WWII jungle fighting unit approved for congressional medal

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The soldiers spent months behind enemy lines, marching hundreds of miles through the tangled jungles and steep mountains of Burma as they battled hunger and disease between firefights with Japanese forces during their secret mission.

In February 1944, the American jungle fighting unit nicknamed Merrill's Marauders set out to capture a Japanese-held airfield and open an Allied supply route between India and China. Starting with 3,000 soldiers, the Marauders completed their mission five months later with barely 200 men still in the fight.

The journey of roughly 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) on foot was so grueling that fighting “was the easy part,” said Robert Passanisi, who at age 96 is among just nine known Marauders still known to be alive.

Now the Marauders, officially designated by the Army as the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), have been approved by Congress to be awarded its highest honor: the Congressional Gold Medal.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/wwii-jungle-fighting-unit-approved-114143564.html

[dubyadiprecession]

1. Why do they slowly recognize these fighting men three quarters of a century later?

I’m sure someone had a clue by the close of 1945, that these men deserved recognition for their service.

[GulfCoast66]

2. I think there were just so many brave acts in the war they overwhelmed.

As time has gone by some take on a mythical character while others are forgotten.

Another factor is something that the WWII soldier almost all had in common. They came home, started building their lives and the post war nation and never wanted to talk about what the did and went thru. The wanted to put it behind them.