Early years With the advent of World War I, the United States expanded the armed forces, to include the United States Marine Corps. The 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines (also known as 2/9) was created and activated on November 20, 1917, at
Quantico, Virginia. During this period, there was turmoil in
Cuba's sugar producing regions. American companies operated the island's sugar industry, which was vital to the economy of the United States. The battalion's first mission was to keep order in the island and once this was accomplished, it was reassigned. There were rumors that
German agents were going to disrupt
Mexican oil shipments to
Texas. The battalion was sent to Texas to safeguard these shipments. 2/9 was disbanded after the war on April 25, 1919, only to be reactivated in 1925. The battalion's main objective was to train reserve Marines and its headquarters was now transferred to
Kansas City, Missouri, with two companies stationed at
St. Louis. 2/9 was once again disbanded in 1937. The 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines were part of the reserve forces for the
Battle of Iwo Jima and were committed to the action five days after
D-Day. Among the Marines who distinguished themselves on Iwo Jima was
Private Wilson D. Watson who received the Medal of Honor. After the island was secured, the unit was sent back to Guam where they underwent training for a
possible invasion of the Japanese mainland. The invasion never occurred since hostilities between Japan and the United States came to an end. The 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines was sent to
Camp Pendelton where, in December 1945, it was once again disbanded.
Post-World War II In November 1948, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines was again reestablished. The final stages of fighting between the
Nationalists and the
Chinese Communist Party in the
Chinese Civil War occurred between 1945 and 1950. When the fighting escalated, the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines were ordered to Northern China to evacuate all Americans. This mission was accomplished by March 1949 and after which the battalion was sent to
Camp Lejeune,
North Carolina and was renamed as the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine. On August 1, 1969, 2/9
departed Vietnam onboard the bound for
Camp Schwab, Okinawa. During its 49 months in combat the battalion participated in more than 20 major operations. During this period the unit was assigned to sea duty in and around the waters of Vietnam and continued to receive combat training at
Camp Fuji, Japan and
Subic Bay in the
Philippines. Calling the seizure "
piracy",
President Ford ordered a military response to retake the ship and its 39-man crew, mistakenly thought to be on
Koh Tang Island. On May 13, two
A-7D Corsairs saw the 39 man crew board a fishing boat and saw people disembarking fishing boats at Koh Tang Island. They assumed that the Mayaguez crew was on the island. Elements of the
1st Battalion, 4th Marines, the
2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, and the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, were flown to an advanced staging of a joint US Task Force. On May 14, the Marines from Company D, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines boarded the Mayaguez only to find it deserted and raised the American flag. A
Thai fishing boat with a Thai crew and the 39 crew members of the SS Mayaguez which had been set free, approached the USS Wilson. 2/9 never returned to Okinawa in 1991. This is incorrect. We went directly from Subic Bay, Philippines to Camp Pendleton, CA USA. We left the Philippines about 2 weeks before Mt Pinatubo erupted on JUN 12 1991. We may have stopped in Okinawa on the way home but were never there until August. We went back to San Mateo 62 Area, Camp Pendleton. We had barracks on the South East end, South of where the 62 Area BAS is now(2026). They were squad bays back then, one story. Not the nice multi level apartments currently there. A Marine, Fox CO 2/9.
Somalia The
5th Marine Regiment designated 2/9 to participate in the
Marine Expeditionary Unit deployment cycle during November 1991. With the successful culmination of the Special Operations Capable Exercise (MEUSOC), 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines became the designated Battalion Landing Team (BLT) for the
15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU). By this time,
Somalia had suffered over four years of
civil war. Dictator
Mohammed Siad Barre had deliberately broken up the armed forces into clan factions in order to maintain his hold on power, starting from 1987. By 1991 there were two dominant factions in the immediate area of
Mogadishu, the capital. One of the factions was led by
Ali Mahdi Mohamed; and the other, by the warlord
Mohammed Farah Aidid. In 1991, the United States initiated
Operation Provide Relief (UNOSOM I) which was part of a UN endorsed effort called The Unified Task Force (UNITAF), to provide humanitarian relief. In August 1992,
President George H. Bush sent, 25,000 US troops (mostly US Marines from
I MEF) to the Republic of Somalia and the mission was renamed
Operation Restore Hope, also known as UNOSOM II. Its main objectives were to provide humanitarian relief, initiate 'nation building', disarm the various factions, restore law and order, help the people set up a representative government, and restore the infrastructure. On September 2, 1994, 2nd Battalion 9th Marines was deactivated and redesignated 2nd Battalion 4th Marines.
2007-2015 in
Ramadi in 2008 On December 7, 2006,
Headquarters Marine Corps released a message stating that 2nd Battalion 9th Marines would be reactivated during 2007 as part of the continuing
Global War on Terror. 2nd Battalion 9th Marines was re-activated on July 13, 2007, and replaced the
Anti-Terrorism Battalion (ATBn). In December 2010 Echo Company from 2/9 were attached to 3/5 in Sangin, Afghanistan where they earned the notorious nickname of "Green Hats." They returned February 2011. They redeployed back to
Marjah December 2011 and returned July 2012. Echo and Weapons companies deployed once more to Afghanistan from January through April 2013, participating in combat operations out of
Camp Leatherneck. On April 1, 2015, the battalion was deactivated in a ceremony at Camp Lejeune. ==Medal of Honor recipients==