Sep 26 - Sep 28, 2024:
Marine Corps Engineer Association (MCEA)More Details
Patch
Unit Details
Strength
USMC Battalion
Type
Logistics
Year
1976 - Present
Description
1st Combat Engineer Battalion is a combat engineer battalion of the United States Marine Corps. The unit, nicknamed "The Super Breed", is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and falls under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force.
On 31 March 1976, not long after its return to Camp Pendleton, the battalion was redesignated 1st Combat Engineer Battalion which more closely reflects its specific mission.
Notable Persons
Medal Honor - Vietnam -
PFC Jimmy Wayne Phipps
Private First Class Jimmy Wayne Phipps (MCSN: 2412145), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 27 May 1969, while serving as a combat engineer with Company B, First Engineer Battalion, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in connection with combat operations against the enemy near An Hoa, Republic of Vietnam.
Description
The Battle of Peleliu, codenamed Operation Stalemate II, was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September–November 1944 on the island of Peleliu, present-day Palau. U.S. Marines of the First Marine Division and later soldiers of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island. This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager which ran from June–November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
Major General William Rupertus, USMC—commander of 1st Marine Division—predicted the island would be secured within four days. However, due to Japan's well-crafted fortifications and stiff resistance, the battle lasted over two months. In the United States, it was a controversial battle because of the island's questionable strategic value and the high casualty rate, which exceeded all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War. The National Museum of the Marine Corps called it "the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines".
