# Talk:Merritt A. Edson

Please see discussion at Wikipedia:Copyright problems#June 28. Bovlb June 28, 2005 06:20 (UTC)

It's still in bad form to use material entirely copied from another site, even if there is no Copyvio.  ℬastique▼talk 29 June 2005 18:11 (UTC)

Why did he commit suicide?  I think this is important to mention.  --70.150.12.98 21:03, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
It's not clear why Edson killed himself, but he commanded a ferocious force in an extremely bloody set of battles.  He was described as an incomparable killing machine by some pretty crazy Marines.  Most accounts of him also say he was sympathetic.  Many people who have fought in such sustained and gruesome battles have had a hard time dealing with it.  Edson was working on POW issues and probably reliving a lot of hell mentally when he committed suicide.  Edson was a nice person who cared about Marines pretty deeply.  I think he simply had a very rough time recalling what he and his friends had been through and this caused depression.  But his legacy lives on. 72.179.57.251 05:22, 20 June 2007 (UTC)Suppossely Col Edson had ancestors that came over on Mayflower? True?Thanks!Dr.Edson Andre Johnson D.D.ULC DecideDatedPMon Wed.July1,200921stcent.SWORDINHAND (talk) 20:09, 1 July 2009 (UTC)
People of exceptional talents and abilities, such as Col Edson, are often their own harshest critics. He may have felt that he did not live up to his own standards. For a possible reason why, by no means to be regarded as proven fact, consult references to him in William Manchester's memoir of the Pacific War, Goodbye Darkness. Saratoga Sam (talk) 01:07, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Someone added a claim of accidental death based on an unpubliblished interview with a colleague. OTOH, several books describe the official cause of death as suicide. So I removed the accidental death claim and added the suicide sources. I hope this is OK. LBiller39 (talk) 20:49, 13 September 2014 (UTC)

This review is transcluded from Talk:Merritt A. Edson/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

GA review (see here for criteria) (see here for this contributor's history of GA reviews)
It is reasonably well written:
Not Yet
The lead needs to be expanded to summarize the entire article.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 20:28, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
The "Central America & China" section needs to be copy-edited because it is written in passive tense.
Longdashes should not have spaces between them. The format for them is "word—word". Please make this consistent in the article. Also, remove the endashes (-) and replace them with longdashes in the prose.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 20:28, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
"was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit." - Explain what a gold star is here, the average person does not know.
"He set up an efficient organization on a semi-military basis," - explain this.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 14:17, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
Parenthesis should not be in leads. The Navy Cross headers should be renamed.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 02:14, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
The "Other Honors" section is too short to be its own section. It should be either merged into another section or removed. Also, it should be referenced.
Done. I added some info and references. I had to remove the bit about Edson Hall until I find a reference but once I track that down I will add that back in. --Kumioko (talk) 03:39, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
Finally, the article should be copy edited. I see a lot of run-on sentences and sentence fragments interspersed throughout. A MILHIST copy edit would solve this if you want someone else to look into it.
It is factually accurate and verifiable:
Not Yet
His commission date needs a ref.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 02:16, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
"His efforts greatly contributed to the organization and establishment of this "University for Marines"." - Needs a ref
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 14:16, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
"his exhibition of coolness, intrepidity, and dash so inspired his men that superior forces of bandits were driven from their prepared positions and severe losses inflicted upon them."  - Needs a ref.
it became "Edson's Ridge", in high honor of the officer who "was all over the place, encouraging, cajoling, and correcting as he continually exposed himself to enemy fire."  - Needs a ref.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 02:29, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
From then on Col Edson was known by all as "Red Mike". - Needs a ref.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 02:29, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
"A brother officer said of him shortly thereafter that officers and men would willingly follow him anywhere—the only problem was to keep up with him." - Needs a ref.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 02:29, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
"It was also said that he was not readily given to a show of emotion." - Said by who? Unless a reference can be given for this claim, it needs to be removed.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 14:17, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
"When the war's over; when the job's done." - Needs a ref.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 14:16, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
"MajGen Edson's civilian service was equally distinguished." -This is a statement of opinion which needs a ref or to be removed.
Done. --Kumioko (talk) 14:16, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
It is broad in its coverage:
Pass No problems there.
It follows the neutral point of view policy:
Not Yet The article is written with a pro-US military slant. It needs to be written in a completely neutral tone.
"A brother officer said of him..." - terms like "brother officer" are not professional and need to be removed from the text. It needs to be written professionally, per WP:TONE. Same goes for "...more than 30 years in the military service of his country." later on.
Done. I reworded this and removed the 2nd piece. --Kumioko (talk) 14:16, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
It is stable:
Pass No problems there.
It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate:
Pass No problems there.
Overall:
On Hold until issues are resolved. 00:23, 20 July 2009 (UTC)
All right. The fixes have addressed the concerns to my satisfaction. The article now meets GA criteria according to my interpretation of them. Well done. —Ed!(talk) 15:37, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

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