3rd Marine Division (United States)

3rd Marine Division
3rd Marine Division insignia
Active	1942–1945, 1952–present
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Type	Marine ground combat element forces
Role	Command and control organization containing three Marine regiments and several separate combat support battalions
Size	Marine Division (Approximately 13,000)
Part of	III Marine Expeditionary Force
Garrison/HQ	Camp Courtney
Nickname(s)	"Fighting Third"
Motto(s)	Fidelity, Valor, Honor
Engagements	World War II * Battle of Bougainville * Battle of Guam * Battle of Iwo Jima Vietnam War * Operation Starlite * Operation Hastings * Operation Buffalo * Operation Kingfisher * Operation Kentucky * Battle of Khe Sanh * Con Thien Operation Enduring Freedom
Commanders
Current commander	Major General Richard L. Simcock II
Notable commanders	MajGen Charles D. Barrett, MajGen Graves B. Erskine, BrigGen William E. Riley

The 3rd Marine Division is an infantry division in the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler and Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty divisions in the Marine Corps and together with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1stMAW) and the 3rd Marine Logistics Group (3rd MLG) forms the III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF). The division was first formed during World War II and saw four years of continuous combat in the Vietnam War.

The 3rd Marine Division was officially activated on 16 September 1942 at Camp Elliott, San Diego, California. Most of the original members of the division were drawn from the cadre staff of the 2nd Marine Division. The division was initially built around the 9th Marine Regiment, commanded by Colonel Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr. who later became the 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Major General Charles D. Barrett was the first commanding general of the division.

The division echeloned into Auckland, New Zealand between January and March 1943. In June of that year they moved onto Guadalcanal for additional training. 27 September 1943 saw the division land as part of the Battle of Bougainville and fight on the island until their last unit to arrive, the 21st Marine Regiment, embarked on 9 January 1944. During the course of the battle the division had approximately 400 Marines killed.