Frank Wright - The Last Living Original Marine Raider From WW2 | SRS #348

Summary

The interview follows Frank Wright’s recollections of joining the Marines at 16 after Pearl Harbor and serving with the 4th Marine Raider Battalion. He says he was initially too young and underweight to enlist, so he used an uncertified birth certificate and even stuffed bananas into his clothes to meet the weight requirement. He recalls choosing the Marines partly because he liked their uniforms. A drill instructor recommended him for the Raiders, where he says the unit’s training emphasized lethal close-combat skills.

Pacific combat

Wright describes combat in the Pacific, including New Georgia, Guadalcanal, Guam, and Iwo Jima. In New Georgia, he recalls jungle fighting and carrying an anti-tank rifle, though he says he did not fire it at a tank. On Guadalcanal, he remembers Marines being caught in an ambush and seeing fellow servicemen killed. During fighting on Guam, he says a Japanese soldier stabbed him in the abdomen with a bayonet; he was treated in the field and returned to duty.

Iwo Jima and recovery

Wright recounts Iwo Jima as especially brutal. After being knocked unconscious during the landing, he continued fighting and was later shot through the chest, damaging his lungs and collarbone, and through his left arm. Medics helped evacuate him. He says that on a hospital ship he resisted a doctor’s suggestion to amputate his arm, and he describes repeated failures by medical staff to recognize the seriousness of his injuries. He also recalls being misclassified as suffering from “battle fatigue” during later hospital transfers.

Wright speaks at length about an order to clear Japanese positions on Iwo Jima. He says the operation resulted in the deaths of women and children as well as fighters, and describes the experience as horrible. He offers his own explanation for why civilians were present in the positions, but says he was strongly opposed to what happened. He recalls becoming emotional when later asked to describe the fighting, and says he could not continue answering questions at the time.

Reflections and advice

A return trip to Guam years later was meaningful to Wright. He retraced parts of the landing route and met people who had been imprisoned under Japanese occupation. He says seeing their relief and gratitude helped him understand freedom as something more tangible than a word.

Asked what young Marines should remember, Wright advises them to listen to their instructors and follow their guidance. He also urges anyone who needs help to ask for it, rather than trying to manage alone, and says medical professionals should listen carefully to patients who know their own bodies.

The host introduces Wright as the last living original Marine Raider; Wright agrees with that description. The interview also notes his later service as a drill instructor, his family, and his effort to preserve the memories of the men he served alongside in his writing.

Presenters and contributors: Shawn Ryan (host); Frank Wright (guest).