| 3rd Battalion 24th Marines | |
|---|---|
3/24 Insignia |
|
| Active | February 1, 1943 - present |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | USMC |
| Type | Infantry regiment |
| Role | Locate, close with and destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver |
| Size | 800 |
| Part of | 24th Marine Regiment 4th Marine Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Bridgeton, Missouri |
| Motto | "Always Ready" |
| Engagements | World War II * Battle of Kwajalein * Battle of Tinian * Battle of Saipan * Battle of Iwo Jima Operation Desert Storm Operation Iraqi Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom |
3rd Battalion 24th Marines (3/24) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps located throughout the Midwestern United States consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. They fall under the 24th Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division.
Contents |
| Name | Location |
|---|---|
| Headquarters and Services Company | Bridgeton, Missouri |
| India Company | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Kilo Company | Terre Haute, Indiana |
| Lima Company | Johnson City, Tennessee |
| Weapons Company | Springfield, Missouri |
Provide a well-trained and credible force, capable of rapidly mobilizing to augment or reinforce active duty Marine Corps forces participating in missions ranging from humanitarian/peacekeeping operations to major conflicts, in time of war, national emergency or contingency operations and during in peacetime to provided operation tempo relief for active forces throughout the spectrum of operations including Joint and Combined Operations. Infantry battalions are the heart and soul of the ground combat element. The mission of locating, closing with, and destroying the enemy with fire and maneuver and repelling the enemy's assault with fire and close combat lies with the "grunts". Marine infantry battalions often have limited organic equipment outside of small arms (maneuvering by foot as light infantry, and must be supplemented with additional trucks to become motorized infantry or Amphibious Assault Vehicles to become mechanized infantry).[1]
A Marine infantry battalion is organized into three rifle companies, a weapons company, and a headquarters company. The rifle company has three or four rifle platoons and a weapons platoon with medium machineguns and mortars. The weapons company includes a heavy machinegun platoon, a mortar platoon, and an assault platoon. Sometimes, the commander will mix these into Combined Anti-Armor Teams. The headquarters company includes all command, administration, intelligence, operations, logistics, and communication Marines and equipment, as well as the battalion's Surveillance and Target Acquisition teams (which include scout snipers).[2]
Activated on February 1, 1943 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, as Headquarters Company, 3d Separate Battalion.
During 1943 the Battalion was relocated to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and redesignated, 3rd Battalion 24th Marine Regiment, and assigned to the 4th Marine Division. During 1944 the Battalion was deployed to the Marshall Islands and participated in the Battle of Kwajalein, Battle of Saipan, Battle of Tinian, Roi Namur, and Battle of Iwo Jima. The battalion commander of 3/24 during this period was Lieutenant Colonel Alexander A. Vandegrift, Jr. (son of Commandant of the Marine Corps Alexander Vandegrift) until he was severely wounded on Iwo Jima.[3] Captain William T. Ketcham's Company I, 3/24, landed on Iwo Jima the first day with 133 Marines in the three rifle platoons. Only nine of these men remained when the remnants of the company reembarked on the 35th day of the battle.[4] Relocated during 1945 to Maui, Territory of Hawaii and then relocated to Camp Pendleton, California the Battalion was deactivated on October 31, 1945.
The battalion was reactivated on July 1, 1962 at New Orleans, Louisiana, and assigned to the 4th Marine Division, USMCR. During 1967 the Battalion headquarters was relocated to Missouri.
3/24 was activated with the entire 24th Marine Regiment on November 13, 1990 for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. During the first week of December, 1990, the command element of 24th Marines went to Camp Pendleton. 3/24 flew to Camp Lejuene, North Carolina. Weapons firing and chemical warfare training were emphasized at Camp Lejeune. The regiment, (minus 1/24 who were deployed to Okinawa) then flew into Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia 1 January 1991. By January 1991, the 24th Marines had assumed the rear area security mission for I MEF. Lieutenant General Walter Boomer, Commanding General of I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), assigned the 24th Marine Regiment the mission to defend the sprawling Al Jubayl Vital Area and other key points from Iraqi military and terrorist attacks. Al Jubayl was the port of entry for the prepositioned supplies that were linked with the 7th MEB in August 1990. The Al Jubayl command post, known as the "Police Station," was under the command of Major General John Hopkins. Colonel Germann (24th Marine Regiment Commanding Officer) deployed his regiment in platoon and company defensive positions along a 200-mile line from Dhahran to Al Mishab, shifting them as requirements changed.[5]
Companies from 3/24 deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from October - November 1994 in support of Operation Sea Signal (Joint Task Force 160) to provide refugee camp security at Camp Alpha, Camp Bravo, Camp Golf, Camp Mike and Camp X-Ray. 3/24 also served as a Quick Reaction Force to quell any refugee uprisings, built refugee housing camp facilities, escorted refugees for medical treatment, distributed food and supplies, and conducted perimeter security.[6]
In 1997, 24th Marine Regiment began deploying reinforced companies to Panama. Their mission was to provide security for the Panama Canal. Companies of 3/24 and individual augments deployed to Panama providing OpTempo relief until the canal came under full Panamanian control in 1999. Major General Ray Smith, Commanding General II MEF, saw the deployment as offering great opportunities for both the reserve and the Marine Corps as a whole. "It reinforces the total-force commitment of the reserves. It gives the active duty Marines here a good feeling about their reserve counterparts," said Smith, "and further, this representative unit is a better manned... company than anything we've seen out here, except for the MEUs [Marine Expeditionary Units], in the time I've been here."[7]
During January, 2004, the Battalion was activated in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Battalion was deployed to four different Forward Operating Bases in the Sunni Triangle area of Western Iraq with the 1st Marine Division under I Marine Expeditionary Force. The battalion was spread out between FOB Abu Ghraib, Camp Fallujah and Al Taqaddum where the battalion was headquartered during the deployment. Elements of 3/24 participated in the First Battle of Fallujah, the Battle of Najaf (2004), and saw combat in Haditha and the Triangle of Death (Iraq). In January, 2005, the battalion demobilized in St. Louis, Missouri.[8]
In 2006, approximately 400 members of 3/24 augmented 1st Battalion 24th Marines and deployed to Fallujah, Iraq. 1/24 took heavy casualties in what was later called The Third Battle of Fallujah, suffering 22 Marines killed in action with another 331 wounded, including 41 amputees.[9] Due to their relentless aggression, toward the end of their deployment attacks had decreased dramatically. 1/24 was able to turn over the majority of the city to the Fallujah Police and Iraqi Army.
3/24 again deployed to Iraq in September 2009 with the 2nd Marine Division under the II Marine Expeditionary Force. Organized as a Task Force, 3/24 was supported by attachments from 25th Marine Regiment and 4th Tank Battalion. During their time in Iraq they were responsible for providing military police and convoy security along with training Iraqi forces as TFMP (Task Force Military Police). 3/24 was spread out over 500 miles with elements at Al-Qa'im, Ar Rutba, Al Asad Airbase, Al Taqaddum, and Combat Outposts on the Iraq border with Jordan and the Iraq border with Syria. Among other missions, Kilo Company was a helo-borne Quick Reaction Force, while Weapons, India, and Lima companies conducted convoys and patrols in the Fallujah and Ramadi areas of operation. The battalion returned home February 2010. 3/24 has the distinction of being the last Marine Corps combat unit to leave Iraq.[10]
200 Marines from 3/24 were deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. They were deployed throughout Helmand Province as Military Transition Teams and security detachments.[11]
In June, 2010, 3/24 deployed to Boston, MA, as the Ground Combat Element of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF)- Marine Week Boston.[12]
In May, 2011, 3/24 deployed with 4th Force Reconnaissance Company to the Ukraine/Black Sea in support of NATO Partnership for Peace Exercise Seabreeze 11.[13] Participating countries included Ukraine, Georgia, Germany, Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Sweden, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, Turkey and United Kingdom. Training consisted of combat firing, counter piracy training operations, non-combatant evacuation operations, amphibious assault, airborne operations, and board, search and seizure training aboard ship.[14]
Private Richard K. Sorenson received the Medal of Honor for actions during the battle of Kwajalein Atoll (Marshall Islands) in 1944.[15]
First Lieutenant John V. Power received the Medal of Honor for actions during the landing and battle of Roi-Namur Island, 1944.[16]
Private First Class James R. Zarillo received the Navy Cross for actions during the battle of Kwajalein Atoll (Marshall Islands) in 1944.[17]
Private First Class Louis W. Trafton from India Company, 3/24, received the Navy Cross for actions during the battle of Saipan in 1944.[18]
First Lieutenant Wray C. Lewis received the Navy Cross for actions during the battle of Saipan in 1944.[19]
Captain William Ketcham received the Navy Cross for actions during the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.[20]
Warrant Officer Ira Davidson received the Navy Cross for actions during the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.[21]
Lance Corporal William Spencer from India Company, 3/24, was awarded the Silver Star for action in Fallujah, Iraq, (attached to 1/24) in 2006.[22]
Corporal Joshua Bleill from Kilo, 3/24, is a double-amputee from wounds sustained in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2006. He is now a PR spokesman for the Indianapolis Colts and authored a book titled "One Step at a Time: A Young Marine's Story of Courage, Hope and a New Life in the NFL."[23]
|
|||||||||||||||||||