Edson Duncan Raff was an officer in the US 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

Oran

Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...

 as part of Operation Torch

Operation Torch

Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....

. 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

Winchester, Virginia

Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...

 called the Shenandoah Valley Academy

Shenandoah Valley Academy

Shenandoah Valley Academy is a private, co-educational, boarding, high school in New Market, Virginia, United States. It has both boarding and day school programs. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Accrediting Association of Seventh-day Adventist...

 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

Caesar (title)

Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...

" by them. He first saw combat during Operation Torch as the commander of the 509th:
He spent time as an airborne planner on General Omar Bradley

Omar Bradley

Omar Nelson Bradley was a senior U.S. Army field commander in North Africa and Europe during World War II, and a General of the Army in the United States Army...

's staff and was assigned by General Matthew Ridgway

Matthew Ridgway

Matthew Bunker Ridgway was a United States Army General. He held several major commands and was most famous for resurrecting the United Nations war effort during the Korean War. Several historians have credited Ridgway for turning around the war in favor of the UN side...

 to lead Task Force Raff, a composite unit of M-4 Sherman tanks and scout cars landed at Utah Beach

Utah Beach

Utah Beach was the code name for the right flank, or westernmost, of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944...

 on D-Day

D-Day

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

 to support the 82nd. When the commander of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment

507th Infantry Regiment

During World War II, the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment was a regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division and, later, 17th Airborne Division of the United States Army.The regiment was initially formed at Camp Toccoa, Georgia on 20 July 1942...

 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

Operation Varsity

Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...

.

As the plane neared the DZ, Raff recalls:
After the war in 1954, Raff would command the 77th Special Forces Group, based at Fort Bragg

Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...

 and is credited by Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General (United States)

In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...

 William Yarborough

William P. Yarborough

Lieutenant General William Pelham Yarborough was a United States Army officer and a 1936 graduate of West Point. General Yarborough designed the parachutist badge, paratrooper or 'jump' boots, and the airborne jump uniform. He is known as the 'Father of the Modern Green Berets.' He is descended...

 as the "father" of the then-controversial green beret

Green beret

The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of World War II. It is still worn with pride by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course and any member of the British Military who has passed the All Arms Commando Course.There are certain other military...

 now routinely worn by US Army Special Forces.