Edson D. Raff

(Above: Captain Edson D. Raff as Executive Officer of the 504th Parachute Battalion in February 1942)

NAME: Edson D. Raff

ASN: O-19261

PLACE OF BIRTH: New York City, NY

DATE OF BIRTH: 15 November 1907

DATES OF SERVICE:

UNIT ASSIGNED: HQ 504th PB

HHC 2nd Bn 509th PIR

Task Force Raff

507th PIR

2nd Airborne Brigade

77th Special Forces Group, Airborne

Physcological Warfare Center, Fort Bragg, NC

CAMPAIGNS: Algeria French-Morocco, Tunisia, Normandy, Ardennes, Germany

AWARDS: Parachutist Badge with 3 combat jump stars, Combat Infantryman Badge, 3rd Zouve Regiment Badge, Legion of Merit, Silver Star, Bronze Star, French Legion of Honor

SUMMARY OF SERVICE:

First Captain of Cadets at a small prep school in Winchester, Virginia called the Shenandoah Valley Academy. "The superintendent of the school was a reserve colonel who spoke to the cadets every morning. From that tough old guy I learned three things: One, I don't give a damn for any man who doesn't give a damn for me; Two, Be able to look any man in the eye and tell him to go to hell; Three, Stonewall Jackson's Battles in the Shenandoah Valley which I remembered in Tunisia later on." - Edson Raff

1933 - Graduate of West Point, concentration in Mathmatics

Capt. Edson D.Raff O-19261 HQ 504th PB Executive Officer New York NYFeb-42

Lt. Col. Edson D.Raff O-19261 HHC 2nd Bn 509th PIRNew York NY8-Nov-42Plane: 1 Seat: 1 Combat Weight: 271

24 Feb 1943 - Lt Col. Edson Raff gave a lecture on his experiences in the North African Campaign to the British 4th Parachute Battalion

06 Jun 1944 - Task Force Raff was comprised of seventeen M-4 Sherman Tanks from C Company, 746th Tank Battalion, four M-8 Greyhounds from B Troop, 4th Cavalry Squadron, and forty-one Glidermen from F Company, 401st Glider Infantry Regiment. Their ission was to land on UTAH Beach and move inland to Ste Mere Eglise to link up with the 82nd Airborne Division. They conducted an amphibious landing at 1300 on 6 Jun 44 and moved inland picking up twenty-one paratroopers along the way. They went by way of Causeway 2, Ste Mere Du Mont, Le Forges.

15 Jun 1944 - Upon verification of Colonel Millett's capture, General Ridgway transferred the command of the 507th to Colonel Edson Raff. Colonel Raff received this command after fighting his way through to General Ridgway at Les Forges while in command of an Armored Force designated Task Force Raff.

?? ??? 1944 - Col Edson Raff Headquarters, 507th Parachute Infantry, 82nd Airborne GO #40 Award of the Combat Infantryman Badge

24 Mar 1945 - First American paratrooper to jump in Operation VARSITY across the Rhine into Germany. Landed on the southern edge of the Diersfordter Forest, three mile northwest of Wesel, then took part in the capture of Essen and Duisburg. Raff recalls "I was alone standing in the door of the plane looking down at the river passing beneath the plane, smoke partially obscured my view. At that moment, I said a prayer to the infant Jesus, The Little Flower, 'Little Flower, in this hour show Thy power.' The prayer was given to me by my sister who was a nun. I said the prayer before every jump."

"A split second after I said the prayer, the green light came on, as I looked down, I saw several objects below me. The first thing that caught my attention were several German soldiers on the ground with rifles in their hands looking up. The second thing I noticed was a heavy equipment bundle that was swinging back and forth as it descended toward the ground. The bundle saved my life because the Germans thought it was a bomb and disappeared into the cellar of a nearby house. I landed in the chicken yard behind one of the homes. There were no chickens, since they had all been eaten. The loneliness was numbing as there wasn't another paratrooper in sight. But soon I joined up with others in the 507 and, I was astonished to see, Germans to our right in the process of pulling artillery behind us. Needless to say, they were soon captured. Most of the Regiment had been dropped in the wrong places but we were ultimately able to accomplish our objectives."

1958 - Retired from the Army

11 Mar 2003 - Passed away in Garnett, Kansas

He is survived by his wife, Alomah Make of Bora-Bora; a son, James, of Greenville, S.C.; a daughter, Leila Boyer, of Harrisonburg, Va.; a brother, Herbert, of New York City; 10 grandchildren; and 2 great-grandchildren. His first marriage, to Virginia Chaney, ended in divorce.

BOOK: We Jumped to Fight by Edson Raff

Top Secret by Major Ralph Ingersoll, 1946

LINKS:

Photo taken in Feb 1943

Photo taken unknown

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