Units

EVERYONE,

This Christmas letter consists primarily of some of my favorite photos from the past two years since I did not send out a Christmas letter in 2021.   The past year has been a very bittersweet journey for Merrill’s Marauders, most recently with the unexpected death of Marauder Gabriel “Gabe” Kinney, who died Dec. 11, 2022, at age 101, just a few months short of what would have been his 102nd birthday on Feb. 2, 2023.  Five Marauders, including Raleigh Nayes, Bob Passanisi and Gilbert Howland, greeted 2022, and now only one remains alive – Russell Hamler, 98 years old from Pennsylvania.

So I am just sharing some photos that have been uplifting for me. I hope you enjoy glancing through them.  

For those of you in the Columbus, GA area, please visit the Ft. Benning Donovan Research Library to see a Merrill’s Marauder display , which includes two, three-inch Marauder Congressional Gold Medals — so you can see the front and back of the U.S. Mint’s beautifully designed medal.  The exhibit, which was set up in the library’s tall glass bookshelf for Veterans Day 2022, will be on display through January 2023.   The Donovan Research Library is open to the public Monday through Wednesday.

And I wish all of you a peaceful and Merry Christmas and a safe, happy and healthy New Year!!

Jonnie Melillo Clasen,
Merrill’s Marauder liaison officer
Daughter, Merrill’s Marauder & Korean War veteran Vincent Melillo … who died Christmas Eve 2015