The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-08-04
Local Man ServedW With
 ''Carlson's Raiders''
Famed Marine Outfit Wrote Thrilling History With Ex-
 ploits; Sniper's Bullet Wounds Jerry LaFrance

Some 30 volunteers of Carlson's Marine raiders, crouching on a Guadalcanal hillside, stared straight into the face of imminent death. Among them was Jerry La France, Center street, now honorably dis charged, who had answered It. Col. Evan Carlsoh's call for volunteers at Pearl Harbor.
 The tough Marine raiders had just destroyed Pistol Pete, a hidden Jap 75 machine gun which had been harassing American planes attempt ing to take of from Henderson field. The men, headed by Col. Carlson, had broken through Jap lines at night and spent 90 days attempting to put Pistol Pete out of commis- sion.
 But their return to the American lines was an obvious impossibility. A strong Jap contingent blocked the way and huge Jap pillboxes, hanking the mountain, spurted incessant fire at the American division in the dis tance.
 The men, who had outwitted death many times during the pre- ceding months in raids on Jap islands, hugged the mountainside for four hours and wondered If this was to be their ultimate end.
 Suddenly Col. Carlson spoke. T don't know what you boys are go- ing to do," he said. But I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm go- ing to pray"
 T can't say ever believed in miracles before" said the Water bury Marine, but there's no doubt sure miracle took place right be- fore our eyes. A few minutes later we looked up and observed members of the first Marine division popping up everywhere. They got through just as we were praying-after try ing for weeks"
 Tough Assignment
 The Guadalcanal assignment was one of the toughest ever undertaken by the Raiders in their many months in the Pacific. Equipped with only five-day food supply. they made heir way through enemy lines to the mountain side where Pistol Pete nestled. They then be- came aware that the crafty Japs had installed Pistol Pete on rails and kept moving it backward.
 There was not one day of the 30 that the men had not been in &C., tiou- Thev lad ambushed Jap forces again and again and destroyed sup ply dumps. They killed 800 Japs with a loss of 16 of. their own and IS wounded. Their scanty rations gone. for more than 25 days they pilfered vermin-infested rice from the Japs.
 Beside many individual decora- tions the entire battalion was cited by General Vandergrift.
 To the Waterbury Marine, how ever, on whose broad shoulders the scars of- war rests lightly, the ,Guadalcanal incident was only one Of series of close calls experienced by the intrepid Marine Raiders as they invaded one after another of the Jap-fortified islands.
 Vivid in LaFrance,s memory is the first raid performed by tine Marines on Maxim island on August IT, 1922. For six months they had undergone, under Col. Carlson's direction, the toughest military training ever in- augurated, and they were facing their final test.
 The submarine, pitching on a heavy sea. unloaded the boats into heavy swell. But the water-soaked motors refused to start.
 Pass the word along to the boats to follow this one" Col. Carlson commanded, and the Marines pad- dled their way into the vast un- known of the Jap fortress. They remained 40 hours on Maxim, killed 300 Japs, leaving not one alive. destroyed three radio stations. a warship, transport, two planes and 100 barrels of aviation gasoline.
 Returning to the beach. the Ma rines observed to their dismay the submarine was not st the designated locality. While the Marines pad dled around the waters, waiting and wondering, a Jap transport