2nd Battalion, 1st Marines (2/1) is an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

battalion in 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 ...

based out of Camp Horno on

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...

, California. Nicknamed "The Professionals," the battalion consists of approximately 1,200 Marines and Sailors. Normally they fall under the command of the

1st Marine Regiment The 1st Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. The regiment is under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force. The 1st ...

and the

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the ...

Subordinate units

Headquarters and Services Company A headquarters and service company is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion and regimental level in the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. Army equivalent unit is the headquarters and headquarters company. In identifying a specific ...

* Echo Company * Fox Company * Golf Company * Hotel Company * Weapons Company (CAAT RED, CAAT BLUE, 81s ortarsPlatoon, Scout Sniper Platoon)

History

The battalion was activated August 1, 1922, at

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, as the 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment and was assigned to the 2nd Brigade. The battalion played a role in the occupation of the Dominican Republic, after which it was deactivated on July 20, 1924.

World War II

The battalion was reactivated March 1, 1941, at Guantanamo Bay,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, as the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines and was assigned to the

of the

Fleet Marine Force The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general- and special-purpose forces within the United States Department of the Navy that perform offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Fleet ...

. The force was active for only a brief period of time, during which it was deployed to

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated as MCRD PI) is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. The unit was again deactivated on June 14, 1941. Shortly after the United States entered into World War II, the unit was reactivated February 11, 1942, at New River,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. It was again assigned to the 1st Marine Division, which deployed in July 1942 to

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. The battalion participated in numerous campaigns in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

of WWII, and was a part of the American advance into Japanese territory in the Pacific. The first of these was the Guadalcanal Campaign, during which the battalion defended Henderson Field, an airfield on Guadalcanal, and withstood Japanese bombings of the strategic location. They later participated in

Operation Cartwheel Operation Cartwheel (1943–1944) was a major military operation for the Allies in the Pacific theatre of World War II. Cartwheel was an operation aimed at neutralising the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The operation was directed by the ...

, specifically the

Battle of Cape Gloucester The Battle of Cape Gloucester was fought in the Pacific theater of World War II between Japanese and Allied forces on the island of New Britain, Territory of New Guinea, between 26 December 1943 and 16 January 1944. Codenamed Operation Backhande ...

, during which they withstood several Japanese

Banzai charge Banzai charge is the term that was used by the Allied forces of World War II to refer to Japanese human wave attacks and swarming staged by infantry units. This term came from the Japanese battle cry , and was shortened to banzai, specificall ...

s. Later, during the

Battle of Peleliu The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II by the US military, was fought between the United States and Japan during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign of World War II, from September 15 to November 27, 1944, on the island of P ...

, the unit suffered heavy casualties during their defense of the Umurbrogal Pocket. In their last engagement in the Pacific, the unit participated in the decisive

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

, taking part in the capture of Shuri during poor weather conditions. At the close of World War II, in September 1945, the unit was redeployed to Tiensin, China, where they were a part of the occupation of northern China until October 1947, when the unit was deactivated.

Korean War and early 1960s

2nd Battalion was reactivated August 4, 1950, at

Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilmingt ...

, North Carolina, and again assigned to the 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. It was almost immediately deployed to

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

, Japan in preparation for its participation in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

from September 1950 – July 1953, during which it fought at Inchon-Seoul,

Chosin Reservoir The Chosin Reservoir (), formally known as Lake Changjin () is a lake located in Changjin County, North Korea. It is most famously known for being the site of the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, which was an important battle in the Korean War. ...

, the East Central Front, and the Western Front. After the war, the unit aided in the defense of the

Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone (Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ha ...

. On September 20th, 1950. The 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines set up a L-shaped

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

near Yongdungpo. A North Korean column of hundreds of NKPA troops and five

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, anti-tan ...

tanks headed blindly into the

set by the Marines. Short-range fire from Marine 3.5-inch bazookas knocked out the first two enemy tanks; a storm of direct and indirect fire cut down the supporting infantry, killing 300 North Korean men. The surviving North Koreans withdrew to their prepared defenses within Yongdungpo. After the war, in April 1955, the unit was relocated to

Camp Pendleton, California Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...

, where it participated in the transplacement system between the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions.

Vietnam War

During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Company H of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines massacred up to 145 Vietnamese civilians in the Thủy Bồ incident. * Deployed during November 1965 to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

, and assigned 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 ...

, Fleet Marine Force * Participated in the War in Vietnam, November 1965 – May 1971, ** Thừa Thiên Province **

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

/ Phu Bai) ** Quảng Nam Province **

Da Nang Air Base Da Nang Air Base ( vi, Căn cứ không quân Đà Nẵng) (1930s–1975) (also known as Da Nang Airfield, Tourane Airfield or Tourane Air Base) was a French Air Force and later Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) facility located in the city ...

** Quảng Trị Province ** Quảng Tín Province * Major Operations and Battles ** Operation Oregon Quảng Trị Province Mar 20–23, 1966 **

Operation Hastings Operation Hastings was an American military operation in the Vietnam War. The operation was a qualified success in that it pushed the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) forces back across the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). ...

/ Operation Deckhouse II Quảng Trị Province Jul 7 – August 3, 1966 ** Operation Union I/

Operation Lien Ket 102 Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

Quảng Nam and Quảng Tín Provinces Apr 21 – May 17, 1967 ** Operation Medina Quảng Trị Province Oct 11–20, 1967 ** Operation Kentucky Quảng Trị Province November 1, 1967 – February 28, 1968 **

Operation Napoleon/Saline Operation Napoleon/Saline was a multi-Battalion operation conducted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army along the Cửa Việt River south of the DMZ in Quảng Trị Province. The operation ran from 20 January to 9 Dece ...

Quảng Trị Province Feb 19 – December 9, 1968 ** Battle of Huế Thừa Thiên Province January 30 – March 3, 1968 **

Operation Scotland II Operation Scotland II was a U.S. Marine Corps security operation that took place in northwest Quảng Trị Province from 15 April 1968 to 28 February 1969. Background At 08:00 on 15 April, following the relief of Khe Sanh Combat Base in Operati ...

Quảng Trị Province April 15, 1968 – February 28, 1969 * Detached during April 1971 from the 1st Marine Division, and reassigned to the 3rd Marine Amphibious Brigade, Fleet Marine Force * Relocated during June 1971 to Camp Pendleton, CA, and reassigned to the 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force

Post War and the 1980s

* Participated during April – May 1975 in

Operation New Arrivals Operation New Arrivals (April 29 – September 16, 1975) was the relocation of 130,000 Vietnamese refugees from Pacific island staging areas to the United States. Following the South-Vietnamese evacuation during the Fall of Saigon, Operation N ...

, the relocation of refugees from

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

* Participated in the Battalion rotation between the

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

and Divisions stationed in the United States during the 1980s * Deactivated January 24, 1989 * Reactivated September 9, 1994, at Camp Pendleton, CA, and assigned to the 1st Marine Division.

Global War on Terrorism

2nd Battalion 1st Marines Firefight in Fallujah 2004

As part of the

15th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU) is one of seven such units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is a Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with a strength of about 2,200 per ...

, the battalion deployed to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

in February 2003, and participated in the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...

in March 2003. The battalion deployed in March 2004, to

Fallujah Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jew ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and took part in

Operation Vigilant Resolve The First Battle of Fallujah, code-named Operation Vigilant Resolve, was an operation against militants in Fallujah as well as an attempt to apprehend or kill the perpetrators of the killing of four U.S. contractors in March 2004. The chief cat ...

. They returned to Iraq in 2005 with the

13th Marine Expeditionary Unit The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units currently in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 per ...

and engaged in combat operations during

Operation Steel Curtain Operation Steel Curtain (Arabic: الحجاب الفولاذي Al Hejab Elfulathi) was a military operation executed by coalition forces in early November 2005 to reduce the flow of foreign insurgents crossing the border and joining the Iraqi ...

Husaybah Husaybah ( ar, حصيبة) is a city on the Euphrates river in the Al-Qa'im District of Al-Anbar province in Iraq, adjacent to the Al-Qa'im border crossing to Syria. Climate In Husaybah, there is a desert climate. Most rain falls in the winter. T ...

, Karabilah, and New Ubaydi, and Operation Iron Hammer in

Hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

. The battalion deployed to Okinawa to serve as the Ground Combat Unit for the

31st Marine Expeditionary Unit The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU) is one of seven Marine Expeditionary Units in existence in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Expeditionary Unit is a Marine Air Ground Task Force with a strength of about 2,200 Marines and ...

from January 1, 2007, until January 1, 2008. The battalion deployed to Iraq in January 2009 and returned in August of the same year. The battalion deployed to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in October 2010 through May 15, 2011, in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

. They operated in the

Garmsir District Garmsir District (or Garmser; ps, ګرمسير; from Persian گرمسیر, meaning "hot place") is located in the southern part of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The district is large, but all the villages are along the Helmand River. The rest is ...

, Helmand Province. In June 2012, the battalion returned to Okinawa as the Ground Combat Element for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. In March 2014, 2/1 deployed as the Ground Combat Element of the 11th MEU. The battalion lost nine Marines and one Navy Corpsman on August 26th, 2021 in a deadly suicide bomber attack during the withdrawal from Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport. The ISIS-K terror group claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing seeking to disrupt the massive evacuation effort of Americans, Afghan allies and third-party nationals outside the U.S.-held airport. The attack in total took the lives of 13 American Servicemen and women. Marines conduct physical training aboard USS Makin

Marines conduct physical training aboard USS Makin

Unit awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. 2/1 has been presented with the following awards:

Notable former members

Troy E. Black Troy E. Black (born 1968/1969) is a United States Marine and the 19th and current Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps as of July 26, 2019. Early life Black is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and a 1987 graduate of Jeffersontown High School. Mi ...

– 19th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps * John L. Estrada - 15th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps; former US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago *

Raymond Kelly Raymond Walter Kelly (born September 4, 1941) is the longest serving Commissioner in the history of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the first man to hold the post for two non-consecutive tenures. According to its website, Kelly � ...

–

NYPD Commissioner The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsib ...

Charles C. Krulak Charles Chandler Krulak (born March 4, 1942) is a retired United States Marine Corps General (United States), four-star general who served as the 31st Commandant of the Marine Corps from July 1, 1995 to June 30, 1999. He is the son of Lieutenant ...

– 31st

Commandant of the Marine Corps The commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) is normally the highest-ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joint Chiefs of Staff: composition; functions. The CMC reports directly to the secr ...

from July 1, 1995, to June 30, 1999 * Robert Leckie – author of ''

Helmet for My Pillow ''Helmet for My Pillow'' is the personal narrative written by World War II United States Marine Corps veteran, author, and military historian Robert Leckie. First published in 1957, the story begins with Leckie's enlisting in the United States Ma ...

'' *Gen

Peter Pace Peter Pace (born November 5, 1945) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 16th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace was the first Marine officer appointed as chairman and the first Marine officer to be appointed ...

– former

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

Lewis Burwell Puller, Jr. Lewis Burwell Puller Jr. (August 18, 1945 – May 11, 1994) was an attorney and a United States Marine Corps officer who was severely wounded in the Vietnam War. He won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for his autobiograph ...

– son of General Lewis "Chesty" Puller and Pulitzer prize winning author * Douglas Zembiec – The "Lion of Fallujah"

Motto

Get Results Uphold The Legacy Never Quit Spirited Ethos Mutual Trust Ownership Know Your Stuff Everyday Counts Towards Combat Effectiveness

External links

2/1 Marines During Operation Hastings
*2/1's invasion into Iraq (Umm Qasr and An Nasiriyah) greatly detailed in the boo
15 Years of War

Notes

References

: ;Bibliography * * *

External links

2/1's official website

Vietnam Veterans of the 2nd BN 1st Marines
{{1stMarDiv Infantry battalions of the United States Marine Corps 1st Marine Division (United States)

Subordinate units

History

World War II

Korean War and early 1960s

Vietnam War

Post War and the 1980s

Global War on Terrorism

Unit awards

Notable former members

Motto

See also

External links

Notes

References

External links