Shawn Ryan Show: Frank Wright’s WWII Raider Story of Survival and Duty

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When war, youth, and duty collide, the result can shape a lifetime. Today we're discussing an incredible episode of Shawn Ryan Show featuring Frank Wright, the last living original Marine Raider from World War Two. What an honor that must have been. Wright's story starts incredibly young, doesn't it? He joined the Marine Corps at just 16, right after Pearl Harbor, even though he was too young and too light for service. Right, and I love how he solved that problem. He literally stuffed five pounds of bananas in his blouse to make weight. He laughs about it now, but think about that determination. He originally wanted to be an airplane mechanic, but combat ended up defining his path instead. That's fascinating. And he talks about why he chose the Marines specifically. The uniform mattered to him, and so did the culture. There's even this story about a fistfight with a sailor in Oregon. The rivalry between Navy and Marines was very real back then. Building on that point, once he was in, things moved quickly. His senior drill instructor, A.H. Allen, helped get him selected for the Marine Raiders. Jimmy Roosevelt actually led the unit, and the training had one brutal purpose. As Wright remembers Roosevelt saying, just one word: "Kill."

That's chilling. He adds that the instruction was about survival, and it left a permanent mark on him.

The real fighting began on New Georgia and Guadalcanal, where he describes jungle warfare, ambushes, and seeing dead friends for the first time. Japanese camouflage in coconut groves, every shadow potentially hiding an enemy. But Guam is where the story turns even more intense. Wright describes Japanese tanks, infantry attacks, and getting a bayonet wound to the stomach after a man charged him. What strikes me is his honesty. He says he was more scared than hurt. And a corpsman taped him up and kept him at the aid station because others were in worse condition.

Years later, he returned to Guam for a reunion and says retracing the landing route was deeply moving. He remembers prisoners being released and says, "If you want to see what freedom looks like, you look into the eyes of those who survived." That's powerful.

Then came Iwo Jima, some of the war's hardest moments. Wright describes the terrain, the flag raising, and being shot through the chest, clavicle, and arm. Two corpsmen pulled him into a shell hole. He later walked back to the aid station with another wounded Marine.

The injury nearly cost him his arm. On the hospital ship, a doctor wanted to amputate, and Wright actually hit him when he heard that plan. Even now, the war remains present in his body and memory. He says some questions still make him cry when people push too hard for details.

But he offers clear advice to younger Marines:

listen to your trainers, and if something is wrong, seek help. His message is simple and hard won. "God gave you a good body, and you need to take care of it." In Wright's telling, courage isn't just what happens in battle. It's also what happens after, when a lifetime of service still asks for honesty, discipline, and care.