22nd Marine Regiment (United States)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= 22nd Marine Regiment


caption= 22nd Marines’ insignia
dates= *June 1, 1942–March 26, 1946
*September 1, 1947 – October 17, 1949
country= United States
allegiance=
branch= USMC
type= Infantry regiment
role= Locate, close with and destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver
size=
command_structure= Deactivated
current_commander=
garrison=
ceremonial_chief=
colonel_of_the_regiment=
nickname=
patron=
motto=
colors=
march=
mascot=
battles= World War II * Battle of Eniwetok * Battle of Guam * Battle of Okinawa
notable_commanders=
anniversaries=

The 22nd Marine Regiment (22nd Marines) is an inactive infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Activated for service in World War II, they fought in the battles of Eniwetok, Guam and Okinawa. They regiment was under the command of the 6th Marine Division; took part in the occupation of Northern China following the war and were subsequently deactivated in 1946. The regiment was reactivated at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia in 1947 as a school troop unit but were finally deactivated in October 17, 1949.

Subordinate units

The regiment was composed of three infantry battalions and one headquarters battalion:

* The regiment initially also had a "2nd Separate Pack Howitzer Battalion" which would eventually became a battalion within the 15th Marine Regiment upon its formation.

History

Activation and the Battle of Eniwetok

The 22nd Marine Regiment was activated in June 1, 1942 at Camp Linda Vista, California — the first regiment designated as an "independent" unit after the start of World War II. They embarked for the Pacific theater, where they trained for a year and a half — first in Samoa and then in Hawaii — before seeing combat in 1944.cite web|date=2008-08-20
url=http://www.sixthmarinedivision.com/introduction.html
title=An Introduction to the Sixth Marine Division.]

The regiment participated in the Battle of Eniwetok in February 1944, where they were the first Marine Corps unit to formally employ Fire team tactics in combat.

Battle of Guam

Prior to the 1944 Battle of Guam, it was discovered that some 1800+ members of the regiment had been infected while they were in Samoa in 1943 with the slow manifesting tropical disease Filariasis, which causes Elephantiasis . They were replaced with 500 men that were excess with the 3rd Marine Division and replacements from the United States. This greatly reduced the number of experienced Marines and leaders within the regiment just prior to the invasion. For the invasion of Guam, the regiment, along with 4th Marines and the Army's 305th Infantry Regiment, formed the core of the "1st Marine Provisional Brigade" . On D-Day, 1/22 landed on Beach Yellow 1 which was just north of Agat, 2/22 came ashore on Yellow 2 and 3/22 in reserve came on land at Yellow 1.

Battle of Okinawa

During the Battle of Okinawa the regiment landed on Green Beach where they secured the laft flank of the landing force. Following the landing they puched north with the rest of the 6th Marine Division and secured the northern portion of the island. They were eventually pulled down south and placed in the line to the right of the 1st Marine Division where they would eventually secure the city of Naha while taking very heavy casualties. After the fighting on Okinawa the regiment was moved to Guam to rest and refit.

Occupation of Northern China

While recuperating on Guam the war ended and that September the regiment received a warning order for it to prepare to move to China. Following the surrender of Japan, the entire 6th Marine Division was sent to Northern China with the main mission of accepting the surrender of Japanese forces there and helping to repatriate those soldiers and other Japanese nationals back to Japan. The 22nd Marines landed in Tsingtao on October 11, 1945 and were still there on March 26, 1946 when the 22nd Marines was officially deactivated.

Reactivation and Quantico duty

The 22nd Regiment was reactivated as school troops, at Quantico, Virginia, on 1 September 1947, and deactivated on 17 October 1949.

Notable members

* Henry A. Courtney, Jr. - Medal of Honor recipient during the Battle of Okinawa
* Anthony P. Damato - Medal of Honor recipient during the Battle of Eniwetok
* James L. Day - Medal of Honor recipient during the Battle of Okinawa
* Fred F. Lester - Medal of Honor recipient during the Battle of Okinawa

Unit awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. The 22nd Marine Regiment has been presented with the following awards:

See also

* List of United States Marine Corps regiments
* Organization of the United States Marine Corps

Notes

References

;Bibliography
* Lodge, Major O.R. [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Guam/index.html "USMC Historical Monograph: The Recapture of Guam"] , Historical Branch, United States Marine Corps, 1954.
* cite book
last = Rottman
first = Gordon L.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle – Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War.
publisher = Greenwood Press
date = 2002
location = Westport, Connecticut
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0-313-31906-5
*cite book
last = Rottman
first = Gordon
authorlink =
coauthors = Dr Duncan Anderson
year = 2004
chapter =
title = US Marine Corps Pacific Theater of Operations 1943-44
publisher = Osprey Publishing
location =
id = ISBN 1-84176-651-8

;Web
*cite web
accessdate=2008-08-20
url=http://www.sixthmarinedivision.com/introduction.html
title=An Introduction to the Sixth Marine Division
publisher=6th Marine Division website
*cite web|accessdate=2008-08-20
url=http://22dmarines.org/history.htm
title=History of the 22nd Marines
author=Hammann, Harold P.
publisher=22ndMarines.org
*cite web
last = Heinl
first = Robert D., and John A. Crown
year = 1954
url = http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-M-Marshalls/index.html
title = The Marshalls: Increasing the Tempo
work = USMC Historical Monograph
publisher = Historical Division, Division of Public Information, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps
accessdate = 2006-12-04

External links

* [http://22dmarines.org 22nd Marines tribute page]