When Mao was in the U.S. Marines -- And the Man Who Turned a Marine Battalion "Red"

Probably the only time Mao Zedong Thought was integrated into a U.S. mainstream institution was when his politico-military ideas were incorporated into the noted 2nd Marine Corps Raider Battalion in 1942-44. This was done by Brigadier General Evans V. Carlson who had been stationed in China in the 1920s-30s, travelled with Mao's 8th Route Army, met Mao and his generals and admired the military structure and political-military ideology of the Red Army. This little known, but fascinating episode, its genesis and demise, is the focus. It will be presented within the context of the 3 Anti-Imperialist Marine generals whose 1920s-30s time in China began to alter their views of the U.S., from imparting democracy abroad to imperialist state. Carlson is emphasized because of his openly anti-imperialist, pro-Red Army views and their application while in the Marines and his connection to the U.S. left in the 1930s-40s.
Speaker: Al Sargis, Coordinator, Friedrich Engels Institute of Marxist War and Military Analysis (FEIMWAMA)