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. The battalion falls under the command of the 7th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division. The battalion has seen combat in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and was a part of the main effort during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. They have since deployed five times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as three times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and continue operations in Afghanistan. The unit has a long, decorated history with countless achievements. Its members were described as "true professionals" by embedded reporters during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Notable Persons
Medal Honor - Vietnam -
LCpl James Donnie Howe
Lance Corporal James Donnie Howe, United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 6 May 1970, while serving as a rifleman with Company I, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, during operations against enemy forces in the Republic of Vietnam.
Medal Honor - Vietnam -
LCpl Jose Francisco Jimenez
Lance Corporal Jose Francisco Jimenez, United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 28 August 1969, while serving as a fire team leader with Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in operations against the enemy south of DaNang, Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam.
Medal Honor - Vietnam -
LCpl Kenneth Lee Worley
Lance Corporal Kenneth Lee Worley (MCSN: 2230824), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 12 August 1968, while serving as a machine gunner with Company L, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in action against enemy forces in the Republic of Vietnam.
Medal Honor - Vietnam -
LCpl Lester William Weber
Lance Corporal Lester William Weber (MCSN: 2323793), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 23 February 1969, while serving as a machinegun squad leader with Company M, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in action against the enemy.
Medal Honor - Vietnam -
LCpl Roy Mitchell Wheat
Lance Corporal Roy Mitchell Wheat (MCSN: 2242728), United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 11 August 1967, while serving with Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force. Lance Corporal Wheat and two other Marines were assigned the mission of providing security for a Navy construction battalion crane and crew operating along Liberty Road in the vicinity of the Dien Ban District, Quang Nam Province
Description
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II. It was the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan.
On 7 August 1942, Allied forces, predominantly American, landed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese to threaten the supply and communication routes between the US, Australia, and New Zealand. The Allies also intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases to support a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain. The Allies overwhelmed the outnumbered Japanese defenders, who had occupied the islands since May 1942, and captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as an airfield (later named Henderson Field) that was under construction on Guadalcanal. Powerful US naval forces supported the landings.
Surprised by the Allied offensive, the Japanese made several attempts between August and November 1942 to retake Henderson Field. Three major land battles, seven large naval battles (five nighttime surface actions and two carrier battles), and continual, almost daily aerial battles culminated in the decisive Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November 1942, in which the last Japanese attempt to bombard Henderson Field from the sea and land with enough troops to retake it was defeated. In December 1942, the Japanese abandoned further efforts to retake Guadalcanal and evacuated their remaining forces by 7 February 1943 in the face of an offensive by the US Army's XIV Corps, conceding the island to the Allies.
The Guadalcanal campaign was a significant strategic combined arms victory by Allied forces over the Japanese in the Pacific theatre. The Japanese had reached the high-water mark of their conquests in the Pacific, and Guadalcanal marked the transition by the Allies from defensive operations to the strategic offensive in that theatre and the beginning of offensive operations, including the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and Central Pacific campaigns, that resulted in Japan's eventual surrender and the end of World War II.
