- 5th Marine Regiment (United States)
Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 5th Marine Regiment
caption= 5th Marine Regiment Insignia
dates= *June 8 ,1917 - present
country=United States
allegiance=
branch=USMC
type=Light infantry
role= Locate, close with and destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver
size=
command_structure=1st Marine DivisionI Marine Expeditionary Force
current_commander= Colonel Patrick J. Malay
garrison=Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname= The Fighting Fifth
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles=World War I *Battle of Saint-Mihiel *Meuse-Argonne offensive Banana Wars *Occupation of NicaraugaWorld War II *Battle of Guadalcanal *Battle of Peleliu *Battle of Okinawa Korean War *Battle of Pusan Perimeter *Battle of Inchon *Battle of Chosin Reservoir Vietnam War *Operation Swift *Operation Union I & II *Battle of Hue Operation Desert Storm Operation Iraqi Freedom *2003 invasion of Iraq
notable_commanders=LeRoy P. Hunt Merritt A. Edson Oliver P. Smith Lewis W. Walt
anniversaries=The 5th Marine Regiment is an infantry
regiment of theUnited States Marine Corps based atMarine Corps Base Camp Pendleton ,California . It is the most highly decorated regiment in the Marine Corps and falls under the command of the 1st Marine Division and theI Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF).Current Units
The Regiment comprises four
infantry battalion s and one headquarters company:
*1st Battalion 5th Marines (1/5)
*2nd Battalion 5th Marines (2/5)
*3rd Battalion 5th Marines (3/5)
*2nd Battalion 4th Marines (2/4) - assigned to the 5th Marine Regiment for historical reasons.History
World War I
The unit was activated on
June 8 ,1917 , inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania , as the 5th Regiment of Marines. They immediately deployed to France and were assigned to the 1st Infantry Division of theUnited States Army . Later that year, in October, they were reassigned to 4th Brigade of Marines under the 2nd Infantry Division.They participated in the offensive campaigns at Aisne,
Battle of Saint-Mihiel and in theMeuse-Argonne offensive . They also participated in the defensive campaigns at Toulon-Troyon, Chateau-Thierry, Marbache and Limey. From 1918 until 1919 the regiment participated in the occupation of the German Rhineland. In August 1919 they relocated back toMarine Corps Base Quantico ,Virginia . They were deactivated onAugust 13 ,1919 .The regiment's actions in France earned them the right to wear the Fourragère (seen in the outline of the unit's logo), one of only two in the Marine Corps (the other being the
6th Marine Regiment ). The award of the was a result of being the only regiments in theAmerican Expeditionary Force to receive three Croix de Guerre citations: two in the order of the army and one in the order of the corps —Fourragere andCroix de Guerre with two Palms and Gilt Star. The Fourragere became part of the uniform of the unit, and all members of the organization are authorized to wear the decoration on the left shoulder of the uniform as long as they remain members of the organization.Inter-war years
Unit was Reactivated on
July 8 ,1920 . Elements of the Regiment participated in mail guard duty in the Eastern United States from November 1921 through May 1922 and once again from October 1926 through February 1927.They then deployed to
Nicaragua from January 1927. They continuously fought Nicaraguan Rebels until they were again deactivated onApril 11 ,1930 .5th Marines was reactivated for the last time on
September 1 ,1934 atQuantico, Virginia and were assigned to the 1st Marine Brigade. In 1940 they were deployed to Guantanamo Bay,Cuba and reassigned to the 1st Marine Division in February 1941. They were garrisoned at New River,North Carolina .World War II
thumb|left|250px|5th_Marine_Regiment_wounded_are_carried_back_from_the_front_line_during_the_November,_1942_U.S._offensive_against_Japanese_forces_around_the_Matanikau River ]After the outbreak of war, 5th Marines deployed to
Wellington, New Zealand in June 1942. During World War II they fought on Guadalcanal,New Britain , EasternNew Guinea ,Peleliu and Okinawa. Immediately following the war in September 1945 they deployed toTientsin, China and participated in the occupation of North China until May 1947. They were redeployed toGuam in May 1947 and reassigned to the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade. In 1949 they were relocated toMarine Corps Base Camp Pendleton .Korean War and early 1960s
On
August 5 ,1950 , 5th Marines were deployed to the Pusan Perimeter as part of theProvisional Marine Brigade . From there they participated in the Inchon Landing,Battle of Chosin Reservoir and fighting on the East-Central Front and Western Front until the end of hostilities. Immediately after the war they participated in the defense of theKorean Demilitarized Zone from July 1953 until February 1955. The regiment returned to Camp Pendleton in March 1955.Vietnam War
On
March 5 ,1966 , 5th Marines once again answered the call and deployed to theRepublic of Vietnam . They remained in Vietnam for the next 5 years fighting at Rung Sat,Chu Lai , Phu Loc, Hue,Khe Sahn ,An Hoa , Tam Ky and Da Nang. The 5th Marines finally left Vietnam in April 1971.Post-war years through the 1990s
Elements of the regiments participated in
Operation New Arrivals which was the relocation of Vietnamese refugees toCamp Pendleton ,California from July through December 1975. There next Major action was Operation Desert Shield andOperation Desert Storm from August 1990 through April 1991. Combat operations in Southwest Asia were quickly followed byOperation Sea Angel inBangladesh in May-June 1991.Global War on Terrorism
On
January 5 ,2003 , the 5th Marines deployed toKuwait as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They were supported by elements of the1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion , various firing batteries of the11th Marines , 2nd and3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion s, Company B from the1st Combat Engineer Battalion , andCombat Service Support Company 115 (CSSC–115). These attachments brought regimental strength up to more than 6,000 personnel on any given day—a figure that made RCT 5 the largest such unit in the regiment’s history [http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/2005/05brown.html ] .On
March 21 , the regiment became the first unit to cross into Iraq as it moved to seize the Rumayllah Oilfields. For the drive north, RCT-5 would advance up a four-lane highway before swinging east toward theTigris River until the 1st Marine Division reunited to push into the red zone that encompassedBaghdad and its suburbs. After all objectives had been secured, the Marines occupied assigned security sectors and conducted follow-on combat operations. During much of the attack north, the Regiment led the 1st Marine Division in the deepest attack in Marine Corps history. The regiment suffered 12 killed and 126 seriously wounded in 33 days of combat.From October 2004 to March 2005 the regimental headquarters staff, led by Colonel Stuart Navarre, was deployed to Iraq in order to take over the role of the Iraqi Security Forces training directorate in support of 1st Marine Division at Camp Blue Diamond. Because the regiment wasn't deployed as a regimental combat team the headquarters staff took on the responsibility of working with the
Al Anbar Iraqi National Guard (ING) and the Iraqi Police inRamadi .In February 2006, the regiment deployed as Regimental Combat Team 5 to the Al Anbar Province, Iraq and assumed control of the greater
Fallujah area from the 8th Marine Regiment. They conducted combat operations, which included the training of Military Transition Teams (MiTT) and Police Transition Teams (PiTT). RCT-5 was camped in Camp Fallujah under the command of I Marine Expeditionary Force(Fwd) until January 2007 when they were relieved in place by the 6th Marine Regiment (RCT 6) [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = RCT-5 partners with Iraqi brigade
work = Marine Corps News
publisher = U.S. Marine Corps
date =
url = http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/8294CA40FEDFE6E98525712B00346DFB?opendocument
format =
doi =
accessdate = ] .As of December 2007, the 5th Marine Regiment had lost 221 members during combat operations in Iraq. This includes members of the regiment and of other battalions that served under 5th Marines [cite web
last = LCpl Coolman
first = Shawn
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = RCT-5 remembers fallen
work =
publisher =United States Marine Corps
date = 2007-12-11
url = http://www.marines.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/AED019DF2760F714852573AD00677A0C?opendocument
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-12-11 ]Unit awards
A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. The 5th Marine Regiment has been presented with the following awards:
ee also
*
With the Old Breed
*History of the United States Marine Corps
*List of United States Marine Corps regiments References
;Notes:Marine Corps
;Bibliography
*cite book | title =With the Old Breed : At Peleliu and Okinawa | author = Eugene Sledge | year = 1990 reprint | publisher = Oxford University Press | id = ISBN 0195067142
*cite book | title = Brotherhood of Heroes: The Marines At Peleliu, 1944 - The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War | author = Bill Sloan | year = 2005 | publisher = Simon & Shuster | id = ISBN 0-7432-6009-0;Web
* [http://www.i-mef.usmc.mil/div/5Mar/default.asp 5th Marines official website]
* [http://www.imef-fwd.usmc.mil/imef/imef-public.nsf/sites/RCT5 Official RCT-5 website from Iraq]
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