1st Battalion, 8th Marines
| 1st Battalion, 8th Marines | |
|---|---|
| Active | -April 1, 1940 – November 18, 1947 - November 1, 1950 – present |
| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Type | Light infantry |
| Role | Locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver |
| Part of |
8th Marine Regiment 2nd Marine Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune |
| Nickname(s) |
The Beirut Battalion (2006) The Cutting Edge (old) Foul Weather Warriors |
| Engagements |
World War II *Battle of Guadalcanal *Battle of Tarawa *Battle of Saipan *Battle of Tinian *Battle of Okinawa THE COLD WAR *1958 Lebanon *1962 Cuban Missile Crisis *1965 Dominican Republic Intervention *1983 Lebanon - Beirut barracks bombing PERSIAN GULF WAR *Operation Desert Shield *Operation Desert Storm GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM *Iraq Campaign 2003–2009 *Afghanistan Campaign 2010–2012 *Horn of Africa – 2003 Djibouti OTHER OPERATIONS *1993 Somalia - Operation Restore Hope *1993–94 Bosnia – Operation Deny Flight and Provide Promise *1994 Cuba – Operation Sea Signal *1994 Caribbean Sea – Operation Support Democracy *1997 Albania - Operation Silver Wake *1997 Zaire – Operation Guardian Retrieval *2001 Kosovo and Croatia – Operation Joint Guardian *2003 Liberia - Operation Sheltering Sky *2005 Louisiana – Hurricane Katrina *2006 Lebanon - 24th MEU < |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Reginald J. McClam |
1st Battalion, 8th Marines (1/8) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The battalion consists of approximately 1000 Marines and Sailors and is nicknamed "The Beirut Battalion." They fall under the command of the 8th Marine Regiment and the 2nd Marine Division.
The unit's history goes back to World War II where they fought in numerous campaigns in the Pacific including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa. After that they were part of the intervention in the Dominican Republic in 1965, saw action during the Gulf War in 1991 and since 2001 have fought the Global War on Terrorism by serving numerous tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
The battalion is probably best known as the unit that was the victim of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing in Lebanon. A total of 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers lost their lives that day and the majority of them were from 1/8.
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