Edson, Merritt A.

Edson, Merritt A.

(1897–1955) marine officer; born in Vermont. An aggressive commander with a deceptively soft voice that rose to a near bark in the stress of combat, he received a marine commission in 1917 and served in France toward the end of World War I. He led the 1st Raider Battalion and, later, the 5th Marines during some of the bloodiest fighting of the Guadalcanal campaign in 1942.