| 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines | |
|---|---|
3/4 insignia |
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| Active |
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| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Type | U.S. Marine Corps Infantry Battalion |
| Part of | 7th Marine Regiment 1st Marine Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms |
| Nickname | Thundering Third |
| Mascot | The water buffalo of Southeast Asia |
| Engagements | World War II * Battle of Corregidor * Battle of Bougainville * Battle of Guam * Battle of Okinawa Vietnam War * Operation Hastings * Operation Prairie * Operation Kentucky Operation Iraqi Freedom * Operation Vigilant Resolve Operation Enduring Freedom |
3rd Battalion, 4th Marines (3/4) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed "Thundering Third" it is known within the battalion as "Darkside" and the radio callsigns of the command and staff reflect this moniker. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 1,000 Marines. They fall under the command of the 7th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division.
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Activated on May 1, 1941 at Cavite, Philippine Islands as First Separate Marine Battalion, Navy Yard, Cavite. Relocated during December 1941 to Corregidor, Philippine Islands. Redesignated January 1, 1942 to the Third Battalion, Fourth Marines, Corregidor, Philippine Island. The 4th Marine Regiment participated in the Battle of Corregidor from January to May 1942. The unit was captured by enemy forces on May 6, 1942. After this 4th Marines temporarily ceased to exist.
The regrouped 3rd Battalion 4th Marines of the 3rd Marine Division, participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima reinforcing the other Marine units of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions already there fighting. The 3rd Marine Division and other Marine Divisions were regrouping and training for the invasion of Japan, but before they were sent there, the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki finally bringing World War II to an end.
The 3rd battalion deployed in April 1965 to the area near Chu Lai, South Vietnam and was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division joining the 4th Marines fighting large concentrations of Viet Cong in Operation Starlite. Two companies were sent north to Phu Bai to secure a small airfield 8 miles south of Hue City. The whole battalion re-deployed back to Okinawa in October 1965 and returned to South Vietnam in March 1966, in Phu Bai, Hue areas from then until July 1966, they participated in company patrols and ambushes against the VC in the Thua Thien-Hue Province. Then moving up further north near the DMZ, in the Song Ngan River Valley, there they participated in Operation Hastings which was a multi-battalion operation ran from July 7–25, 1966. This was the first major Marine campaign against the North Vietnamese Army's 324B NVA Division. A total of 8,500 from the 3rd Marine Division participated and supported the operation, it was successful by stopping the NVA from further advancing into South Vietnam. The enemy lost nearly 800 killed and Marine losses were at 57 killed and 162 wounded.
Back to Phu Bai after Hastings again running patrols and ambushes in search and destroy missions, that September the battalion moved its headquarters 55 miles north to Dong Ha. In October, 1966 3/4 again saw action against the 324B NVA Division in Operation Prairie. Fighting for Hill 400 and Hill 484 and also called Mutter's Ridge in the Razor Back Mountains, a heavily fortified Nui Cay Tri ridge. It was very costly for both sides, losses were put at nearly 1400 NVA killed and Marine losses were 62 killed 148 wounded. Photojournalist Larry Burrows took a large collection of Time-Life photos during the operation. The most recognizable is a Pulitzer Prize winning photo, taken on Hill 400, showing a wounded Gunnery Sergeant being guided by a United States Navy Hospital Corpsman as he reaches out to a fellow wounded Marine waiting to be medevaced. Photo is called "Reaching Out" Shown in many special Life-Time Issues.
After Operation Prairie the battalion went into a rebuilding stage. They guarded lines near The Rockpile and at Camp Carroll which was the largest concentration of artillery pieces in northern I Corp. During the rest of their time in Vietnam they participated in Cam Lo in other battalion size operations in Quang Tri Province. Some of the other major ones were Operation Kingfisher, Operation Kentucky near Con Thien in the western area of Leatherneck Square. 3/4 also participated in Operation Robin South and others along Route 9 and near Khe Sanh and Hill 689 in Phou Nhui in summer and fall of 1968. The battalion left Vietnam in November 1969.
The first Marine unit in combat in Panama during Operation Just Cause was India Company, 3/4. They landed in Panama on April 6, 1988 and by April 10 were engaged in combat with clandestine units from Cuba. Some might have been from the 7th Company of the Panamanian Defense Forces, a special ops unit known as the "Macho de Monte" or men of the mountain.
1996-1997 saw the battalion participate in Operation Hunter Warrior (Sea Dragon). The objective of the operation was to test experimental gear, weapons and other equipment essential to a Marine Rifle Squad. In 1998 the battalion was transferred from Camp Pendleton, CA to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in 29 Palms, CA. There they worked back to full battalion strength and prepared for deployment to Camp Schwab, Okinawa in 1999-2000.
During this time the battalion also completed the summer and winter warfare training packages at Marine Corp Cold Weather Training Bridgeport,Ca.
3/4 deployed to Kuwait in January 2003 and went on to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. They were the first U.S. Marine unit to enter Baghdad. This battalion was shown in the famous scene of the statue of Saddam in Firdos Square being pulled down. The battalion redeployed to Iraq in March 2004 and subsequently took part in Operation Vigilant Resolve while attached to the 1st Marine Regiment. They subsequently deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in January 2005 and provided oversight for Iraq's first national election in decades. 3/4 deployed again in September 2006 to Al Qaim, Iraq conducting counter insurgency combat operations and support and security operations. The battalion deployed in early 2008 to Al Anbar with dual missions of carrying out combat operations, training Iraqi security forces, and supervising the Iraqi peacekeeping effort. Their area of operations reached from Haditha to Hit, becoming the largest area any military unit had controlled in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion also became the first U.S. military unit to reach 5 straight Iraq deployments and returned from their deployment in early September 2008. They are also the only Marine battalion with eight straight combat deployments.[1][2] The battalion deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan from October 2009 to May 2010 and from April to October 2011. They are currently in the process of re-deploying back to the United States and will return to Afghanistan in the spring of 2013. 3/4= BAMF's
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.
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