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Edson Duncan Raff (November 15, 1907 in New York City – March 11, 2003 in Garnett, Kansas) was an officer of the United States Army and author of a book on paratroopers. He served as commanding officer of the first American paratroop unit to jump into combat, the 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, near Oran as part of Operation Torch during World War II.〔Atkinson, Rick. ''An Army at Dawn''. New York, New York: Henry Holt & Company. pp. 89-90. ISBN 0-8050-7448-1〕 His book, ''We Jumped to Fight'', was based on his experience in that operation and was published in 1944. Raff had served as First Captain of Cadets at a small prep school in Winchester, Virginia called the Shenandoah Valley Academy before serving in the Army. Due to the tough training course he gave the paratroopers in the 509th (and his stocky physique), Raff was nicknamed "Little Caesar" by them.〔(Military.com Content )〕〔("Good God. Gaston" Time Oct 12, 1942 )〕 He first saw combat during Operation Torch as the commander of the 509th: He spent time as an airborne planner on General Omar Bradley's staff and was assigned by General Matthew Ridgway to lead Task Force Raff, a composite unit of M4 Sherman tanks and scout cars landed at Utah Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944, to support the 82nd Airborne Division.〔Nordyke, Phil. ''All American, All the Way''. Zenith Imprint, 2005. pg. 310. ISBN 0-7603-2201-5, ISBN 978-0-7603-2201-7〕 When the commander of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was captured in Normandy, Raff was assigned on June 15, 1944, to command the regiment. Raff led that unit, nicknamed "Raff's Ruffians", through the rest of the war, including its participation in Operation Varsity in March 1945. As the plane neared the DZ, Raff recalls:〔(A Legend )〕 After the war in 1954, Raff would command the 77th Special Forces Group, based at Fort Bragg and is credited by Lieutenant General William Yarborough〔(LTG Yarborough to BG Emerson )〕 as the "father" of the then-controversial green beret now routinely worn by US Army Special Forces. ==See also== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Edson Raff」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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