| This Month's History Lesson, the Marine Corps Way: January |
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| Land, Sea, Air |
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| 1 January 1804: |
The tradition of the Marine Band serenading the
Commandant was established. |
| 1 January 1944: |
Lieutenant General (later General) Alexander Vandegrift made Commandant of Marine Corps. |
| 2 January 1777: |
Marines participated in the 2nd Battle of Trenton. |
| 2 January 1944: |
U.S. Army made surprise landing at Saidor,
began drive up New Guinea coast. |
| 2 January 1960: |
Marine Corps Air Facility, Futenma, Okinawa was
commissioned under Colonel L. S. Reeve. (Originally named Futema.
When I was stationed there in 1961 with MAG-16 it was still named Futema. In 1970 it
was designated a Marine Corps Air Station and was renamed Futenma in 1976.
Leatherneck Magazine, March 1997, had a nice article about MCAF,
Futema.) |
| 3 January 1777: |
Battle of Princeton. |
| 3 January 1945: |
VMF-124 and VMF-213 from the USS Essex struck
Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands in the first Marine land strike off a carrier. |
| 4 January 1861: |
40 Marines left Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. to
garrison Ft. Washington. |
| 4 January 1928: |
Marines participated in the Battle of Quilali during
the occupation of Nicaragua. |
| 4 January 1991: |
Marines evacuated 260 U.S. and foreign citizens from
the American Embassy, Mogadishu, Somalia, during Operation Eastern Exit. |
| 5 January 1904: |
A Marine detachment landed to protect Legation at
Seoul, Korea. |
| 5 January 1944: |
The 5th and 7th Marine Regiments overran the 53rd
Japanese infantry, New Britain. |
| |
1st and 2nd Raider Regiments disbanded. |
| 6 January 1859: |
BGen Archibald Henderson died in office after serving
39 years as the 5th Commandant of the Marine Corps. |
| 6 January 1967: |
Operation Song Than/Deckhouse V began on MeKong Delta - RVN.
|
| 7 January 1961: |
MAG-12 moved from Iwa Kuni to Philippines. |
| 7 January 1969: |
The Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded to 1stMarDiv
Chaplain, Lt. V.R. Capodanno, U.S. Navy, who was killed in action in Quang Tin
Province, Vietnam on 4 Sept. 1967. |
| 8 January 1815: |
Marines, with Andrew Jackson's help, repulsed British
forces at New Orleans. |
| 9 January 1847: |
Marines participated in the Battle of La Mesa
(California) during the Mexican War. |
| 9 January 1945: |
Luzon in Northern Philippines invaded. |
| 9 January 1958: |
1st Bn 8th Marines left Camp Lejeune for Med
Cruise. |
| 10 January 1861: |
Captain Josiah Watson and 38 Marines surrendered with
Navy Yard, Pensacola during the Civil War. |
| 10 January 1927: |
2nd Bn 5th Marines landed in Nicaragua. |
| 11 January 1799: |
2nd Lt. T. Wharton, 1st Quartermaster of the Marine
Corps. |
| 11 January 1945: |
MAG-24 landed int he Philippines to provide
air support to the U.S. Army. |
| 12 January 1967: |
General H. M. (Howling Mad) Smith, "Father of Amphibious
Warfare," died. |
| 12 January 1991: |
The 5th MEB embarked and arrived in the North
Arabian Sea in support of Desert Shield. |
| 13 January 1862: |
Marines landed and burned Confederate stores at Cedar Keys,
Florida. |
| 13 January 1943: |
The 2ndMarDiv launched a westward coastal attack
at Guadalcanal. |
| 14 January 1918: |
Artillery Regiment, 10th Marines organized at
Quantico. |
| 14 January 1920: |
Caco insurrectionists were defeated in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. |
| 15 January 1942: |
Brigadier General H. R. Larsen 1st military Governor
American Samoa. |
| 15January 1943: |
Captain Joe Foss bagged three Japanese planes for
a record total of 26 kills. |
| 16 January 1958: |
3rd Anti-Tank Bn activated Camp Hansen, Okinawa. |
| 16 January 1991: |
Marines participated in the offensive air
action against Iraq as Operation Desert Storm began. |
| 17 January 1944: |
Company B, 1st Tank Battalion spearheaded the assault
against Japanese positions on Arawe Peninsula, New Britain. |
| 17 January 1945: |
Russians captured Warsaw. |
| 17 January 1951: |
1stMarDiv began mop-up at Pohang, Korea. |
| 17 January 1993: |
Floods caused Camp Pendleton to close its gates to
all but essential personnel. |
| 18 January 1836: |
Marines reinforced Army to repulse Indians at Ft. Brook,
Florida. |
| 18 January 1902: |
The famous "March Across Samar" ended during the
Philippine Insurrection. |
| 19 January 1840: |
Detachment with the Wilkes Expedition reached Antarctica.
|
| 19 January 1929: |
BGen Smedley Butler's 3rd Marine Brigade was disbanded
at Tientsin, China. |
| 20 January 1942: |
Thomas Holcomb, 1st Lieutenant General in Corps history.
|
| 20 January 1968: |
The 26th Marine Regiment killed 100 enemy as the
second Battle for Khe Sanh, Vietnam, began. |
| 21 January 1918: |
The first Marine aviation unit overseas in WW I
arrived in the Azores. |
| 22 January 1925: |
2nd Expeditionary Force organized at Cavite, Philippine
Islands, for duty at Shanghai, China to protect American lives. |
| 22 January 1969: |
Vietnam, Op-Dewey Canyon began, 1617 enemy KIA. |
| 23 January 1780: |
Marines participated in the capture of a British brig
by the USS Providence and USS Ranger off the coast of Charleston,
South Carolina. |
| 23 January 1909: |
1st Provisional Regiment returned from duty in Cuba.
|
| 23 January 1942: |
Japanese invaded New Britain, New Ireland,
the Solomons. |
| 23 January 1943: |
Australian-U.S. counterattack recaptured Buna-Sanananda from Japanese. |
Tripoli fell to Allies. |
| 24 January 1874: |
Detachments formed for Battalion-size exercises off
Key West, Florida. |
| 24 January 1942: |
U.S. Naval force battered Japanese troop convoy in
Battle of Makassar Strait. |
| 24 January 1968: |
The 26th Marine Regiment held the Khe Sanh Combat
Base. |
| 25 January 1922: |
"U.S.S. Galvaston" Marines landed to reinforce Managua.
|
| 25 January 1928: |
Marines participated in the Battle of El Chipote
during the occupation of Nicaragua. |
| 26 January 1856: |
Marines and settlers drove off indians at Seattle,
Washington. |
| 26 January 1904: |
The emperor of Addis Ababa, Abyssinia, decorated
Captain G. C. Thorpe for escorting diplomats 500 miles through the desert. |
| 26 January 1942: |
First U.S. troops reached Northern Ireland.
|
| 27 January 1778: |
Marines landed at New Providence, Bahamas; the
American flag flew over foreign soil for the first time. |
| 27 January 1837: |
Marines fought in the Battle of Hatchee-Lustee
in Florida. |
| 27 January 1937: |
1st and 2nd Brigades in Fleet Landing Exercise #3
off San Diego, California. |
| 27 January 1944: |
Anzio beachhead seized in Italy. |
| 27 January 1973: |
Signing of Vietnam Peace Accord. |
| 28 January 1914: |
Marines with British, French and German units
landed in Haiti. |
| 28 January 1942: |
The 4th Marine Regiment was assigned to support
Philippine Scouts on Bataan. |
| 28 January 1966: |
Operation "Double Eagle." Largest amphibious landing
since Korea. |
| 28 January 1973: |
End of Vietnam Cease Fire Campaign. |
| 29 January 1914: |
Marines joined British, French and German troops in Haiti
to protect mutual interests. |
| 29 January 1991: |
Marines participated in the first major ground
action of Desert Storm, repulsing an Iraqi mechanized battalion. |
| 30 January 1943: |
Marines participated in the Battle for Rennell
Island. |
| 30 January 1968: |
Beginning of Tet Counteroffensive. |
| 31 January 1944: |
The American flag was first raised over Japanese
soil by B/1/25 in the Marshall Islands. |
| 31 January 1956: |
Camp "H. M. Smith" dedicated as FMFPAC Headquarters,
Oahu, Hawaii. |
Return to "Semper Fi, Mac!"