3rd Battalion 2nd Marines (3/2) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina consisting of approximately 1000 Marines and Sailors. Nicknamed the "Betio Bastards," they fall under the command of the 2nd Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division.
World War II
Activated 18 January 1941 at San Diego, California. They were assigned to the 2nd Marine Brigade during February 1941. Deployed to Koro Island with the 2nd Marine Division in June 1942. The battalion participated in the following World War II campaigns:
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Saipan
Tinian
Okinawa
During the Battle of Tarawa, the battalion participated in the amphibious assault on and capture of the small island of Betio in the Tarawa atoll, earning them the nickname "the Betio Bastards."
Following the war the battalion stood occupation duty in Kagoshima, Japan until February 1946 when they redeployed to Camp Pendleton, California. The battalion was deactivated on 27 March 1946.
Post World War II history
3/2 was reactivated on 28 December 1950 at Camp Pendleton, and were again assigned to the 2nd Marine Division. They deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962
The battalion deployed to Saudi Arabia in August 1990 and participated in Operation Desert Storm in early 1991. In 1994 they participated in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia and Operation Deny Flight and Operation Provide Promise.
Global War on Terror
In 2003, 3/2 deployed to Kuwait as part of Task Force Tarawa and beginning in March supported Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion participated in the battle of Nasiriyah .During this deployment 3/2 had 1 Marine, Sgt. Nicholas M. Hodson, of Springfield, MO killed in action.
During 2004, 3/2 was designated as the AT (anti-terrorism) battalion and was assigned to different areas around the globe. The battalion was spread between Afghanistan, Djibouti, and Cuba.
The battalion again deployed to Iraq in February 2005. The battalion launched major combat operations Operation Matador, Operation Spear, and Operation Quick Strike. They conducted security and stabilization operations in Al Anbar Province until September 2005. During this deployment 3/2 had 3 Marines killed in action.
The battalion again deployed to Iraq in the July 2006. They conducted security and stabilization operations in the Al Anbar Province in the city of Habbaniyah until mid February 2007. During this deployment the battalion had 14 Marines killed in action.
The battalion again deployed to Iraq in October 2007 operating in the Al Qaim region of the Al Anbar Province with Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army. During this deployment the battalion suffered a few casualties, and had a widespread area of operation along the Syrian border and Euphrates river. The Battalion again deployed to the Persian Gulf in May-December 2009 as the Battalion Landing Team for the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. In January 2010 the battalion was dispatched as part of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to take part in the relief effort following the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
In February 2011, 3/2 was deployed to the Musa Qal'eh and Now Zad districts of Helmand Province, Afghanistan to engage in combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 3/2 returned in September 2011.
Description
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg. was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, a large island only 340 mi (550 km) away from mainland Japan, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland (coded Operation Downfall). Four divisions of the U.S. 10th Army (the 7th, 27th, 77th, and 96th) and two Marine Divisions (the 1st and 6th) fought on the island. Their invasion was supported by naval, amphibious, and tactical air forces.
The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" in English, and tetsu no ame ("rain of steel") or ("violent wind of steel") in Japanese. The nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and to the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle resulted in the highest number of casualties in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Based on Okinawan government sources, mainland Japan lost 77,166 soldiers, who were either killed or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered 14,009 deaths (with an estimated total of more than 65,000 casualties of all kinds). Simultaneously, 42,000–150,000 local civilians were killed or committed suicide, a significant proportion of the local population. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki together with the Soviet invasion of Manchuria caused Japan to surrender less than two months after the end of the fighting on Okinawa.
