The regiment was comprised of three infantry battalions and one headquarters battalion:
- Headquarters Battalion 1st Marines (HQ/9)
- 1st Battalion 9th Marines (1/9)
- 2nd Battalion 9th Marines (2/9)
- 3rd Battalion 9th Marines (3/9)
Early years
The 9th Marines were activated at Quantico, Virginia on November 20, 1917. A month later they deployed to Cuba and were attached to the 3rd Marine Brigade. That same month they redeployed with the brigade to Galveston, Texas in case of any German operation in the Carribean or in Mexico. After World War I the regiment was deactivated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 25, 1919.
World War II
The 3rd Battalion 9th Marines was reactivated at Camp Elliot, San Diego on February 12, 1942. In the following months the rest of the battalions were also reactiveted until January 1, 1942 when the regiment officially re-formed. They attached to the 3rd Marine Division at Camp Pendleton on September 16, 1943. The Regiment was deactivated at Camp Pendleton on December 31, 1945.
Vietnam War
The 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, was deployed to Vietnam in March 1965 as the first ground combat unit in Vietnam. Their mission was to defend the Air Base at Da Nang. The first significant contact was in April 1965. The regimental headquarters arrived in country in July of that year.
The Regiment saw action in Vietnam’s I Corps, primarily in Quang Tri and Thua Thien provinces, although a number of its earlier operations were also conducted in the southern I Corps provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Tin, and Quang Ngai. The 9th Marines served as a vital stop to the North Vietnamese penetrations across the DMZ and from along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Cambodia.
Some of its early operations included Double Eagle, Macon and Prairie.
In April and May 1967, elements of the regiment defeated two NVA Regiments In The Hills north of Khe Sanh). In Operation Buffalo, elements of the 1st Battalion made contact north of Con Thien with regimental size NVA forces in an engagement that lasted through May, accounting for over 1300 enemy dead.
In one of the most successful operations of the war, the regiment conducted Operation Dewey Canyon in the A Shau Valley, cut by the Song Da Krong river. The 9th Regiment exacted a deadly toll on the NVA. These actions precluded another build-up and assault from Route 622 from Laos into South Vietnam as the NVA had the year before during the Tet Offensive.
Operation Dewey Canyon netted, among other weaponry, 16 artillery pieces, 73 anti-aircraft guns, hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition, 92 trucks, and hundreds of thousands pounds of rice.
In the words of Gen Stillwell in his report to Gen Abrams on Operation Dewey Canyon:
“...this ranks with the most significant undertakings of the Vietnam conflict in the concept and results...”
The 9th Marines were redeployed from Vietnam in August 1969 as part of the first redeployments.
Reactivation
The first Battalion was reactivated in 2005, 2nd Battalion will stand up in 2007, while 3rd Battalion, will reactivate in fiscal year 2008.
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8 Marines from the 9th Marine Regiment serving during the Vietnam War were awarded the Medal of Honor:
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1st Battalion |
2nd Battalion |
3rd Battalion |
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Sgt. Walter K. Singleton -- KIA |
Lt. Harvey Barnum Jr. |
2nd Lt. John Paul Bobo -- KIA |
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Alpha Company -- 24 March 1967 |
Hotel Company -- 18 December 1965 |
India Company -- 30 March 1967 |
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Cpt. Wesley Fox |
L.Cpl. Thomas Noonan Jr.-- KIA |
L.Cpl. Thomas E. Creek -- KIA |
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Alpha Company -- 22 February 1969 |
Hotel Company -- 5 February 1969 |
India Company -- 13 Feb. 1969 |
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Cpl. William Morgan -- KIA |
Alfred M. Wilson -- KIA |
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Hotel Company -- 25 February 1969 |
Mike Company -- 3 March 1969 |
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Unit awards
- Presidential Unit Citation w/ one bronze star
- World War II Victory Medal w/ one bronze star
- China Service Medal
- National Defense Medal w/ one bronze star
- Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
- Vietnam Service Medal
- List of United States Marine Corps regiments
| United States Marine Corps Portal |
References
- Rottman, Gordon L. (2002). U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle – Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War.. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31906-5.
- Marines: 9th Marines Returns From the Dead. Strategy Page. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- MARADMIN 582/06 - PUBLICATION OF FISCAL YEARS 2007 THROUGH 2013 TABLES OF ORGANIZATION AND EQUIPMENT (T/OE). U.S. Marine Corps. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
