Inter-war years The lineal forebear of the 1st Marine Division is the
1st Advance Base Brigade, which was activated on 23 December 1913 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Subsequently, the brigade was redesignated on 1 April 1914, as the 1st Brigade, and on 16 September 1935, as the 1st Marine Brigade). The brigade consisted of the Fixed Defense Regiment and the Mobile Defense Regiment, later designated as the
1st and
2nd Regiments, 1st Brigade, respectively. In 1916, while deployed in Haiti, the two regiments were again redesignated, exchanging numerals, to then become the 2nd and 1st Regiments, 1st Brigade. Between April 1914 and August 1934, elements of the 1st Brigade participated in operations in
Mexico,
Haiti, the
Dominican Republic, and
Cuba, receiving campaign credit for service in each nation. While the 1st Brigade did not serve ashore in the European theater during the First World War, the brigade was awarded the World War I Victory Medal Streamer, with one bronze star, in recognition of the brigade's service during that conflict. On 16 September 1935, the brigade was redesignated as the 1st Marine Brigade and deployed to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in October 1940.
World War II on
Guadalcanal. as the other with a
Browning Automatic Rifle, prepares to break cover to move to a different position. There are bare sticks and rocks on the ground.|Marines of 1st Marine Division
fighting on Okinawa, 1945. The 1st Marine Division was activated aboard the on 1 February 1941. In May 1941, the 1st MARDIV relocated to
Quantico, Virginia and
Parris Island,
South Carolina and in April 1942, the division began deploying to the
Samoan Islands and
Wellington, New Zealand. The division's units were scattered over the
Pacific Ocean with the support elements and the 1st Marine Regiment transported en route to
New Zealand on three ships, the
USATs Ericsson,
Barnett and
Elliott from
Naval Reserve Air Base Oakland to
New Zealand, and later were landed on the island of
Guadalcanal, part of the
Japanese-occupied Solomon Islands, on 7 August 1942. Initially, only the 7th Marine Regiment was in
garrison on
Western Samoa, with the 5th Marine Regiment having just encamped at Wellington after disembarking from USAT
Wakefield, and the 1st Marine Regiment not scheduled to arrive in New Zealand until 11 July. The
1st Raider Battalion was on
New Caledonia, and the
3rd Defense Battalion was in
Pearl Harbor. All of the division's units, with the 11th Marines (artillery) and
75mm howitzer armed
10th Marines battalion would rendezvous at
British Fiji. and the sound and flash-ranging equipment needed for
counter-battery fire had to be left in Wellington. Also, because the Wellington dock workers were on strike at the time, the Marines had to do all the load reconfiguration from administrative to combat configuration. After eleven days of logistical challenges, the division, with 16,000 Marines, departed Wellington in eighty-nine ships embarked for the Solomon Islands with a sixty-day combat load which did not include tents, spare clothing or bedrolls, office equipment, unit muster rolls, or pay clerks. Other things not yet available to this first wave of Marine deployments were
insect repellent and
mosquito netting. Attached to the division was the
1st Parachute Battalion, which along with the rest of the division, conducted landing rehearsals from 28 to 30 July on
Koro Island, which Major General
Alexander Vandegrift described as a "disaster". On 31 July the Marine task force was placed under the command of Vice Admiral
Frank J. Fletcher's
Task Force 61. The division as a whole would fight in the
Guadalcanal campaign until relieved at 14:00 on 9 December 1942 by the Army's
Americal Division commanded by Lieutenant General
Alexander Patch. This operation won the division its first of three World War II
Presidential Unit Citations (PUC). The battle would cost the division 650 killed in action, 1,278 wounded in action with a further 8,580 contracting malaria and 31 missing in action. It was during this time that the division took the traditional Australian folk song "
Waltzing Matilda" as its battle hymn. To this day, 1st Division Marines still ship out to this song being played. The division would next see action during
Operation Cartwheel which was the codename for the campaigns in
Eastern New Guinea and
New Britain. They came ashore at the
Battle of Cape Gloucester on 26 December 1943 and fought on
New Britain until March 1944 at such places as
Suicide Creek and
Ajar Ridge. During the course of the battle the division had 310 killed and 1,083 wounded. Following the battle they were sent to
Pavuvu in the
Russell Islands for rest and refitting. The next battle for the 1st Marine Division would be the bloodiest yet at the
Battle of Peleliu. They landed on 15 September 1944 as part of the
III Amphibious Corps assault on the island. The division's commanding general, Major General
William H. Rupertus had predicted the fighting would be, "...tough but short. It'll be over in three or four days – a fight like
Tarawa. Rough but fast. Then we can go back to the rest area." Making a mockery of the prediction, the first week of the battle alone cost the division 3,946 casualties, during which time they secured the key airfield sites. The division fought on Peleliu for one month before being relieved. Some of the most severe fighting of the war took place in places such as
Bloody Nose Ridge and the central ridges of the island that made up the
Umurbrogol Pocket. The month of fighting against the
14th Division on Peleliu cost the 1st Marine Division 1,252 dead and 5,274 wounded. The final campaign the division would take part in during World War II would be the
Battle of Okinawa. The strategic importance of
Okinawa was that it provided a fleet anchorage, troop staging areas, and airfields in close proximity to Japan. The division landed on 1 April 1945 as part of the
III Amphibious Corps. Its initial mission was, fighting alongside the
6th Marine Division, to clear the northern half of the island – that they were able to do expeditiously. The Army's
XXIV Corps met much stiffer resistance in the south, and on 1 May 1945 the Marine division was moved south where it relieved the Army
27th Infantry Division. The division was in heavy fighting on Okinawa until 22 June 1945, when the island was declared secure. The 1st Marine Division fought the Japanese
32nd Army at such places as Dakeshi Ridge, Wana Ridge, "Sugarloaf Hill" and
Shuri Castle. Fighting on Okinawa cost the division 1,655 killed in action. During the war, the division had five Seabee Battalions posted to it. The 6th Naval Construction Battalion (NCB) was attached to the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal. They were followed by the 19th NCB which was assigned to the
17th Marines as the third battalion of the regiment. They landed at Cape Gloucester with the division. The 17th Marines were inactivated with the 19th NCB being reassigned. After that, the 33rd NCB was posted to the 1st for the assault on Peleliu and they were replaced by the 145th NCB for the invasion of Okinawa. (see:
Seabees) On Peleliu, the 17th Special NCB(segregated) was assigned to the 1st Pioneers as shore party. Together with the 16th Marines Field Depot (segregated) they helped evacuate wounded and bury the dead for the 7th Marines. On the first night of the assault, nearly all of the 17th Seabees volunteered to hump ammo to the frontlines. They also reinforced the Marines in sections where directed, were used to crew a 37 mm, and were used for several days. For their efforts, they received an official "well done". The 33rd NCB also had 202 men assigned to the shore party. Following the
surrender of Japan, the division was sent to Northern China as the lead combat element of the
III Amphibious Corps with the primary mission of preventing the
People's Liberation Army from accepting the surrender of Japanese soldiers there, and to secure the region for the
Nationalist Government. They landed at
Taku on 30 September 1945 and were based in
Hebei Province in the cities of
Tianjin and
Beijing, and also on the
Shandong Peninsula, with the
Chinese Civil War between the
Kuomintang and
Chinese Communist Party raging around them. Most Marines in the division would be charged with guarding supply trains, bridges, and depots to keep food and coal moving into the cities. During this time they increasingly fought skirmishes with soldiers from the People's Liberation Army who raided ambushed, and harassed the railways and other infrastructure. By the summer of 1946 the division was suffering the effects of demobilization and its combat efficiency had dropped below wartime standards, yet its commitments in China remained. As it became clear that a complete collapse of truce negotiations among the Chinese factions was apparent, plans were laid for the withdrawal of all Marine units from Hebei. The last elements of the division finally left China on 1 September 1947.
Korean War . Following the
end of World War II and the
postwar drawdown of forces, by 1950 the division only possessed the strength of a reinforced regimental combat team. The division would be assembled on the battle field and would participate in the
amphibious assault at Inchon under the orders of
United Nations Command (UN) commander
General MacArthur. The division was the unit chosen to lead the Inchon landing on 15 September 1950. At Inchon, the division faced one of its most daunting challenges, deploying so hurriedly it still lacked its third infantry regiment and ordered to execute an amphibious assault under the worst tidal conditions they had ever faced. After the landing they moved north and after heavy fighting in
Seoul they
liberated the city. After the liberation of Seoul, the division was put back on ships and taken to the eastern side of the Korean peninsula and
landed at Wonsan on 26 October. As part of
X Corps commanded by Army Major General
Edward Almond the division was ordered to push north towards the
Yalu River as fast as possible. The then commanding officer of the division, Major General
O.P. Smith, did not agree with his superiors and had become convinced that they were stretched thin and that the
Chinese Forces had entered the war. He purposely slowed his advance and consolidated along the way at every opportunity. The 1st Marine Division was attacked by ten Chinese
People's Volunteer Army (PVA) infantry divisions on 27 November 1950. They fought their way out of the
Chosin Reservoir against seven PVA divisions suffering over 900 killed and missing, over 3,500 wounded and more than 6,500 non-battle casualties mostly from
frostbite during the battle. The greater part of the PVA 9th Army was rendered ineffective as they suffered an estimated 37,500 casualties trying to stop the Marines' march out of the "Frozen Chosin". The division was
evacuated from Hungnam in mid-December and then landed in
Pusan. Beginning in early 1951 the division participated in several UN offensives in east-central Korea. This was followed by defending against the
Chinese Spring Offensive. By June 1951 the 1st Marine Division had pushed northward and
secured the Punchbowl and then settled into a defensive line long. The 1st Marine Division was reassigned to the far western end of the MLR defending a line that encompassed the Pyongyang to Seoul corridor. For much of the next year, in what would be termed the "
Outpost War", action along this line consisted of small, localized actions because much of the fighting revolved around the holding and retaking of various combat outposts along the MLR, including the Battles of
Bunker Hill,
First Hook and
Outpost Vegas. Fighting continued until the
Armistice took effect on 27 July 1953. During the Korean War the division suffered combat casualties of 4,004 dead and 25,864 wounded. In 1953 the division command post was established at Tonggu. This was followed in September by
Operation Piranha. In December Division elements conducted
Operation Harvest Moon. March also saw the 1st Marine Division Headquarters established at
Chu Lai. By June, the entire division was in South Vietnam, its Tactical Area of Responsibility (TAOR) was the southern two provinces of
I Corps —
Quang Tin and
Quang Ngai. From January to April 1967, the 7th Marines conducted
Operation Desoto. In early April 1967 under Operation Oregon the division moved north to
Da Nang to support the 3rd Marine Division and
Task Force Oregon took over the division's former TAOR. From 28 December 1967 to 3 January 1968 Division units conducted
Operation Auburn on Go Noi Island south of Da Nang. From May to August Division units conducted
Operation Allen Brook on Go Noi Island. From 31 March to 29 May 1969, Division and ARVN units conducted
Operation Oklahoma Hills southwest of Da Nang. From July to August 1970, Division units conducted
Operation Pickens Forest southwest of An Hoa Combat Base. From 1 September to 7 May 1971 Division and ROKMC units conducted
Operation Imperial Lake in the
Quế Sơn District south of Da Nang. In 1975, the division supported the
resettlement of South Vietnamese refugees by providing food and temporary shelter at Camp Pendleton for Vietnamese refugees as they arrived in the United States.
Desert Shield and Desert Storm In 1990, the 1st Marine Division formed the nucleus of the massive force sent to the Middle East in response to
Ba'athist Iraq's
invasion of Kuwait. During
Operation Desert Shield, the division supported
I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) in the defense of
Saudi Arabia from the Iraqi threat. In 1991, the division went on the offensive as part of U.S. Marine Forces Central Command (MARCENT) with the rest of Coalition Forces in
Operation Desert Storm. The 1st Marine Division destroyed around 60 Iraqi tanks near the Burgan oil field without suffering any losses. 1st Marine Division Task Force Ripper (RCT-7)
M60A1 RISE Passive Patton tanks destroyed about 100 Iraqi tanks and armored personnel carriers, including about 50 top-of-the-line Soviet
T-72 tanks. These efforts were instrumental in the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi forces.
1992 Los Angeles riots On 2 May 1992, the 1st Marine Division took part of
Operation Garden Plot to help
local and
state law enforcement as well as the
California Army National Guard in quelling the
Rodney King riots in
Los Angeles County, California. It was part of the 3,500 federal military force sent to
Los Angeles. The Marine Corps contingent included the
1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, commanded by Marine Corps General
John F. Kelly. As part of the Joint Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Los Angeles, Marines took up positions in
Compton and
Long Beach to prevent further rioting and disorder. No rioters or civilians were killed or injured by the Marines, nor did the Marines themselves suffer any casualties. On 10 May, six days after the riots ended, Marines formally withdrew from the city and returned to
Camp Pendleton.
1990s humanitarian relief Immediately following the
Gulf War, the division sent units to assist in relief efforts following a
typhoon in Bangladesh (
Operation Sea Angel) and the
eruption of volcano Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines (
Operation Fiery Vigil). Initially, the division fought through the
Rumaila oil fields, feinted an attack towards
Basrah then moved north on Iraq Highway 1 to
An Nasariyah – a moderate-sized, Shi'ite dominated city with important strategic significance as a major road junction and proximity to nearby Talil Airfield. The division then fought its way to
Baghdad and pushed further to secure
Tikrit by forming
Task Force Tripoli after the
fall of Baghdad. The division covered 808 kilometers in 17 days of sustained combat, the deepest penetrating ground operation in Marine Corps history. After the invasion the division settled in to conduct security and stabilization operations in Baghdad, Tikrit, and then in south-central Iraq from May to October 2003. For actions during the war as part of
I MEF the division was awarded its 9th Presidential Unit Citation.
Afghanistan War Battalions from the 1st Marine Division have been regularly deployed to
Afghanistan since 2008. In 2010, 1st Marine Division (Forward) deployed to the
Helmand province campaign, as part of the more than 30,000 troops into the country. While in Afghanistan, the Division served as the ground combat element for
Task Force Leatherneck, leading a multinational coalition and working alongside
Afghan National Security Forces. == Insignia ==