Makin Raid highlighted Navy-Marine Corps teamwork
By Darrell D. Ames
The USS Nautilus (SS 168) and USS Argonaut (SS 166),
led by Group Commander J. M. Haines, got underway from Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii on August 8, 1942 en route to the Gilbert Islands. In addition to
her crew, Argonaut carried 121 U.S. Marines. Nautilus added 90 Marines
to her complement.
The Marines were led by the rugged, battle-worn
warrior, Colonel Evans F. Carlson. Handpicked by the Corps, Companies A
and B of the famous 2nd Raider Battalion were notoriously tough. One of
Carlson’s officers was Major James Roosevelt, the President’s son.
The Pacific Fleet Commander, Admiral Chester Nimitz,
ordered the group to conduct a commando raid on Makin Island in the
Gilberts. The objective was to create a diversion - scramble the
enemy’s plans to make them re-deploy their strengths, which were known
to be concentrated on a possible attack of Guadalcanal. Carlson’s
Marines were to hit Makin hard, wreak as much havoc as possible, and
gather intelligence information.
The two submarines were temporarily converted to
“troop transports” by removing all torpedoes except those in the
tubes and installing extra air conditioning and tiers of bunks.
Everything was thrown together in great haste. Living conditions on the
subs were far from comfortable. The air conditioning was not adequate.
Below decks it was sweltering, and the Marines were either wilting or
seasick. To keep them in shape, Haines allowed them to go topside in
small groups for ten-minute intervals of fresh air and sun bathing.
Argonaut, making her second patrol after complete
overhaul and modernization in Mare Island, Calif., was under the command
of Lt. Cmdr. J. R. Pierce. Fresh off a successful patrol in Japanese
waters, Nautilus was guided by the able hands of Lt. Cmdr. W. H.
Brockman. Despite rough conditions and uncooperative weather, the troops
and Submarines were in good hands.
USS Argonaut, mine laying submarine used to land
raiders.
The boats arrived off Makin early on the morning of
August 16. Shortly after midnight Carlson launched his Marines in rubber
boats. Though they had rehearsed it before leaving Hawaii, the
debarkation was met with unforgiving conditions. Rough seas flooded the
boats, drowning most of the outboard motors. The few boats that ran were
able to tow the others as best they could.
By 4:21 a.m. all Marines were clear of the Argonaut
while the bridge crew watched them disappear into the darkness. At 5:13
a.m. word came by voice radio that the Marines had reached the beach.
Upon arrival the Marines found the going even tougher
than expected. The Japanese suspected some type of attack, with
Guadalcanal having been attacked the day before, and were waiting with
snipers hidden amongst the many trees on the beach. Darting through the
surf, the Marines finally got ashore, in front of the enemy rather than
behind as planned. Communications between the Marines and the submarines
were sporadic and primitive.
While the action ashore was intense, Brockman
maneuvered Nautilus to fire on two Japanese ships in the harbor. Despite
limited torpedoing opportunities Brockman managed to destroy both a
freighter and one small patrol craft by firing 65 rounds a distance of
seven miles. Although the Marines saw the two vessels go down, postwar
analysis did not credit Brockman with any sinkings at Makin Island.
Later that night Nautilus and Argonaut attempted to
recover the Marines. The recovery proved as difficult as the launch. The
violent surf overturned boats and ripped weapons out of Marines’
hands. A mere seven of 19 boats made it back and many men were severely
wounded. The submarines’ wardrooms instantly became operating rooms.
Brockman and Pierce spent the rest of the night searching for the
remainder of the landing party.
At dawn both submarines moved in closer to the beach,
recovering three more boats and sending another one in with five Marines
onboard to toss guns and arms ashore.
Almost immediately after the rescue launch, Japanese
aircraft drove Nautilus and Argonaut under the water while strafing the
rescue boat. All five Marines who volunteered for the dangerous mission
were killed instantly. The submarines surfaced in the early evening and
four boats, laden with weary commandos were recovered. More boats
followed in the next few hours and by midnight, all but 30 Marines had
been accounted for. They were believed dead, although post-war reports
determined that nine survived, were captured, and later beheaded.
USS Natuilus arrives in Pearl Harbor with survivors
of Makin Raid
Initially, the Makin Raid was acclaimed a great
“victory” and a “brilliant exploit” by the U.S. Department of
Defense. Just how successful they were, however, was not known until
long afterward. The Makin Raid, primarily a Marine story, made Colonel
Carlson a household name. The Marines nearly wiped out the entire enemy
garrison. They destroyed a communications station, two planes, military
installations and stores, and over 900 barrels of gasoline. Thirty
Marines were lost, but the raid accomplished its primary objective by
disrupting enemy plans to reinforce Guadalcanal and diverting Japanese
guns and aircraft to the Gilberts.
Both submarine crews took great pride in their
accomplishments as well. They delivered the Marines to Makin and brought
many of them home. They destroyed two enemy ships in the harbor and
gained valuable information and experience to be utilized in future
island invasions. The teamwork and camaraderie displayed by the
Navy-Marine Corps team was never more evident than during the greatest
commando raid carried out in the Pacific during World War II.
Editors Note: I recently read an
article which stated that Carlson paid the Island Chief to bury his
dead. The article stated that two marines drowned while trying to pass a
line from the submarines to shore to assist the wounded in making it
through the heavy surf. It was obvious that these two submarines were
going to extreme lengths to support this mission. Being tethered to
shore while on the surface in empire waters speaks loudly. These boats
lead the way for our modern Seal insertion submarines. In 1999 following
years of searching, the remains of the raiders killed on Makin Island
were recovered and returned to the United States for burial.
 The
remains of Raiders being 
recovered & returned home
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