2nd Battalion, 1st Marines

World War II

Two Marines, Davis P. Hargraves with Thompson submachine gun and Gabriel Chavarria with BAR, of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, advance on Wana Ridge on May 18, 1945.

Lt. Colonel William W. Stickney cuts a Thanksgiving cake with a Japanese officer's sword at Guadalcanal, as hungry Leathernecks look on.

• Reactivated March 1, 1941, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines and assigned to the 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force
• Deployed during April 1941 to Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina
• Deactivated June 14, 1941
• Reactivated February 11, 1942, at New River, North Carolina, and assigned to the 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force
• Deployed during July 1942 to Wellington, New Zealand
• Participated in the following World War II campaigns:
  • Guadalcanal Campaign, withstood the bombings on Henderson Field
  • Battle of Cape Gloucester, was able to hold the line against many wild and deadly Banzai Charges
  • Battle of Peleliu, was among those that suffered the worst casualties during the attack on the Umurbrogal Pocket
  • Battle of Okinawa, helped in capturing Shuri amid the mud and terrible conditions
• Redeployed during September 1945 to Tiensin, China
• Participated in the occupation of North China, September 1945 – October 1947

Korean War & early 1960s

• Reactivated August 4, 1950, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and assigned to the 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force
• Deployed during August 1950 to Kobe, Japan
• Participated in the Korean War, September 1950 – July 1953,
  • Inchon-Seoul
  • Chosin Reservoir
  • East Central Front
  • Western Front
  • Participated in the defense of the Korean Demilitarized Zone
• Relocated during April 1955 to Camp Pendleton, California
• Participated in the Battalion transplacement system between the 1st Marine Division and the 3d Marine Division
• Participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis, October–December 1962

Vietnam War

• Deployed during November 1965 to the Republic of Vietnam, and assigned to the 3rd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force
• Participated in the War in Vietnam, November 1965 – May 1971,
  • Hue/Phu Bai
  • Da Nang
  • Quang Tri
  • Thua Thien
  • Quang Nam
  • Lien Ket
• 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, the relocation of refugees from Indochina
• Participated in the Battalion rotation between the 3rd Marine Division on Okinawa 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

Marines from Echo Company passing the body of an alleged Iraqi insurgent during the First Battle of Fallujah.

As part of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the battalion deployed to Kuwait in February 2003, and participated in the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. The battalion deployed in March 2004, to Fallujah, Iraq and took part in Operation Vigilant Resolve. They returned to Iraq in 2005 with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and engaged in combat operations during Operation Steel Curtain in Husaybah, Karabilah, and New Ubaydi, and Operation Iron Hammer in Hit. The battalion deployed to Okinawa to serve as the Ground Combat Unit for the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit 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 in October 2010 through May 15, 2011, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. They operated in the Garmsir District, 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.

Marines with Golf Company, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct daily morning section physical training on the flight deck of the USS Makin Island during Amphibious Squadron Marine Expeditionary Unit Integration (PMINT), off the coast of San Diego, California, in April 2014. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Rome M. Lazarus/Released)