3rd Battalion 6th Marines

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3rd Battalion 6th Marines

3/6 Insignia
Active August 14, 1917
Country United States
Branch USMC
Type Infantry battalion
Role Locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver
Part of 6th Marine Regiment
2nd Marine Division
Garrison/HQ Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Nickname "Teufel Hunden" {Devil Dogs}
Battles/wars World War I
* Battle of Belleau Wood
* Meuse-Argonne offensive
World War II
* Battle of Guadalcanal
* Battle of Tarawa
* Battle of Saipan
* Battle of Tinian
* Battle of Okinawa
Operation Just Cause
Operation Desert Storm
Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Iraqi Freedom

3rd Battalion 6th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Also known as "Teufelhunden", it consists of approximately 1000 Marines and Sailors. They fall under the 6th Marine Regiment and the 2nd Marine Division.

Contents

[edit] Subordinate Units

  • H&S Company
  • India Company (Helo)
  • Kilo Company (Mechanized)
  • Lima Company (Motorized)
  • Weapons Company

[edit] History

[edit] World War I

3rd Battalion 6th Marines was activated on August 14, 1917 at Quantico, Virginia as the 3rd Battalion, 6th Regiment. They were quickly deployed during October-November 1917 to France and assigned to the 4th Brigade, American Expeditionary Force. They participated in the following World War I offensive campaigns: Aisne-Marne, St. Mihieland the Meuse-Argonne. They also participated in the following World War I defensive campaigns: Toulon-Troyon, Chateau-Thiery, Marabache, and Limey. Following the war they took part in the occupation of the Rhineland, December 1918-July 1919. They returned during July-August 1919 to Quantico, Virginia. THe battalion was deactivated August 20, 1919

3/6 was reactivated June 14, 1922 at Quantico, Virginia as the 3rd Battalion, 6th Regiment and assigned to the 4th Brigade. They participated in maneuvers at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, June-July 1922 and attached to the Marine Corps Expeditionary Force. They were shortly thereafter deactivated August 10, 1922 at Quantico, Virginia

Again reactivated June 12, 1924 at Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic they were relocated during July 1924 to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They moved during January 1925 to Quantico, Virginia and were again deactivated February 1, 1925. Reactivated April 1927 at Norfolk, Virginia as the 3rd Battalion, 6th Regiment and assigned to the provisional regiment. They deployed during April-July 1927 to Tientsin, China and reassigned to the 3rd Marine Brigade. The Battalion was redesignated October 4, 1927 as the 1st Battalion, 12 Regiment and redesignated again on April 22, 1928 as the 3rd Battalion, 6th Regiment. In October 1928 they moved to San Diego, California and were deactivated November 10, 1928.

[edit] World War II

3/6 was again reactivated on November 1, 1940 in San Diego, California as the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines and assigned to the 2nd Marine Brigade. In the spring of 1941 they deployed to Reykjavík, Iceland and were reassigned to the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade. They returned January-February 1942 to San Diego, California and reassigned to the 2nd Marine Division.

Deployed during October-November 1942 to Wellington, New Zealand they participated in the following World War II campaigns: Guadalcanal, Southern Solomons, Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa. Following the war they were relocated during September 1945 to Nagasaki, Japan. They participated in the Occupation of Japan, September 1945 to February 1946 and arrived back in Camp Pendleton, California during February-March 1946. They were again deactivated March 27,1946.

[edit] Post-war years

3/6 was again brought back on October 17, 1949 on board USS Fremont and assigned to the 2nd Marine Division. The battalion relocated during August 1950 to Camp Pendleton, California and once again were deactivated September 11, 1950. 3/6 was quickly reactivated September 12, 1950 at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and assigned to the 2nd Marine Division. They deployed at various times as Battalion Landing Team 3/6 in the Mediterranean and Caribbean from April 1952 to 1958

[edit] 1958-2000

[edit] Global War on Terror

The battalion participated in Operation Enduring Freedom & Swift Freedom, Afghanistan & Pakistan from November 2001-February 2002. This was followed by the defense of the American Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan, December 2001, and Sept 2002-present. Since 2001, 3/6 has participated in Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, deployed to eastern Afghanistan from April 2004 to December 2004, and in August of 2005, 3/6 made their first deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They are scheduled to return from Iraq in April of 2006 [1].

[edit] Battalion Indian head patch

During World War I the Fifth and Sixth Marines fought in France as the Fourth Marine Brigade of the Army's Second Division were forced to wear the Army's uniform. The Marines had only the eagle, globe, and anchor on their soft covers to distinguish themselves from their Army brothers in arms. As this did not sit well with the Marines, a patch was designed to distinguish them from their counterparts. A black shield with one five-pointed star and an Indian head with full war bonnet was selected. It is said that the black was for mourning and respect for their casualties, the shield for defense, and the star for the Second Division Commander, Brigadier General John A. Lejeune, and the Indian for General Lejeune's nickname "Old Indian." Another source says the patch was derived from a U.S. Coin in circulation at the time.

General Lejeune himself gave a somewhat different history as to the origin of the patch in his 1930 autobiography "The Reminiscences of a Marine." He states; "There was no inferiority complex about the Second Division. We knew that we were second to none, but also that we were better than any! So we adopted the star and Indian head as Division Insignia, the Indian head representing it's fighting ability, and the star it's spirit or espirit de corps. It was, I think, the First Division of the A.E.F. (American Expeditionary Force) to wear insignia."

"We carried the idea out, too, to its logical conclusion by providing a different background for each regiment, each Battalion, and each separate detachment."

The Sixth Marine Regiment used the same design in a diamond shape instead of a shield. The color of the background on which the star was placed shows the Battalion: black, Headquarters; green, Supply; purple, Machine-gun Company; red, First battalion; yellow, Second battalion; and blue, Third battalion.

The Marines of 3/6 paved their way to the fame during 1918 when they participated in action to repel repeated German attacks in the Battle of Belleau Wood.

Legend has it that the Marines fought so fiercely in Belleau Wood that the German Soldiers came to fear them, and gave them the name Teufel Hunden (Devil Dog).

[edit] Honors & awards

3/6's ribbon rack
Enlarge
3/6's ribbon rack
  • Presidential Unit Citation Streamer
  • Navy Unit Commendation Streamer with four bronze stars
  • Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamer with two bronze star
    • Guantanamo Bay 1979, 1985-1987
    • LF5F Med. Deployment 1999-2000
  • World War I victory streamer with one silver star
  • Army of Occupation of Germany streamer
  • Marine Corps Expeditionary streamer with two bronze stars
  • Yangtze Service streamer
  • American Defense Service streamer with one bronze star
  • European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign streamer
  • Asiatic-Pacific campaign streamer with one silver and one bronze star
  • World War II Victory streamer
  • Navy Occupation Service streamer with "Asia" and "Europe"
  • National Defense Service streamer with two bronze stars
  • Southwest Asia Service streamer with two bronze stars
  • Armed Forces Expeditionary streamer with two bronze stars
  • French Croix de Guerre with two palms and one gilt star

[edit] See also

Portal:United States Marine Corps
 United States Marine Corps Portal

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../3/r/d/3rd_Battalion_6th_Marines_fc74.html"