THIS DATE IN MARINE CORPS HISTORY

04 Jan 1991:

Floods caused Camp Pendleton to close its gates to all but essential personnel.

15 Jan 1865:

365 Marines in naval landing force attack Fort Fisher at Wilmington, NC.

16 Jan 1991:

Operation Desert Storm begins.

17 Jan 1944:

Elements of the 1st Tanks assaults Japanese on Arawe Peninsula, New Britain.

17 Jan 1951:

The 1st Marine Division begins mopping-up operations in Pohang, Korea.

17 Jan 1993:

Floods caused Camp Pendleton to close its gates to all but essential personnel.

19 Jan 1929:

Brigadier General Smedley Butler’s 3d Marine Brigade disbanded at Tiensin, China.

20 Jan 1968:

North Vietnamese forces attack the 26th Marines at Khe Sanh, South Vietnam.

25 Jan 1928:

Marines participated in Battle of El Chipote during occupation of Nicaragua.

27 Jan 1778:

Captain John Trevett leads 26 Marines in capture of Fort Nassau, Bahamas.

27 Jan 1837:

Colonel Henderson wins Battle of Hatchee-Lustee River against Seminoles.

29 Jan 1991:

First major Marine ground action of Desert Storm.

31 Jan 1944:

American flag first raised over Japanese soil by B/1/25 in the Marshall Islands.

31 Jan 1968:

Viet Cong seize the US Embassy in Saigon until driven-out by American troops.

02 Feb 1968:

Operation Hue City, Tet Offensive begins in Vietnam.

13 Feb 1943:

US Marine Corps Women's Reserve formed.

15 Feb 1898:

28 Marines among 250 Americans killed when the USS Maine explodes in Havana.

19 Feb 1945:

4th and 5th Marine Divisions assault Iwo Jima.

20 Feb 1815:

Marines serving aboard USS Constitution victorious over Cyane & Levant.

20 Feb 1962:

Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. becomes first American to orbit the earth.

23 Feb 1945:

Men of the 5th Marine Division raise flag on Mount Suribachi.

24 Feb 1991:

1st and 2d Marine Divisions breach Iraqi defensive positions.

28 Feb 1991:

Operation Desert Storm ended.

03 Mar 1776:

First Marine landing on hostile shores in the Bahamas.

06 Mar 1932:

John Philip Sousa died at age 79 in Reading, PA.

09 Mar 1847:

Captain Alvin Edson leads Marine battalion ashore with Army forces at Veracruz.

21 Mar 1945:

General Alexander A. Vandegrift becomes the first Marine 4-star general.

25 Mar 1804:

Secretary of the Navy approved first formal Marine Corps uniform.

26 Mar 1945:

Iwo Jima secured. Marines suffer 25,851 casualties.

31 Mar 1801:

Site for Marine Barracks, 8th & I, Washington, DC selected.

15 Apr 1962:

HMM-362 becomes first Marine Unit in Mekong Delta during Operation Shufly.

18 Apr 1864:

Aboard Union ships, Marines engage Confederate ram Albemarle at New Bern, NC.

24 Apr 1980:

3 Marines killed in desert accident during effort to rescue hostages in Teheran.

26 Apr 1863:

Captain John Broome and Marines seize New Orleans custom house and city hall.

27 Apr 1805:

Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon and 7 Marines lead attack against Derna, Tripoli.

02 May 1946:

Marines helped quell a prison riot at Alcatraz Island, CA.

06 May 1937:

Marines at NAS Lakehurst helped rescue Hindenburg survivors.

14 May 1917:

First Marine detachment transferred to the newly opened post at Quantico, VA.

15 May 1862:

Corporal John Mackie becomes the first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor.

20 May 1906:

Major John A. Lejeune embarked his battalion for duty in Panama.

22 May 1912:

First Lieutenant Alfred Cunningham becomes the first Marine aviator.

30 May 1997:

Marines help evacuate 2,500 from Kinshasa, Zaire.

31 May 1900:

Marines reach Chinese capital to defend Legation Quarter from Boxer rebellion.

01 Jun 1918:

"Retreat Hell! We just got here," said the 5th Marine Regiment in France.

06 Jun 1917:

5th Marine Regiment sails for France.

06 Jun 1918:

Marines advance into Belleau Wood against German machine guns.

08 Jun 1995:

40 Marines rescue USAF pilot shot down over Bosnia-Herzegovina 6 days earlier.

10 Jun 1871:

Captain McLane Tilton leads 109 Marines in assault on Han River forts in Korea.

10 Jun 1898:

1st Marine Battalion lands at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

12 Jun 1948:

President Truman authorized first women Marines in the regular Marine Corps.

18 Jun 1885:

Marines land in Panama to protect trans-isthmus railroad.

20 Jun 1951:

1st Marine Division reaches "The Punchbowl" in Korea.

22 Jun 1954:

President Eisenhower authorized the use of the first official Marine Corps Seal.

23 Jun 1836:

Colonel-Commandant Henderson reports for duty in the Second Seminole War.

25 Jun 1950:

Korean War began.

25 Jun 1971:

Last Marine ground troops depart Vietnam.

30 Jun 1834:

Congress placed the Marine Corps under Navy jurisdiction.

01 Jul 1920:

Major General John A. Lejeune became 13th Commandant of the USMC.

11 Jul 1798:

President John Adams signs Act establishing the U.S. Marine Corps.

15 Jul 1958:

2nd Marines land at Beirut and seize airport at Lebanese government's request.

18 Jul 1918:

Marines in vast Allied counter-offensive meet Germans south of Soiccons.

21 Jul 1861:

Marines under Brevet Major John G. Reynolds fights in the Battle of Bull Run.

25 Jul 1930:

Lieutenant Puller wins first of 5 Navy Crosses chasing guerrillas in Nicaragua.

27 Jul 1953:

Korean War ended.

28 Jul 1779:

Captain John Welsh and 13 Marines killed in an assault at Penobscot Bay, ME.

30 Jul 1846:

First Lieutenant Jacob Zeilin leads Marines ashore at Santa Barbara, CA.

02 Aug 1950:

1st Marine Provisional Brigade lands at Pusan, South Korea.

04 Aug 1950:

Marine Corps League receives federal charter signed by President Roosevelt.

06 Aug 1847:

Marines commenced their march on the “Halls of Montezuma” in Mexico.

07 Aug 1942:

1st Marine Division lands on Guadalcanal.

14 Aug 1912:

Major Smedley Butler leads Marines ashore, beginning intervention in Nicaragua.

14 Aug 1945:

President Truman announced unconditional surrender of the Japanese.

19 Aug 1919:

Marines Hymn registered with the US Copyright Office.

24 Aug 1814:

114 Marines help defend Washington, D.C. in the Battle of Bladensburg.

25 Aug 1990:

7th Marine Expeditionary Brigade begins Persian Gulf buildup.

29 Aug 1916:

The Marine Corps Reserve was founded.

13 Sep 1847:

Marines help seize the fortress of Chapultepec in Mexico City.

13 Sep 1942:

Marines turn back Japanese attack in Battle of Edson's Ridge on Guadalcanal.

15 Sep 1950:

1st Marine Division landed at Inchon, Korea and moved on to capture Seoul.

20 Sep 1994:

1,900 Marines land in Haiti.

28 Sep 1906:

Marine Brigade of 2,800 men lands at Havana.

01 Oct 1943:

VMB-613 is formed at Cherry Point, NC.

04 Oct 1912:

Marines fight at Coyotepe, Nicaragua.

08 Oct 1899:

Marines attack Filipino insurgents at Novaleta.

17 Oct 1820:

Archibald Henderson appointed commandant, holds position for 38 years.

25 Oct 1983:

Marines and Army intervene in Grenada, West Indies.

27 Oct 1962:

2nd Marine Division and Air Wing deployed during the Cuban missile crisis.

31 Oct 1955:

Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller retired as a Lieutenant General.

01 Nov 1943:

3d Marine Division lands on Bougainville.

05 Nov 1903:

Major John Lejeune lands battalion to ensure Panamanian independence.

10 Nov 1775:

Two Battalions of Marines were formed by an act of the Continental Congress.

10 Nov 1918:

5th Marines make night crossing of the Meuse River against German resistance.

10 Nov 1948:

First eight enlisted women are sworn in as Regular Marines.

10 Nov 1954:

Marine Corps War Memorial dedicated next to Arlington National Cemetery.

12 Nov 1908:

President Theodore Roosevelt removes Marines from U.S. warships.

15 Nov 1950:

Elements of the 1st Marine Division reached the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.

20 Nov 1943:

2nd Marine Division assaults Betio Island of Tarawa Atoll in Central Pacific.

20 Nov 1947:

Marine reservists started Toys-for-Tots in Los Angeles.

27 Nov 1950:

Marines engage Chinese Communists in North Korea near the Chosin Reservoir.

28 Nov 1775:

Samuel Nicholas commissioned as Captain, becomes the first Marine officer.

07 Dec 1933:

Navy Department creates Fleet Marine Force.

07 Dec 1941:

Marines defend against Japanese attack on US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor.

09 Dec 1992:

Marines land in Somalia to rescue foreigners.

20 Dec 1989:

Marines are part of force that tries to capture Panama's dictator, Manuel Noriega.

24 Dec 1950:

Last elements of the 1st Marine Division departed Hungnam, North Korea.

26 Dec 1943:

1st Marine Division lands on Cape Gloucester, New Britain.