THIS DATE IN MARINE CORPS HISTORY
04 Jan 1991: |
Floods caused Camp Pendleton to close its gates to all but essential personnel. |
15 Jan 1865: |
365 Marines in naval landing force attack Fort Fisher at Wilmington, NC. |
16 Jan 1991: |
Operation Desert Storm begins. |
17 Jan 1944: |
Elements of the 1st Tanks assaults Japanese on Arawe Peninsula, New Britain. |
17 Jan 1951: |
The 1st Marine Division begins mopping-up operations in Pohang, Korea. |
17 Jan 1993: |
Floods caused Camp Pendleton to close its gates to all but essential personnel. |
19 Jan 1929: |
Brigadier General Smedley Butler’s 3d Marine Brigade disbanded at Tiensin, China. |
20 Jan 1968: |
North Vietnamese forces attack the 26th Marines at Khe Sanh, South Vietnam. |
25 Jan 1928: |
Marines participated in Battle of El Chipote during occupation of Nicaragua. |
27 Jan 1778: |
Captain John Trevett leads 26 Marines in capture of Fort Nassau, Bahamas. |
27 Jan 1837: |
Colonel Henderson wins Battle of Hatchee-Lustee River against Seminoles. |
29 Jan 1991: |
First major Marine ground action of Desert Storm. |
31 Jan 1944: |
American flag first raised over Japanese soil by B/1/25 in the Marshall Islands. |
31 Jan 1968: |
Viet Cong seize the US Embassy in Saigon until driven-out by American troops. |
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02 Feb 1968: |
Operation Hue City, Tet Offensive begins in Vietnam. |
06 Feb 1945: | VMB-613 loses 1 PBJ and 7 Marines in a bombing mission over the Ponape. |
13 Feb 1943: |
US Marine Corps Women's Reserve formed. |
15 Feb 1898: |
28 Marines among 250 Americans killed when the USS Maine explodes in Havana. |
19 Feb 1945: |
4th and 5th Marine Divisions assault Iwo Jima. |
20 Feb 1815: |
Marines serving aboard USS Constitution victorious over Cyane & Levant. |
20 Feb 1962: |
Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. becomes first American to orbit the earth. |
23 Feb 1945: |
Men of the 5th Marine Division raise flag on Mount Suribachi. |
24 Feb 1991: |
1st and 2d Marine Divisions breach Iraqi defensive positions. |
28 Feb 1991: |
Operation Desert Storm ended. |
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03 Mar 1776: |
First Marine landing on hostile shores in the Bahamas. |
06 Mar 1932: |
John Philip Sousa died at age 79 in Reading, PA. |
09 Mar 1847: |
Captain Alvin Edson leads Marine battalion ashore with Army forces at Veracruz. |
21 Mar 1945: |
General Alexander A. Vandegrift becomes the first Marine 4-star general. |
25 Mar 1804: |
Secretary of the Navy approved first formal Marine Corps uniform. |
26 Mar 1945: |
Iwo Jima secured. Marines suffer 25,851 casualties. |
31 Mar 1801: |
Site for Marine Barracks, 8th & I, Washington, DC selected. |
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15 Apr 1962: |
HMM-362 becomes first Marine Unit in Mekong Delta during Operation Shufly. |
18 Apr 1864: |
Aboard Union ships, Marines engage Confederate ram Albemarle at New Bern, NC. |
24 Apr 1980: |
3 Marines killed in desert accident during effort to rescue hostages in Teheran. |
26 Apr 1863: |
Captain John Broome and Marines seize New Orleans custom house and city hall. |
27 Apr 1805: |
Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon and 7 Marines lead attack against Derna, Tripoli. |
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02 May 1946: |
Marines helped quell a prison riot at Alcatraz Island, CA. |
06 May 1937: |
Marines at NAS Lakehurst helped rescue Hindenburg survivors. |
14 May 1917: |
First Marine detachment transferred to the newly opened post at Quantico, VA. |
15 May 1862: |
Corporal John Mackie becomes the first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor. |
20 May 1906: |
Major John A. Lejeune embarked his battalion for duty in Panama. |
22 May 1912: |
First Lieutenant Alfred Cunningham becomes the first Marine aviator. |
30 May 1997: |
Marines help evacuate 2,500 from Kinshasa, Zaire. |
31 May 1900: |
Marines reach Chinese capital to defend Legation Quarter from Boxer rebellion. |
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01 Jun 1918: |
"Retreat Hell! We just got here," said the 5th Marine Regiment in France. |
06 Jun 1917: |
5th Marine Regiment sails for France. |
06 Jun 1918: |
Marines advance into Belleau Wood against German machine guns. |
08 Jun 1995: |
40 Marines rescue USAF pilot shot down over Bosnia-Herzegovina 6 days earlier. |
10 Jun 1871: |
Captain McLane Tilton leads 109 Marines in assault on Han River forts in Korea. |
10 Jun 1898: |
1st Marine Battalion lands at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. |
12 Jun 1948: |
President Truman authorized first women Marines in the regular Marine Corps. |
18 Jun 1885: |
Marines land in Panama to protect trans-isthmus railroad. |
20 Jun 1951: |
1st Marine Division reaches "The Punchbowl" in Korea. |
22 Jun 1954: |
President Eisenhower authorized the use of the first official Marine Corps Seal. |
23 Jun 1836: |
Colonel-Commandant Henderson reports for duty in the Second Seminole War. |
25 Jun 1950: |
Korean War began. |
25 Jun 1971: |
Last Marine ground troops depart Vietnam. |
30 Jun 1834: |
Congress placed the Marine Corps under Navy jurisdiction. |
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01 Jul 1920: |
Major General John A. Lejeune became 13th Commandant of the USMC. |
11 Jul 1798: |
President John Adams signs Act establishing the U.S. Marine Corps. |
15 Jul 1958: |
2nd Marines land at Beirut and seize airport at Lebanese government's request. |
18 Jul 1918: |
Marines in vast Allied counter-offensive meet Germans south of Soiccons. |
21 Jul 1861: |
Marines under Brevet Major John G. Reynolds fights in the Battle of Bull Run. |
25 Jul 1930: |
Lieutenant Puller wins first of 5 Navy Crosses chasing guerrillas in Nicaragua. |
27 Jul 1953: |
Korean War ended. |
28 Jul 1779: |
Captain John Welsh and 13 Marines killed in an assault at Penobscot Bay, ME. |
30 Jul 1846: |
First Lieutenant Jacob Zeilin leads Marines ashore at Santa Barbara, CA. |
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02 Aug 1950: |
1st Marine Provisional Brigade lands at Pusan, South Korea. |
04 Aug 1937: |
Marine Corps League receives federal charter signed by President Roosevelt. |
06 Aug 1847: |
Marines commenced their march on the “Halls of Montezuma” in Mexico. |
07 Aug 1942: |
1st Marine Division lands on Guadalcanal. |
14 Aug 1912: |
Major Smedley Butler leads Marines ashore, beginning intervention in Nicaragua. |
14 Aug 1945: |
President Truman announced unconditional surrender of the Japanese. |
19 Aug 1919: |
Marines Hymn registered with the US Copyright Office. |
24 Aug 1814: |
114 Marines help defend Washington, D.C. in the Battle of Bladensburg. |
25 Aug 1990: |
7th Marine Expeditionary Brigade begins Persian Gulf buildup. |
29 Aug 1916: |
The Marine Corps Reserve was founded. |
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13 Sep 1847: |
Marines help seize the fortress of Chapultepec in Mexico City. |
13 Sep 1942: |
Marines turn back Japanese attack in Battle of Edson's Ridge on Guadalcanal. |
15 Sep 1950: |
1st Marine Division landed at Inchon, Korea and moved on to capture Seoul. |
20 Sep 1994: |
1,900 Marines land in Haiti. |
28 Sep 1906: |
Marine Brigade of 2,800 men lands at Havana. |
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01 Oct 1943: |
VMB-613 is formed at Cherry Point, NC. |
04 Oct 1912: |
Marines fight at Coyotepe, Nicaragua. |
08 Oct 1899: |
Marines attack Filipino insurgents at Novaleta. |
17 Oct 1820: |
Archibald Henderson appointed commandant, holds position for 38 years. |
23 Oct 1983: | 220 Marines killed when suicide bomber destroys BLT headquarters in Beirut. |
25 Oct 1983: |
Marines and Army intervene in Grenada, West Indies. |
27 Oct 1962: |
2nd Marine Division and Air Wing deployed during the Cuban missile crisis. |
31 Oct 1955: |
Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller retired as a Lieutenant General. |
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01 Nov 1943: |
3d Marine Division lands on Bougainville. |
05 Nov 1903: |
Major John Lejeune lands battalion to ensure Panamanian independence. |
10 Nov 1775: |
Two Battalions of Marines were formed by an act of the Continental Congress. |
10 Nov 1918: |
5th Marines make night crossing of the Meuse River against German resistance. |
10 Nov 1948: |
First eight enlisted women are sworn in as Regular Marines. |
10 Nov 1954: |
Marine Corps War Memorial dedicated next to Arlington National Cemetery. |
12 Nov 1908: |
President Theodore Roosevelt removes Marines from U.S. warships. |
15 Nov 1950: |
Elements of the 1st Marine Division reached the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. |
20 Nov 1943: |
2nd Marine Division assaults Betio Island of Tarawa Atoll in Central Pacific. |
20 Nov 1947: |
Marine reservists started Toys-for-Tots in Los Angeles. |
21 Nov 1945: | VMB-613 is decommissioned at Miramar, CA. |
27 Nov 1950: |
Marines engage Chinese Communists in North Korea near the Chosin Reservoir. |
28 Nov 1775: |
Samuel Nicholas commissioned as Captain, becomes the first Marine officer. |
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07 Dec 1933: |
Navy Department creates Fleet Marine Force. |
07 Dec 1941: |
Marines defend against Japanese attack on US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. |
09 Dec 1992: |
Marines land in Somalia to rescue foreigners. |
20 Dec 1989: |
Marines are part of force that tries to capture Panama's dictator, Manuel Noriega. |
24 Dec 1950: |
Last elements of the 1st Marine Division departed Hungnam, North Korea. |
26 Dec 1943: |
1st Marine Division lands on Cape Gloucester, New Britain. |