"The Most Forgotten Unit in the Most Forgotten Theatre of That War:" A History of the Mars Task Force in the Burma Theatre of World War II, August 1944-October 1945

This thesis discusses the significance of the (MTF) in Burma during World War II and how the MTF has been generally overlooked by historians. What little historical attention the Mars Task Force has received has frequently been brief and inaccurate. The Mars Task Force was a classified Long Range Penetration Force that trekked some 300 miles behind enemy-lines and went on the offensive in Burma to weaken the Japanese in their war with the Nationalists Chinese. This epic march was on foot, with mules, and supplied through airdrops. This thesis represents one of the few studies of the Mars Task Force of any length and uses numerous primary sources to chronicle their activities during World War II. This thesis is also of significance in that it relieves the few surviving veterans of the burden of having been largely ignored and bestows on them the credit they have long deserved.