Edson Raff

Edson Duncan Raff
Nickname(s)	"Little Caesar"
Born	November 15, 1907 New York City, New York, United States
Died	March 11, 2003 (aged 95) Garnett, Kansas, United States
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1933–1958
Rank	Colonel
Unit	Infantry Branch
Commands held	2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment 77th Special Forces Group
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Legion of Honour (France) Silver Star

Colonel Edson Duncan Raff (November 15, 1907 – March 11, 2003) was a United States Army officer and author of a book on paratroopers. He served as Commanding Officer (CO) of the first American paratroop unit to jump into combat, the 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, near Oran as part of Operation Torch during World War II. 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 called the Shenandoah Valley Academy before serving in the army.

By the time the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Raff had transferred to the army's fledgling airborne forces. Serving as Commanding Officer (CO) of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, a paratrooper unit, commanded by Colonel William M. "Bud" Miley, Raff's battalion (which was later redesignated the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion) was sent to England as an independent unit as part of Operation Roundup, the Allied invasion of German-occupied Europe scheduled for 1942 which, due to lack of resources, was postponed until 1943. While in England the 509th trained alongside and became closely associated with the British 1st Airborne Division, commanded by Major General Frederick A. M. "Boy" Browning, the father of the British Army's airborne forces.