Shoup ended his 16:00 hours message to General Smith with the line, "Casualties: many. Shoup directed Major Hays to attack westward, but both men knew that small arms and courage alone would not prevail against fortified positions. Worse, the unit had lost all its flamethrowers, demolitions, and heavy weapons. 1/8 had suffered more than 300 casualties just getting ashore others were scattered all along the beach and the pier. Shoup, the newly promoted commander of the 2nd Marine Regiment, at 08:00 with about half his landing team. The battalion commanding officer, Major Lawrence C. The men of 1/8 landed on the far right of Red 2 after wading over 500 yards ashore. The LVTs didn't fare any better than the D-Day landings and were quickly bogged down by the reef. Īs soon as 1/8 began coming ashore, the murderous onslaught started. After 18 hours out at sea, 1/8 landed on Red Beach 2 at 06:15 on Novem(D+1). Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of confusion and the word didn't reach the commander for some time. Watching the battle unfold from sea as the division reserve, the battalion was ordered ashore after several hours. The 8th Marine Regiment losses on Guadalcanal were 115 killed, 451 wounded, and 9 missing.ġst Battalion 8th Marines departed the USS Sheridan (APA-51) via LVT's, and waited at the line of departure. 1st Battalion 8th Marines headed for Wellington, New Zealand. On 31 January, the 2d Marines and the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, boarded ship to leave Guadalcanal. The 8th Marines was essentially pinched out of the front lines by a narrowing attack corridor as the inland mountains and hills pressed closer to the coastal trail. In the Marine attack zone, 600 Japanese were dead. On the 15th, the Americans, both Army and Marine, reached the initial corps objective. Naval gunfire support, spotted by naval officers ashore, improved measurably. The 2d Marines was now relieved and the 6th Marines moved into the attack along the coast while the 8th Marines took up the advance inland. In two days of heavy fighting, flamethrowers were employed for the first time and tanks were brought into play. Progress was slow despite massive artillery support and naval gunfire from four destroyers offshore. The Japanese, remnants of the Sendai Division, were dug into the sides of a series of cross compartments and their fire took the Marines in the flank as they advanced. All along the front of the advancing assault companies the going was rough. On 12 January, the Marines began their advance with the 8th Marines along the shore and 2d Marines inland. Jeschke arrived from American Samoa, landing as reinforcements on Guadalcanal. On 4 and 5 November 1942 (D+90) the 8th Marines (1st, 2nd, 3rd BN's) led by Colonel Richard H. World War II ĭeployed during January 1942 to American Samoa and detached from the 2nd Marine Division, they participated in the following World War II campaigns: After the outbreak of war, the 8th Marine Regiment with an assortment of other division assets formed the 2nd Marine Brigade and was dispatched to garrison American Samoa. The 2nd Marine Brigade was re-designated February 1, 1941, as 2nd Marine Division. Since 2001, 1/8 has fought the Global War on Terrorism by serving numerous tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.ġst Battalion, 8th Marines was commissioned on April 1, 1940, in San Diego, California and was assigned to the 2nd Marine Brigade. In 1991, it took part in operations during the Gulf War. During the Cold War, it was part of Operation Blue Bat in Lebanon in 1958, the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the intervention in the Dominican Republic in 1965, and the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing in Lebanon where 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers lost their lives. The unit's history dates back to World War II where it fought in numerous campaigns in the Pacific including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa. The battalion consists of approximately 1000 Marines and sailors and is nicknamed "The Beirut Battalion." The battalion falls under the command of the 6th Marine Regiment and the 2nd Marine Division. 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.
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