![Landing on Emirau AWM305252](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Landing_on_Emirau_AWM305252.jpeg)
The 19th Marine Regiment was a composite
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...
of the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
subordinate to the
3rd Marine Division
The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...
. It existed from September 1942 until September 1944. In December 1943 there was a large change of command in the Regiment. Marine engineer regiments were eventually disbanded in favor of independent engineering battalions within the parent Marine divisions.
Subordinate units
The regiment was a composite of three different types of battalions and a headquarters and service company:
* 1st Battalion, 19th Marines, A, B, & C Companies 3rd Engineer Battalion now
3rd Combat Engineer Battalion
* 2nd Battalion, 19th Marines, D, E, & F Companies 3rd Pioneer Battalion now
Combat Logistics Regiment 3
Combat Logistics Regiment 3 (CLR-3) is a direct support (DS) logistics unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan. The unit falls under the 3rd Marine Logistics Group and the III Marine Expeditiona ...
* 3rd Battalion, 19th Marines, G, H, & I Companies 25th Naval Construction Battalion
now
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25 or NMCB 25 is a Navy Reserve Seabee unit that is headquartered at Port Hueneme, CA. Its World War II predecessor was one of three CBs transferred to the Marine Corps in the late summer of 1942 ...
or NMCB 25
History
World War II
Assigned to the 3rd Marine Division, on 11 March 1943 Col Robert M. Montaque took command of the Regiment in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. September 1943 saw the regiment land in the
Bougainville campaign
The Bougainville campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan, named after the island of Bougainville. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allie ...
on that island. The seabees bulldozed paths through the jungle for tanks to attack the Japanese lines. C. Company with other 19th Marines built a corduroy road for tanks and supply movement for the 7th marines. Companies C, F, & I were attached to the 3rd RCT while Companies A, D, & G were attached to the 9th RCT.
From there it went to Guadalcanal in preparation for the
Battle of Guam (1944)
The Battle of Guam (21 July–10 August 1944) was the American recapture of the Japanese-held island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese from the United States in the First Battle of Guam in 1941 during ...
. It landed in the assault on Guam with Companies C, F, & I attached to the 3rd Marine Regimental Combat Team, Companies A, D, & G attached to the 9th Marine Regimental Combat Team and Companies B, E, & H attached to the 21st Marine Regimental Combat Team.
[Marines In World War II, The Recapture of Guam, Major F.O. Hough, USMC, Pickle Partners Publishing, 201]
/ref> The regiment was decommissioned on 17 August. The 25th NCB was returned to the Navy and assigned to the 5th Naval Construction Brigade, remaining on Guam until the war ended.
With the inactivation of the 19th Marine Regiment the 3rd Engineer Battalion and the 3rd Pioneer Battalion were posted directly to the 3rd Marine Division
The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...
. The 25th Naval Construction Battalion was replaced by the 62nd Naval Construction Battalion which was attached directly to the V Amphibious Corps
The V Amphibious Corps (VAC) was a formation of the United States Marine Corps which was composed of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions in World War II. The three divisions were the amphibious landing force for the United States Fifth Fleet ...
for the Battle of Iwo Jima. The 3rd Pioneers landed on yellow 2 beach on D-plus 3 and remained there until D-plus 6. On D-plus 6 black beach was created and the pioneers moved there as did the 3rd Engineers. The 62nd NCB was made the lead Battalion for getting Motoyama Airfield #1 operational in place of the 133rd NCB which had taken heavy casualties.
* 3rd Marine Division Order of Battle for Bougainville Campaign
The Bougainville campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan, named after the island of Bougainville. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allie ...
,1 November–15 December 1943[USMC Historical Monograph, Major John M. Rentz USMCR, Historical Section Headquarters USMC, Quantico, VA, Appendix V]
/ref>
** 3rd Marine Regimental Combat Team - C, F, & I Companies 19th Marines
** 9th Marine Regimental Combat Team - A, D, & G Companies 19th Marines
** 21st Marine Regimental Combat Team -B, E, & H Companies 19th Marines (assault reserve)
* Solomon Islands campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, ...
:- 15 December 1943 – 9 January 1944
* 3rd Marine Division Order of Battle for Emirau
Emirau Island, also called Emira, is an island in the Bismarck Archipelago located at . It is currently part of the New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea. The local language is a dialect of the Mussau-Emira language. Emira is part of what on ...
March 1944
** 4th Marine Regimental Combat Team - Pioneer Company 2d Bn 19th Marines
* 3rd Marine Division Order of Battle of Guam, 21 July–15 August 1944
** 9th Marine Regimental Combat Team - A, D, & G Companies 19th Marines
** 21st Marine Regimental Combat Team -B, E, & H Companies 19th Marines
** 3rd Marine Regimental Combat Team - C, F, & I Companies 19th Marines (assault reserve)
Command officer history
Unit awards
*
Navy Unit Commendation,3rd Marine Regiment(and all units attached to or serving with), Company C 19th Marines, Bougainville
*
Navy Unit Commendation, 21st Marine Regiment(and all units attached to or serving with),Company B 19th Marines, Guam
*
Presidential Unit Citation, 3rd Marine Regiment(and all units attached to or serving with), Company C 19th Marines, Guam
"Naval Unit Commendation,
3d Marines
The Secretary of the Navy takes pleasure in commending the
THIRD MARINES, THIRD MARINE DIVISION
for service as follows:
"For outstanding heroism in action against enemy Japanese forces during the invasion, seizure, occupation and defense of Empress Augusta Bay Beachhead, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, from November 1 to December 22, 1943. In action against the enemy for the first time, the THIRD Marines landed on an extremely wide front in the face of perilous surf and beach conditions and through flanking fire of hostile machine guns, anti-boat guns, mortars, small arms and artillery from heavily entrenched positions on Cape Torokina and Puruata Island. Pressing forward through almost impenetrable jungle and swampy terrain, this Regiment completely reduced the intricate system of mutually supporting Japanese pillboxes, bunkers, fire trenches and foxholes which constituted the Cape Torokina defense, and secured its portion of the objective by evening of D-Day. Shifted to the left flank of the beachhead, the THIRD Marines smashed a Japanese counter-landing and drove steadily forward despite difficulties of terrain, supply and communication and, developing the main enemy position in a meeting engagement on the Numa. Numa trail, completely wiped out the Japanese 23rd Infantry. In continuous action as a front line regiment for a total of fifty-two consecutive days, the gallant men and officers of the THIRD Marines, by their skill in jungle warfare and their aggressive fighting spirit, contributed greatly to the success of the campaign and enhanced the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."
All personnel attached to and serving with the THIRD Marines at Bougainville from November 1 to December 22, 1943, are authorized to wear the NAVY UNIT COMMENDATION Ribbon.
JAMES FORRESTAL,
Secretary of the Navy"
[USMC Historical Monograph Bougainville and the Northern Solomons, USMC History Division, Headquarters Quantico, V]
/ref>
See also
* History of the United States Marine Corps
The history of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) begins with the founding of the Continental Marines on 10 November 1775 to conduct ship-to-ship fighting, provide shipboard security and discipline enforcement, and assist in landing forces ...
* Landing on Emirau
The Landing on Emirau was the last of the series of operations that made up Operation Cartwheel, General Douglas MacArthur's strategy for the encirclement of the major Japanese base at Rabaul. A force of nearly 4,000 United States Marines lan ...
* List of United States Marine Corps regiments
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
* Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25 or NMCB 25 is a Navy Reserve Seabee unit that is headquartered at Port Hueneme, CA. Its World War II predecessor was one of three CBs transferred to the Marine Corps in the late summer of 1942 ...
* Organization of the United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV). The most senior Marine commissioned officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recr ...
* 3rd Marine Division
The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with th ...
* 16th Marine Regiment
The 16th Marine Regiment was a composite engineer regiment of the United States Marine Corps subordinate to the 5th Marine Division. While its subordinate battalions went to the Pacific Theater as part of the 5th Marine Division, the Regimental he ...
(Engineer)
* 17th Marine Regiment
The 17th Marine Regiment was a composite engineer regiment of the United States Marine Corps subordinate to the 1st Marine Division. It was formed primarily from units of the Division, and was inactivated during war with the 1st and 2nd battalions ...
(Engineer)
* 18th Marine Regiment
The 18th Marine Regiment was a composite engineer regiment of the United States Marine Corps subordinate to the 2nd Marine Division. It was disbanded during the war, with the 1st and 2nd battalions remaining in the Division.
Subordinate units
The ...
(Engineer)
* 20th Marine Regiment
20th Marine Regiment was a Composite Engineer Regiment of the United States Marine Corps that fought during World War II.U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle Fleet Marine Force Ground Units, Rottman p. 220''/ref>
Subordinate units
T ...
(Engineer)
* Seabees
United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...
Further reading
Third Marine Combat Operations Report Bougainville
* 3rd Battalion 19th Marines: Photographs on Guadalcanal, Bougainville and Guam taken by James William Pless, Sr. - PHOTOGRAPHS of WWII, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville, FOLDER 2
*
References
External links
* http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-NSols/index.html
* http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Guam/index.html
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Seabees
United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...
Eng19
Eng19
United States Marine Corps in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1942
1942 establishments in the United States