3rd Battalion 7th Marines

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3rd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment
3/7 insignia
Active	January 1, 1941
Country	United States
Branch	USMC
Type	Infantry
Part of	7th Marine Regiment 1st Marine Division
Garrison/HQ	Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
Nickname	The Cutting Edge
Battles/wars	World War II * Battle of Guadalcanal * Battle of Peleliu Korean War * Battle of Inchon * Battle of Chosin Reservoir Vietnam War Operation Desert Storm Operation Restore Hope Operation Iraqi Freedom

The 3rd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment (3/7) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 800 Marines.

1 History
2 Medal of Honor recipients
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

[edit] World War II

3rd Battalion 7th Marines was activated January 1, 1941 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and was assigned to the 1st Marine Brigade. In February 1941 they were reassigned to the 1st Marine Division. 3/7 participated in the following World War II campaigns:

Guadalcanal
Eastern New Guinea
New Britain
Peleliu
Okinawa

After the war 3/7 participated in the occupation of northern China from September 1945 to April 1946and were then deactivated 15 April 1946

[edit] Korean War

The battalion was reactivated September 11, 1950 at Kobe, Japan and assigned to the 1st Marine Division. They deployed in September 1950 to the South Korea and participated in the Korean War from September 1950- July 1953 in the following campaigns:

Inchon-Seoul
Chosin Reservoir
East Central Front

In October 1951 it performed the first battalion sized combat helicopter air assault in history in Operation Bumblebee.

After the war the battalion participated in the defense of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, July 1953 to March 1955.

[edit] Vietnam War

[edit] The Gulf War and the 1990s

Operation United Shield (Kilo Co. only)

[edit] Global War on Terror

3/7 took part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and then deployed twice more to the Al Anbar province of western Iraq. They originally deployed in January 2003, moved north during the invasion in March and April, and then began a five-month stint doing security and stability operations in Karbala until September 2003. During that 5 month stint, India Company, 3rd Battalion 7th Marines operated in Mahmudiyah, Iraq in support of Task Force Scorpion during July and August of 2003. Their training in the Kuwaiti desert and the subsequent invasion was chronicled in the TV documentary Virgin Soldiers which frequently airs on the Discovery Times Channel and the Military Channel.

After returning to the United States in September 2003, the Battalion quickly re-deployed in February 2004 to Al Qaim -- in western Al Anbar Province, abutting the Syrian border. The Battalion's area of responsiblity included Husaybah, the primary border crossing point between Syria and Iraq. Returning from that deployment in September 2004, the battalion then had a full year to train and re-equip prior to deploying a third time. This third deployment was to Ar Ramadi in central Al Anbar Province from September 2005 until March 2006.

[edit] Medal of Honor recipients

See also: Category:Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipients.

Battle of Peleliu

PFC Arthur J. Jackson - September 18, 1944
PFC Wesley Phelps - October 4, 1944

Korean War

2ndLt Robert D. Reem - November 6, 1950
Sgt James E. Johnson - December 2, 1950
2ndLt George H. Ramer - September 12, 1951
SSgt William E. Shuck, Jr. - July 3, 1952
Pvt Jack W. Kelso - October 2, 1952
SSgt Lewis G. Watkins - October 7, 1952
2ndLt George H. O'Brien, Jr. - October 27, 1952

Vietnam

LCpl Roy M. Wheat - August 11, 1967
HM3 Wayne M. Caron - July 28, 1968
LCpl Kenneth L. Worley - August 12, 1968
LCpl Lester W. Weber - February 23, 1969
LCpl Jose F. Jimenez - August 28, 1969
LCpl James D. Howe - May 6, 1970

Iraq

On November 10, 2006, President George W. Bush announced that Corporal Jason Dunham would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in April of 2004 during the deployment to Al Qaim. The announcement was made at the dedication of the National Museum of the Marine Corps on what would have been Dunham's 25th birthday, which is also the 231st birthday of the Marine Corps.^[1]