The 9th Marine Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War II, it served until 1994, when it was deactivated during the post Cold War drawdown. Battalions of the Ninth Marine Regiment, but not the regiment itself, were reactivated from 2007 to 2014 as part of the Marine Corps' growth during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The battalions have subsequently been deactivated again.
Subordinate units
The regiment was composed of three infantrybattalions and the regimental headquarters company:
On December 1, 1925, the regiment was reactivated as a reserve organization whose mission was to train and maintain at a high degree of preparedness a group of “civilian” Marines.[2]
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 reactivated in early 1942, when the regiment officially re-formed. They were attached to the 3rd Marine Division at Camp Pendleton on September 16, 1943. The 9th Marines fought as part of the 3rd Marine Division on the islands of Bougainville, Guam, and Iwo Jima during WW2. The regiment was inactivated at Camp Pendleton on December 31, 1945.[1]
Post World War II
The regiment was reformed on 17 March 1952 at Camp Pendleton, California and assigned to the 3d Marine Division. It was deployed during August 1953 to Camp Gifu, Japan and then in June 1955 to Okinawa. The regiment alternated between Japan and Okinawa in the 1950s.
Vietnam War
On March 8, 1965, the 9th Marine Regiment came ashore at Red Beach as the first conventional ground combat unit in South Vietnam, their mission was to defend the Da Nang Air Base.[3] The first significant contact was in April 1965. The regimental headquarters arrived in country in July of that year.
The regiment successfully conducted Operation Dewey Canyon in the A Shau Valley. The 9th Regiment killed many PAVN, preventing another build-up and assault from Route 622 from Laos into South Vietnam as the PAVN 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 of pounds of rice. This operation earned the regiment an Army Presidential Unit Citation.[4][5] General Richard G. Stilwell wrote in his report to COMUSMACV General Creighton Abrams on Operation Dewey Canyon: “...this ranks with the most significant undertakings of the Vietnam conflict in the concept and results...”[6]
The 9th Marines were part of the first redeployments from Vietnam in the summer of 1969. In July 1969 the regiment deployed to Camp Schwab, Okinawa and was reassigned in August 1969 to the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade. The 9th MAB was then reassigned during November 1969 to the 3rd Marine Division (3 MarDiv).
Inactivation (1994)
The 9th Marines were inactivated in the budget cuts of 1994.[7] A nucleus of staff and support personnel were maintained to reconstitute the regiment when needed. This was done in the belief that the necessary riflemen would be easily recruited in time of emergency or war.
On September 2, 1994, the 2nd Battalion was inactivated and redesignated the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines and the 3rd Battalion was inactivated and re-designated the 3d Battalion, 4th Marines. On September 9, 1994, the 1st Battalion was inactivated and redesignated as the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines.
^ abRottman, 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. ISBN0-313-31906-5.
^ abDepartment of the Army (4 June 1973). "General Orders 20, 73"(PDF). Washington, DC: Headquarters, Department of the Army. Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
^ abcdeDepartment of the Navy (31 Jan 2014). "NAVMC 2922"(PDF). Quantico, VA: Manpower Management Division, HQMC Military Awards (MMMA) Department of the Navy, Headquarters United States Marine Corps. Retrieved Apr 17, 2014.[permanent dead link]
^The 4 stars awarded for 1) the Consolidation of Northern Solomons (Consolidation of Solomon Islands campaign), 2) Occupation and defense of Cape Torokina (Treasury-Bougainville operation), 3) Capture and occupation of Guam (Marianas operation), & 4) Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima (Iwo Jima operation)