2nd Battalion, 28th Marines | |
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Movie caption of members of the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines planting the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi
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Active | February 1944 – January 1946 1967–1969 |
Country | United States |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Branch | United States Marine Corps |
Type | Infantry regiment |
Role | Locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver |
Size | 1,000 |
Part of | Inactive |
Engagements |
The 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment (2nd Battalion, 28th Marines) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. The battalion (inactive since the Vietnam War) which is part of the 28th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division, fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. Six Marines of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines were featured in the historical photo by Joe Rosenthal of the U.S. flag raising on top of Mount Suribachi.
The 2nd Battalion, 28th Marine Regiment was activated at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in February 1944 as part of the 5th Marine Division. Many of the battalion's personnel came from the recently deactivated 3rd and 4th Parachute Battalions. In September of that year, the division sent to Hawaii to begin training for combat in the Pacific theater.
The Second Battalion, 28th Marines (2/28 Marines) departed Hawaii in January 1945 and a month later were part of the initial invasion force in the Battle of Iwo Jima. The 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines landed at Beach Green 1 just northeast of the imposing Mount Suribachi. Their mission was part of the larger one for the 28th Marine Regiment (28th Marines), which was to assault across the island cutting it in two and then assault and capture Mount Suribachi. On D-Day+1, in a cold rain, the 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines prepared to assault the mountain. The Second Battalion's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Chandler Johnson, set the tone for the morning as he deployed his tired troops forward: "It's going to be a hell of a day in a hell of a place to fight the damned war!"