2nd Battalion, 8th Marines

2nd Battalion, 8th Marines (2/8) is an

Subordinate units

• Headquarters Company
• Echo Company
• Fox Company
• Golf Company
• Weapons Company

Hotel Company was deactivated in August 1991.

Mission

The mission of the Marine Corps rifle squad is to locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver and/ or repel enemy assault by fire and close combat.

History

World War II

2nd Battalion, 8th Marines was activated on 1 April 1940 in

• Relocated in June 1968 to
  Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
  .
• Relocated in August 1973 to Camp Lejeune, NC.
• Participated as part of Multi-Nation Peace Keeping Force in Lebanon August – September 1982, and November 1983 - February 1984.
• Participated in
  Operation Urgent Fury
  in Grenada October – November 1983.
• Participated in Operation Provide Comfort Iraq April – July 1991.
• Elements participated in Operation Support Democracy Cuba October – November 1993.
• Participated in support of
  Operation Joint Endeavor Adriatic Sea
  October 1996.
• Elements participated in security operations Haiti and Panama November 1997 – February 1998 and January – August 1999.

2/8 Echo Company was the Unit deployed to Haiti in 1993, with 3rd Platoon from Golf Company being attached to Echo Company for the duration.

Global War on Terror

• Operation Iraqi Freedom – Iraq, March – May 2003.
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan November 2003 to May 2004.
• 26th MEU – Iraq, March 2005 – September 2005.
• Operation Iraqi Freedom – Iraq, July 2006 – February 2007.
• Operation Iraqi Freedom – Iraq, October 2007 – May 2008.^[1]
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan
  , May 2009 – November 2009.
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan
  , January 2011 – August 2011.
• Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan
  , March 2013-October 2013

• bronze stars
•   Joint Meritorious Unit Award
•   Navy Unit Commendation
•   Meritorious Unit Commendation
•   Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal
•   American Defense Service Medal
• silver star
•   World War II Victory Medal
•   Navy Occupation Service Medal
•   National Defense Service Medal with 3 bronze stars
•   Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with 3 bronze stars
•   Southwest Asia Service Medal with 1 bronze star
•   Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
• Afghanistan Campaign Medal
• Iraqi Campaign FEAST * Lt. Gen. Chesty B. Puller Outstanding Leadership Award – on 15 May 2007, the 2/8 received this award for "professional achievement and sustained superior performance in training, maintaining, equipping, fostering, nurturing and mentoring Marines and sailors as well as overall unit mission accomplishment from 1 April 2006 to 30 September 2006."^[2]

Notable former members

• Invasion of Grenada
  and with the Multinational Force in Lebanon.
• Jonathan T. Yale, posthumously awarded Navy Cross during the Iraq War when he and fellow Marine Jordan C. Haerter stood their ground, stopping a suicide truck bomb from detonating within their security station.^[3]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2nd Battalion 8th Marines.

• 3rd Battalion 3rd Marines
  – Also known as "America's Battalion"
• History of the United States Marine Corps
• List of United States Marine Corps battalions
• Organization of the United States Marine Corps

Notes

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

Bibliography

• Rottman, Gordon L. (2002). U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle – Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939–1945. Greenwood Press.
  ISBN 0-313-31906-5
  .

Web

• "2nd Battalion 8th Marines, America's Battalion". Archived from the original on 2 July 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2007.
• 2/8's official website while forward deployed in Iraq