World War II 's black sands, Marines of the 4th Division shell Japanese positions, 1945 This division was formed by the organization and redesignation of several other units. The
23rd Marine Regiment began as
infantry detached from the
3rd Marine Division in February 1943, the same month that an
artillery battalion of the
12th Marines became the genesis of the
14th Marines and engineer elements of the
19th Marines formed the nucleus of the
20th Marines. In March, the
24th Marine Regiment was organized, and then in May it was split in two to supply the men for the
25th Marines. This war-time shuffling provided the major building blocks for a new division. The units were originally separated, however, with the 24th Marines and a variety of reinforcing units (engineer, artillery, medical, motor transport, special weapons, tanks, etc.) at
Camp Pendleton in
California. The rest of the units were at
Camp Lejeune,
North Carolina. This East Coast echelon moved to Pendleton by train and transit of the
Panama Canal in July and August. When all the units were finally together, the 4th Marine Division was formally activated on August 16, 1943, suffering more than 17,000 casualties. It was awarded two
Presidential Unit Citations and a
Navy Unit Commendation, and then inactivated 28 November 1945. Background: Early in 1962, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara indicated to the Congress that he wanted the Marine Corps to have a fourth division/wing team, to be formed of Ready Reserves. In April of that year, the Commandant of the Marine Corps announced a major reorganization of the Marine Corps Reserve to be effective 1 July 1962. In this reorganization, 53 reserve units were redesignated as 4th Marine Division units. While 1 July 1962 is regarded as the date of reactivation of the division, it was not until 14 February 1966 that the 4th Marine Division headquarters nucleus was actually activated at Camp Pendleton. The division was given the primary mission "to establish an effective staff nucleus capable of directing, controlling and integrating, as directed, the mobilization planning and logistics functions preceding the activation of the 4th Marine Division and of ensuring an orderly and efficient mobilization of the division." Major General
Robert E. Cushman Jr., commanding general of Camp Pendleton was given the additional responsibility as the commanding general of the division. On 23 June 1966, the World War II division colors were presented to General Cushman, significantly at a 4th Marine Division Association meeting at Camp Pendleton, California. Reminiscent of a passed torch, a new generation of Marines was eager to prove itself worthy of the trust attendant in the acceptance of the proud colors. This battle was named the "Reveille Engagement" and went on to be the biggest and fastest tank battle in United States Marine Corps history. They were the only Marine unit equipped with M1A1 Abrams tanks. Bravo Company went on to destroy 59 tanks, 32 APCs, 26 non armored vehicles, and an artillery gun. Bravo Company destroyed a total of 119 enemy vehicles and took over 800 POWs. The battery was laid on an azimuth of fire to the north, when it received a battalion mass fire mission on a target 30 km to its south. Unknown the battery's Marines, an Iraqi Brigade was launching a counterattack through the burning oil field on 1st Marine Division Command Post. On battery's east flank piece (Gun #1) Gunner Sgt Shawn Toney and Section Chief Sergeant Thomas Stark, IV, spotted two enemy multiple rocket launchers as they were shifted trails to fire to the south. They engaged and destroyed launchers with heavy automatic weapons and direct fire from their M198 155mm howitzer, while the rest of the battery continued to support the fire mission to the south and defend the battery position from ground assault. LtCol. Jay Sollis, 1/11 Commander, arrived in the battery position, requested air support and directed a section of AH-1W Sea Cobra to engage the Iraqi counterattack force in the oil field. On the night of 25 February, the Battalion CP occupied a new position in support of Task Force Papa Bear. A security patrol, which included Lance Corporal Troy L. Gregory of Battery H, was organized to investigate an enemy bunker adjacent to the new CP position. While conducting this patrol, Gregory stepped on an Iraqi land mine and was critically wounded. Despite quick evacuation to a Naval Hospital, he died the following day of his wounded, just a few days before his 21st birthday. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal and
Combat Action Ribbon and was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in section 60, Grave 7723. The Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center in Richmond was renamed in his honor. Battery H's final position was just south of the Kuwait International Airport when the ceasefire was announced. The Battery subsequently retrograded to the 1st Marine Division Support Area in Saudi Arabia. In April, the battery redeployed to the United States and was released from active duty. Additionally, on 18 November 1990, Alpha Company, 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division was mobilized in support of
Operation Desert Shield and
Operation Desert Storm. Alpha Company was assigned to Regimental Landing Team 5, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. This was part of the amphibious force in the Persian Gulf. Alpha Company was loaded onto the
USS Tarawa (LHA-1) and the
USS Mount Vernon (LSD-39) with the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade off of Camp Pendleton, CA on 1 December 1990. Elements of Alpha Company participated in the Al Waffra operation, clearing a large Iraqi mine field with tanks equipped with a mine plow. The 5th MEB was part of Operation Desert Calm and later participated in Operation Sea Angel in a humanitarian mission of relief of the
1991 Bangladesh cyclone. Alpha Company returned to Camp Pendleton, CA and was deactivated on 31 July 1991. 24th Marine Regimental Command was activated November 17, 1990, and departed for Camp Pendleton with a TOWII Platoon assigned to 1st MEF with the Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Warfar Platoon; The rest of the regimental command consisting of snipers, motor transport, supply and administration with the bulk of the personnel being in communications platoon under Colonel George German. After 30 days at Camp Pendleton, the regiment embarked from March AFB to Port Jubail, Saudi Arabia, to relieve the 4th Marines in the port and provided port security with individuals tasked for duties with 1 MEF and 1st FSSG. The regiment fell under Scud missile attack on January 19 and 20 while the USS
Tarawa was in port. The regiment returned to Kansas City in May 1991.
Global war on terror Operation Iraqi Freedom In 2004, Mike Battery, out of
Chattanooga, Tennessee, deployed to
Fallujah,
Iraq and took part in
Operation Phantom Fury to re-take the insurgent-held city. They later deployed again in 2007 in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. During this second deployment, they were attached to
2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 5 and operated in the vicinity of
Ar Rutbah under the callsign, "Excalibur". In 2007, the unit suffered one casualty
Cpl Dustin J. Lee. On January 4, 2005,
3rd Battalion, 25th Marines was activated. From January 10 to late February 2005, the companies conducted pre-deployment training at
Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and
March Air Reserve Base,
California. The battalion was in
Iraq by the first week of March 2005, tasked with training the
Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and conducting stability and security operations to prevent insurgents from gaining a foothold in and around the cities of Iraq's
Al Anbar province. Major operations that the battalion participated in during its deployment included
Operations Matador,
New Market,
Spear,
Sword, River Bridge, Outer Banks, and
Quick Strike. The battalion rotated out of Iraq in late September 2005, and deactivated on January 3, 2006. Forty-six Marines and two Navy Corpsmen serving with the battalion in Iraq were killed in action. A memorial paying tribute to them was erected at the battalion headquarters in
Brook Park, Ohio, and was dedicated on November 12, 2005. In January 2003 the
4th Combat Engineer Battalion activated and deployed personnel in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom. December 2004 activated and deployed personnel to serve as members of the 5th Civil Affairs Group and continue to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and
Operation Enduring Freedom. 8 members of the battalion were killed supporting operations in Iraq.
Operation Enduring Freedom In August 2010, 3/25 deployed to
Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The battalion's missions were across Helmand province and included reconnaissance, civil affairs, security and combat operations. The battalion rotated out of Afghanistan in March 2011, and was deactivated in June 2011. One Marine serving in the battalion was killed in action during the deployment. Lance Corporal Aaron M. Swanson, 21, died Monday February 7, 2011, in Garmsir District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan
Global war on terror On July 16, 2015, four Marines with Mike Battery's Inspector-Instructor staff were killed by a gunman who was embarking on a shooting spree targeting military installations. In addition, a sailor died from his wounds two days later. Some of the 3/14 Marines killed in action were reportedly killed while returning fire at the gunman, providing cover for a larger group of potential victims who were escaping over a fence. ==Unit awards==