The Leatherneck Raiders are a fictional World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 unit in comic books published by Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

. Created by Gary Friedrich

Gary Friedrich

Gary Friedrich . is an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics' Sgt...

 and Dick Ayers

Dick Ayers

Richard "Dick" Ayers is an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and as the signature...

, they were a specially trained tactical commando squad. "Leatherneck

Leatherneck

Leatherneck is a military slang term for a member of the United States Marine Corps. Now accepted by Webster as a synonym for Marine, the term "Leatherneck" was derived from a leather stock once worn around the neck by both American and British Marines—and soldiers also. Beginning in 1798, "one...

" is a military slang term for a member of the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

, the Marine Raiders

Marine Raiders

The Marine Raiders were elite units established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare, particularly in landing in rubber boats and operating behind the lines...

 were a special World War II unit.

Publication history

Captain Savage's first appearance in Marvel Comics was in Sgt. Fury #10 "On to Okinawa" as the submarine captain that aids Fury and his team. The Leatherneck Raiders starred in their own Marvel Comics series, Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders, which ran 19 issues from Jan. 1968 – Mar. 1970. (The title of the comic changed to Captain Savage and his Battlefield Raiders with issue #9 with Savage shaving off his beard.)
Savage regrew his beard in the last issue #19, a proposal to have a Captain Savage of the Silent Service with Savage as a submarine commander was not taken up.

Fictional team history

The Leathernecks were commanded by U.S. Navy submarine Captain Simon Savage, who modeled his squad after his one-time associate Nick Fury

Nick Fury

Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present-day super-spy in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 , a World War II combat series that portrayed the...

's Howling Commandos

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos are a fictional World War II unit in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, they first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 . The main character, Sgt...

. Savage had appeared in several of the Howling Commando issues as the commander of the USS Sea Wolf, a submarine taking them on missions. Why an experienced submarine commander with an equivalent Army/Marine rank of Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 was employed to lead a small squad

Squad

In military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition this organization is referred to as a section...

 (usually led by a Corporal

Corporal

Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....

) on land operations was never explained.

Although the Leatherneck Raiders (also known as the "Leathernecks," and the "Battlefield Raiders") were an effective fighting force in World War II, they never achieved the recognition that the Howling Commandos received.

In the premiere issue, the Raiders fought on Tarawa

Battle of Tarawa

The Battle of Tarawa, code named Operation Galvanic, was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, largely fought from November 20 to November 23, 1943. It was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region....

. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th issues had the Raiders come across Baron Strucker

Baron Strucker

Baron Wolfgang von Strucker is a fictional character created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #5...

 and HYDRA

HYDRA

HYDRA is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe.Despite the name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, the name is not an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra...

 on a Pacific Island.

Savage, now a colonel, appeared in Fall of the Hulks: Gamma at the funeral of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross

Thunderbolt Ross

General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross is a fictional character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as an adversary of the Hulk, sometimes as a supervillain. Ross is a United States military officer, the father of Betty Ross, ex-father in-law of Glenn Talbot and the father in-law...

.

Team members

Aside from Captain Savage, the team consisted of:

• Private Lee Baker (who was killed in action)
• Corporal Jacques Larocque
• Private Jay Littlebear
• Seaman Roy "Blarney" Stone
• Sgt. Sam "Yakkety" Yates

Australian character Rolfe Harrison appeared in a couple issues with the Raiders but never joined their ranks.