1st Battalion 2nd Marines

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1st Battalion 2nd Marines

1/2 Insignia
Active June 1, 1933 - November 1947
October 1949 - present
Country United States
Branch USMC
Type Infantry
Role Locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver or repel the enemy assault by fire and close combat.
Part of 2nd Marine Regiment
2nd Marine Division
Garrison/HQ Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Nickname "Others Will Follow ... Where We Lead"
Engagements World War II
* Battle of Guadalcanal
* Battle of Tarawa
* Battle of Saipan
* Battle of Tinian
* Battle of Okinawa
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Iraqi Freedom
* Battle of Nasiriyah

1st Battalion 2nd Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. They fall under the command of the 2nd Marine Regiment and the 2nd Marine Division.

Contents

[edit] Subordinate Units

  • H&S Company
  • Alpha Company
  • Bravo Company
  • Charlie Company
  • Weapons Company

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

The 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines was activated on January 1, 1933 at Cap Haitian, Haiti and spend the next year-and-a-half in Haiti until its deactivation in 1934.

[edit] World War II

Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, the battalion was reactivated deployed to the Pacific theater in June 1942. While there, the unit participated in the bloody "island hopping" campaign, fighting at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa. After the war, 1/2 spent a brief period on occupation duty in Japan, including Nagasaki, before returning to MCB Camp Lejeune where it stood down in November 1947.

[edit] 1950s - 1990s

Reactivated again in October 1949, the battalion has since regularly deployed to the Caribbean and Mediterranean regions. 1/2 has seen operational service during the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), Dominican intervention (1965), operations in the Persian Gulf (1988), Somalia evacuation (1991), Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm (1990-91), Haitian refugee operation (1992), Somalia (1993), and Cuba (1994). The unit has also deployed with the Unit Deployment Program and Camp Lejeune-based MEUs.

[edit] Global War on Terror

In January of 2002, the Marines of Bravo Company were recalled off of Christmas leave after completing their six month Unit Deployment Program (UDP) to Okinawa. The Marines were sent to Camp X-Ray, Cuba. The Marines were assigned to provide security for the US Detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

1/2 Marines climb a rocky outcrop in search of weapons caches along the Euphrates River during Operation Koa Canyon Jan. 18, 2006
1/2 Marines climb a rocky outcrop in search of weapons caches along the Euphrates River during Operation Koa Canyon Jan. 18, 2006
A Marine from 1/2 clears a building in Iraq.
A Marine from 1/2 clears a building in Iraq.

The battalion saw combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom as part of Task Force Tarawa in 2003 and with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2004having combat operation is Iskandariyah, Musayyib, Haswa, and Jerf As Sakhr located in the Babil province. In the summer of 2006, the battalion completed their third tour in Iraq as part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit in Hit located within the Al Anbar province and deployed again the following year in March 2007.[1]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the United States Marine Corps.
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