Reunion Information
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Unit Details

Strength
USMC Battalion
Type
Infantry
 
Year
1941 - Present
 

Description
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
 
Reports To
Infantry Units
 
Active Reporting Units
 
Inactive Reporting Unit
None
 
1931 Members Who Served in This Unit


 

  • Abare, Alex, Cpl, (1968-1971)
  • Abbas, Harold, Cpl, (1979-1983)
  • Acker, Juergen, SSgt, (1990-2010)
  • Acosta, Jaime, Cpl, (1997-2001)
  • Adams, Brandon, Sgt, (2001-2005)
  • Adams, Michael, Sgt, (2006-2014)
  • Adams, Silas, Sgt, (2004-2009)
  • Addo, Jacob, Cpl, (2000-2004)
  • Aguero, Aldo, LCpl, (1982-1985)
  • Aguilar, Eric, Cpl, (1993-1997)
  • Aguzin, Joey, LCpl, (1969-1971)
  • Ainscoe, Daniel, Sgt, (1984-1995)
  • Ainsworth, John, LCpl, (1988-1992)
  • Akerelrea, Sean, Sgt, (2001-2005)
  • Albor, Joe, Cpl, (1974-1976)
  • Albritton, Aaron, Sgt, (1998-2008)
  • Alcaraz, John, Sgt, (1999-2007)
  • Alessi, Michael, Cpl, (1993-1997)
  • Alferez, Jose, Sgt, (2003-Present)
  • Allen, Jonathan, Cpl, (2004-2008)
  • Allen, Kenneth, Cpl, (1975-1983)
  • Allen, Michael, Sgt, (2006-2013)
  • Allen, Ronald, Cpl, (1966-1969)
  • Alletto, Lorenzo, LCpl, (2013-2017)
  • Almaguer, Nick, Cpl, (1999-2003)
  • Almaraz, Ruben, Cpl, (2004-2012)
  • Alvarez, Bonifacio, Cpl, (1979-1983)
  • Alvarez, Jay, SSgt, (1996-2014)
  • Alvarez, Juan, Sgt, (2012-2020)
  • Amedeo, Dominick, LCpl, (1963-1965)
  • Anderson, Curtis, SgtMaj, (1976-2009)
  • Anderson, Eric, Cpl, (1998-2002)
  • Anderson, James, Cpl, (1976-1979)
  • Anderson, Shane, Cpl, (2006-2010)
  • Anderson, Steven, CDR, (1966-1997)
  • Aranda, Diamond, LCpl, (2010-Present)
  • Archer, Scott, GySgt, (1988-2008)
  • Argueta, Sergio, Sgt, (1984-1994)
  • Arias, Angel, LCpl, (1999-2003)
  • Arias, Caesar, Cpl, (1988-1992)
  • Armijo, Manuel, Cpl, (1968-1970)
  • Armour, John, Cpl, (1979-1983)
 
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  Unit History Detail
Date
Apr 30, 1975

Title
Vietnam War

Content
The 3rd Battalion, along with the rest of the 7th Marines, was deployed to Vietnam from Camp Pendleton in late May 1965. The 3/7, under the command of LTC Charles H. Bodley, embarked on the amphibious ships USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2), USS Talladega (APA-208), and USS Point Defiance (LSD-31) at Okinawa on 24â??26 June and landed near the city of Qui Nhon on 1 July 1965.[10]

On 18 August 1965, the 3/7 took part in Operation Starlite, the first regimental size operation by US forces since the Korean War. The 3/7, along with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, and the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, made a combined amphibious-helicopter assault on fortified enemy positions on the Van Tuong Peninsula. The Marines landed behind enemy lines and, after seven days of fighting, drove the 1st Viet Cong Regiment into the sea.[11]

In January 1966, the 3/7 took part in Operation Mallard along with the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines. It was a sweep of the area 20 miles southwest of Da Nang, in the area later known as the Arizona Territory. While the Viet Cong did not engage in major confrontations with the Marines during Operation Mallard, the area would later be a significant battleground for the 3/7 and other Marine battalions in the years to come.[12]

In March 1966 the battalion took part in Operation Texas. On 18 March 1966 an ARVN outpost on Hill 141 west of Quang Ngai City was overrun by the 36th North Vietnamese Regiment. A reaction/relief force was promptly put together consisting of elements from 4 Marine battalions including 3/7 and an ARVN battalion. The allied forces were inserted by ground and air on 20 and 21 March and began closing around the NVA forces. Over the next four days, Operation Texas claimed a total of 623 known enemy dead, but at least 57 US Marines and sailors were killed in a series of bitter fights.

Along with the 1/7, 2/7 and elements of the 26th Marines and 51st ARVN regiment, the 3/7th also took part in Operation Oklahoma Hills from March through May 1969, an operation to clear NVA base camps and infiltration routes out of the hills and valleys southwest of Da Nang, South Vietnam's second most important city and a major base for US operations at the time.[13]

For "conspicuous gallantry and intrepity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty" and "in the face of vicious enemy fire" during a search and destroy mission in the Que Son-Hiep Duc Valley on 28 August 1969, in which he destroyed several of the enemy and silenced anti-aircraft guns and machinegunist, Lance Corporal Jose F. Jimenez of Kilo Company, 3/7, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
   

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