26th Marine Regiment (United States)

26th Marine Regiment
26th Marine Regiment emblem
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Type	Infantry
Part of	5th Marine Division (WWII) 5th Marine Division then 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions once it returned to CONUS (Vietnam)
Garrison/HQ	Deactivated
Nickname(s)	"The Professionals"
Engagements	World War II * Battle of Iwo Jima Vietnam War * Battle of Khe Sanh

The 26th Marine Regiment (26th Marines) is an inactivated infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. The 26th Marines were activated in 1944 and fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II and were activated again on March 1, 1966 and fought in the Battle of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War.

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

In mid-May 1967, following the conclusion of The Hill Fights, the 26th Marines took over responsibility for the area around Khe Sanh from the 3rd Marines. The 26th Marines conducted Operation Ardmore a search and destroy mission in the Khe Sanh area from 17 July-31 October 1967. At the conclusion of Operation Ardmore the Marines commenced Operation Scotland, the defense of Khe Sanh Combat Base and search and destroy missions against North Vietnamese Army (NVA) infiltration. From 21 January 1968 the 26th Marines were under siege at Khe Sanh until the conclusion of Operation Pegasus on 14 April 1968 and were replaced by the 1st Marines on 15 April 1968. The 26th Marines was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions during the Battle of Khe Sanh.

The 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines participated in Operation Kingfisher around Con Thien from 7–11 September 1967.