2nd Battalion, 5th Marines

2nd Battalion 5th Marines
2/5 insignia
Active	July 1, 1914 – August 13, 1919 May 17, 1921 – January 5, 1929 February 14, 1929 – April 12, 1930 September 1, 1934 – present
Country	United States
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Type	Infantry battalion
Role	Conducts expeditionary, combined-arms, and mechanized operations in order to support theater engagement plans and contingency operations
Size	1,200
Part of	5th Marine Regiment 1st Marine Division
Garrison/HQ	Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Motto(s)	"Retreat, Hell"
Engagements	World War I Battle of Belleau Wood Meuse-Argonne Offensive World War II Guadalcanal Campaign Battle of Cape Gloucester Battle of Peleliu Battle of Okinawa Korean War Battle of Pusan Perimeter Battle of Inchon Second Battle of Seoul Battle of Chosin Reservoir Vietnam War Operation Union II Battle of Hue Operation Desert Storm War on Terror Iraq War Operation Enduring Freedom
Commanders
Current commander	LtCol Michael E. Ogden

2nd Battalion 5th Marines (2/5) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. They are based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and fall under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division. The battalion has seen combat in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War and has deployed many times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the current War on Terror.

2/5 is the most highly decorated battalion in the Marine Corps and their motto, "Retreat, Hell!", comes from the French trenches of World War I, when a Marine officer named Lloyd W. Williams was advised by a French officer to retreat and replied, "Retreat? Hell, we just got here!"

2nd Battalion 5th Marines was formed on July 1, 1914 and immediately sailed to the Caribbean to quell political turmoil in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In June 1917, as part of the United States' entry into World War I, the battalion sailed for France with the rest of the 5th Marine Regiment and the American Expeditionary Force. At the time the battalion was composed of four companies; the 18th, 43rd, 51st and 55th. They fought during the Battle of Belleau Wood, Soissons, and the Meuse-Argonne campaign and were twice awarded the French Croix de guerre with Palm. To this day, members of the Battalion wear the French Fourragère representing this award. Following the armistice of 1918, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines was assigned to occupation duties in Germany until their return to Quantico, Virginia in August 1919.

...
Wikipedia