in the Burma operations as a result of a decision made at the Quebec Conferences in August 1943. On September 1, 1943, when the size of the unit's battalions had been fixed at 1,000, the War Department began recruiting personnel from jungle-trained and jungle-tested troops, primarily infantrymen. General George C. Marshall requested 300 volunteers in a high state of physical readiness and stamina from the Southwest Pacific, 700 from the South Pacific and 1,000 each from the Caribbean Defense Command and the Army Ground Forces in the United States. These latter 2,000 volunteers were assembled in San Francisco where they were formed into two battalions under the command of Colonel Charles N. Hunter.

On September 21, 1943, the two battalions sailed from San Francisco on the S.S. Lurline. The majority of their equipment was loaded on the S.S. Lurline with the remainder sent directly to Bombay. Colonel Hunter was ordered to prepare his men while enroute for the performance of a long-range penetration mission and to report to General Stillwell upon arrival in the Theater. The S.S. Lurline proceeded to Noumea, New Caledonia, where 650 officers and men from the South Pacific Theater came aboard. The volunteers from the Southwest Pacific Theater came aboard at Brisbane, Australia. After a short stop at Perth, the ship sailed across the Indian Ocean and up the Arabian Sea to Bombay. The three battalions disembarked on October 31, 1943.

The men composing Merrill's Marauders were volunteers from the 33rd Infantry Regiment, the 14th Infantry Regiment, the 5th Infantry Regiment, and from infantry regiments engaged in combat in the Southwest and South Pacific. Prior to their entry into the Northern Burma Campaign, Merrill's Marauders trained in India under the overall supervision of Major General Orde C. Wingate, British Army. Here they were trained in long-range tactics and techniques of the type developed and first employed by General Wingate in the operations of the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade in Burma from February to June 1943.

The intensive training continued until the end of January 1944. At that time, the unit was fully trained and organized into three battalions consisting of two combat teams each, Color-coded Orange, Khaki, White, Red, Green and Blue. The Headquarters was divided into a Command Post Group and a Rear Supply Base. General Merrill was placed in command on January 4, 1944, and the unit was assigned to General Stillwell's field command in Northern Burma.

The Marauders were ready to go, and their operations throughout the spring and summer of 1944 were closely coordinated with those of the Chinese 22nd and 38th Divisions. They were employed in the drive to recover North Burma and clear the way for construction of the Ledo Road, which was to link the Indian railhead at Ledo with the Old Burma Train to China.

The Marauders were foot soldiers who marched and fought through the jungles and over mountains from Hukawng Valley in Northwestern Burma to Myitkyina on the Irrawaddy River. With no tanks or heavy artillery to support them, they patrolled more than 1,000 miles through extremely dense and almost impenetrable jungles.

In five major and thirty minor engagements between February and August 1944, the Marauders met and defeated the veteran soldiers of the Japanese 18th Division. Operating in the rear of the main forces of the Japanese, they prepared the way for the southward advance of the Chinese by disorganizing supply lines and communications. Always moving to the rear of the main forces of the Japanese, they completely disrupted enemy supply lines and communications and climaxed their behind-the-lines operations with the capture of Myitkyina Airfield, the only all-weather airfield in Northern Burma. Compounding their difficulties during these maneuvers, was the difficulty the Marauders had in securing supplies as they moved stealthily through the jungles. The supplies they did receive were airdropped and their wounded were picked up one at a time at predetermined rendezvous points by Piper Cub planes and flown back to 'Evac' hospitals.

Getting the wounded Marauders out of the jungles of Burma was an extraordinary feat in itself. Each of the wounded Marauders was borne on a bamboo stretcher by his comrades or lashed to horse until a rendezvous point was reached. Generally an area around a small jungle village was selected because of the rice paddies that could be found nearby. The Marauders would then set to work chopping an airstrip through the rice paddy and radio the rear echelon to send in one of the Piper Cub planes. These planes were usually stripped of all equipment except a compass and a single stretcher for a lone passenger - the wounded Marauder. Despite hazardous takeoff and landing conditions in this densest of jungles, these valiant sergeant-pilots managed to evacuate every seriously wounded Marauder to safety. It cost this air-rescue unit, however. Two of its pilots were fatally injured in crashes into the jungles beneath them.

The Marauders were the first American troops to fight on the Asian continent in WWII, and they did it in some of the world's worst jungles. They were only one special regiment of less than 3,000 men; yet they so disrupted the enemy communication and supply lines that the Japanese high command was later to remark that their impression was that the Marauders were a force of at least Division strength - or over 15,000 men.

For their accomplishments in Burma the Marauders were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and Commendation. In addition every one of the Marauders was awarded the Bronze Star decoration.

The 5307th was redesignated the 475th Infantry Regiment on August 10, 1944, and was reorganized. At that time, the Regiment became part of the 5332nd Brigade (Provisional) which had been activated on July 26, 1944, in India. The Brigade was also known as the "Mars Task Force" and was designated as the long-range penetration force for operations in Burma. In addition to the 475th, the Brigade consisted of the 124th Cavalry Regiment, dismounted and functioning as infantry; the 612th and 613th Field Artillery Battalions (Pack); and the 1st Chinese Regiment, Separate.

In the third week of November, the brigade moved south along Ledo Road from the vicinity of Myitkyina. The 475th Infantry Regiment was committed in the Tongwa-Mo Hlaing Sector in December, and broke up Japanese opposition in that area. Upon completion of the action at Tongwa-Mo in January 1945, the Brigade turned eastward and thrust deep into enemy territory to strike the Nahmkam-Lashio Burma road axis at Nahmpakka.

Combat activity reached its peak during February 2 through February 4, with fighting in the vicinity of Nahmpakka, Boi-Kang, Hpa-Hpen, and Mong-Noils. On February 8, 1945, contact was severed by the retreat of the last elements of the Japanese to the South. At the end of the month, the Mars Task Force moved south to the Lashio area, where it remained in garrison for about a month before going to China by air. The Task Force was relieved from assignment to the Indian-Burma Theater and assigned to Headquarters, Chinese Combat Command (Provisional), United States Forces, China Theater. Its mission was to assist and advise in the training and equipping of thirty-six United States sponsored Chinese Divisions.

As an example of its employment, in March 1945, the 1st Battalion, 475th Infantry Regiment was attached to Headquarters, Reserve Command, Chinese Combat Command, which was responsible for training and equipping four Chinese Armies. Therefore, Company A, 475th Infantry, came to serve in a liaison role with three divisions (of which the Honorable 1st Division was one) of the Eighth Chinese Army.

The 475th Infantry Regiment was finally inactivated on July 1, 1945, in China, and remained on the inactive list of Regular Army units until 1954. It was redesignated the 75th Infantry Regiment on June 21, 1954.

The scroll worn by the Ranger battalions was not approved by the War Department and was authorized for local wear only.

 

A History of the Ranger Scroll by William D. Linn II

Ranger insignia of World War II has a history with characteristics much like the men who wore it. Ranger insignia was born out of personal initiative and unit pride; sometimes manufactured locally in the foreign lands where Rangers trained, fought, and died. The following history summarizes my research on the subject over the course of the past year. I have obtained my information from primary source documents as well as correspondence and personal interviews with Rangers of that era.

Fifty American Rangers of the 1st Battalion participated in the Dieppe Raid of August 1942; an unsuccessful but highly publicized first allied aggression against "Fortress Europe." American soldiers in England, attempting to capitalize on raid publicity, bragged in the pubs that they were Rangers in order to win favor with local women. Fights ensued with such frequency between Rangers and the imposters that something had to be done. Captain Roy Murray, the senior Ranger at Dieppe, recommended that Rangers be authorized their own shoulder insignia. Colonel William O. Darby requested authorization for a patch through BG Lucian Truscott and MG Clark on 28 August 1942 based on the following reasons:

1. Tremendous boost to morale.

2. Soldiers all over UK are spreading stories about the recent raid and pretending to be Rangers.

Once approved, October 8, 1942, Colonel Darby organized a battalion-wide contest for the best design and a prize for the winner. Sergeant Anthony Rada of HHC, a native of Flint, Michigan, won with his design of a red, white, and blue scroll patch that resembled the British commando insignia worn by the Ranger training cadre. Due to wartime shortages of blue dye, black wool became the background of the final product.The Army officially recognized the new scroll on 8 October 1942 and a supply of them were made locally in England. Though General Truscott intended them only to be worn on the service coat (dress uniform), 1st Battalion Rangers wore them proudly into battle.

In May and June of 1943, 3rd and 4th Battalions formed in Africa from men selected out of Darby's original battalion. Soon after the three-battalion task force arrived to take part in the fighting in Italy, Rangers obtained crude scrolls from local Italian sources. These examples had no uniform composition, being made of remnant cloth, wire bullion thread, and sometimes featuring irregular and reversed letters. As American Rangers and other allied units made their way up the Italian peninsula, Axis Sally began to broadcast threats to the Rangers over Radio Berlin. Glenn Hirchert, a sniper in C Co, 1st Ranger BN recalls that every Ranger believed German policy dictated no quarter be given to Rangers who surrendered in combat. Once surrounded at Cisterna and with capture imminent, Hirchert watched Rangers draw their fighting knives and quickly remove and destroy their scrolls in hopes that they would be spared execution. The brutal German policy proved to be just effective propaganda.

Ed Furru, a 1st Battalion Ranger wounded at Dieppe, was captured together with several members of the British 3 Commando. Since Rangers had no insignia at the time, he spent the whole war erroneously segregated as a British POW. As the war progressed and Rangers from other Battalions were captured and brought to camp, Furru learned about the ranger scroll. None were available in the camp, so he wore a crude 3 Commando tab made from bed ticking given to him by a member of that unit. He eventually purchased a scroll in the US after being repatriated. He could not find a 1st BN scroll in the PX so he converted a 4th by removing thread from the "4th" to make a "1."

Task Force Ranger and its three battalions were disbanded following the disaster at Cisterna just about the time 2nd Battalion formed at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. During their train-up period, the Army approved a shoulder sleeve insignia for all Ranger units based on the design submitted by a 2nd Battalion Ranger. On July 16, 1943 the blue diamond patch with the word "RANGERS" in gold became the official Ranger insignia. The patch was not well received by the men and soon earned the nickname "Sunoco" since the patch resembled the logo of the Sun Oil Company. The 2nd Battalion received their diamond patches in September or October of 1943 at Fort Dix, New Jersey while they were enroute to England. Prior to D-Day, as recalled by 1SG Len Lomell (D Co) and Captain Frank Kennard (HQ), all patches were removed for operational security. By midsummer of 1944, however, the men were again wearing the patch. Kennard recalls that in early August of 1944, during the siege of Brest, men of the 2nd heard of a scroll patch being worn by other Ranger units. William Kennard, Frank's father, was in the textile business in New York City and agreed to help secure insignia for his son's battalion. Captain Kennard drafted a purchase order, which Colonel Rudder signed, and the document was received 24 August along with a 1st Ranger scroll to use as a pattern. William Kennard had 2,500 scrolls made for the Battalion but found he could not send bulk commercial property through the military mail. Fifty men from the 2nd battalion had to write individual letters to MR Kennard whom, in return, could send them a set limit of fifty scrolls. All 2,500 examples arrived piecemeal to the Battalion while in the field in Arlon, Belgium in late September of 1944. This allowed each man to receive two to four examples of the new insignia and the rest to remain in supply to outfit replacements as they arrived.

The men of the 5th Ranger Battalion arrived at Camp Forrest, Tennessee just as the 2nd Battalion were on their way out. It was during their stay at Camp Forrest that they learned of the approved diamond patch from an Army manual containing only a brief description, but no illustration. No Rangers from 5th had ever seen one of the new patches and Army supply channels failed to yield diamond patches for the 5th, so the Battalion took measures to have them locally made. Major General John Raaen, then Commander of Headquarters Company, remembers having approximately 3,000 patches made and issued to the men.

When the 5th arrived in England, they saw the approved patch for the first time being worn by their Ranger brothers in the 2nd Battalion. They found that their version of the patch was considerably smaller, lacked a single gold border, and featured the word "RANGER" not "RANGERS." They quickly discarded this version and acquired what they needed through supply channels in the UK. Unlike 2nd, the 5th Battalion wore diamond Ranger patches ashore at Normandy. They continued to wear their patches until they saw the 2nd Rangers wearing their new US-made scrolls.

The first man to acquire a scroll for the 5th battalion was General Raaen who had returned to the US after sustaining injuries in a jeep accident. In November of 1944 he went to see an old family friend, Morrie Luxembourg, a prominent haberdasher in New York City. Luxembourg made twelve scrolls for General Raaen as a favor at no charge and then another modest batch not long afterwards. Some of these scrolls made their way back to the European Theater of Operations and to the men of the 5th Rangers. When the Battalion found itself in Germany, some Rangers procured a batch of scrolls locally made by Bavarian nuns that were almost too large to wear on the uniform sleeve. These over-sized scrolls were similar in construction to previously made examples. They paid for the insignia using funds taken from a German Army paymaster.

The 6th Ranger Battalion had known from the beginning of their existence that their brother Rangers in Europe wore a unique scroll insignia. The scroll design had been a symbol used on letterheads and signposts since the 6th Battalion formed in September of 1944. However, due to the primitive conditions in the Pacific Theater, insignia was difficult to come by. Private First Class Alvie Robbins (C Co) recalls that it was not until after the successful raid at Cabanatuan in January of 1945 that 6th Rangers wore scrolls. The 6th acquired local-made examples while in the Philippines but they tended to be crude in design. Another design that was common in the Battalion area was a crest that featured a trench knife, lightning bolt, and sunset topped by the word "Rangers."

In rare cases this design was embroidered onto scarves or worn as an unofficial pocket patch. In December of 1945, most of the "high points" men shipped from the Philippines to California while the rest sailed for Japan to serve as an honor guard. As the men rotated home, they received a new uniform issue and are thought to have also received some US made 6th scrolls. Certainly there were sources for all types of military insignia in San Francisco where the men came into port. American insignia manufacturers nationwide catered their huge stocks to the demands of patch collectors and returning veterans.

In conclusion, it is interesting to note that the Army abolished the blue diamond Ranger patches in 1947 leaving no authorized insignia for Ranger units who fought in the Korean or Vietnam conflicts. Not until 1983, when the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions participated in the invasion of Grenada did the Army finally approve the red, white, and black scroll.

Rangers Lead The Way!