The Forgotten Battalion

The Forgotten Battalion

They started the war as the 10th Marine Regiment, Third Battalion. They were a 75mm pack howitzer battalion. After the Tarawa campaign they were divided into two different battalions with the new battalion becomming the 2nd 155mm Howitzer Battalion.

The 2nd 155mm Howitzer Battalion was named the "Forgotten Battalion" in the February 1945 issue of Leatherneck magazine. They were awarded five battle stars for their actions in the following campaigns:
Tulagi
Guadalcanal
Tarawa
Saipan - Guam (The only unit to be involved in both landings)
Iwo Jima

They shipped from the United States on July 1, 1942 and returned on approximately April 30, 1945. They served continuously overseas for 34 months.

They were awarded three Presidential Unit Citations and two Navy Unit Citations.

The second flag to fly over Iwo Jima arrived with these men on LST 779. This is the flag shown in the famous Iwo Jima photo.

They are recorded as having been recognized for the following:
First American offensive shots fired in WWII.
First artillery shot in preparation to support an amphibious landing in history.
They fired over 56,000 artillery rounds against the Japanese

They were assigned to the following Marine divisions for each of these landings:
1st Marine - Guadalcanal & Tulagi
2nd Marine - Tarawa
3rd Marine - Guam
4th Marine - Saipan
5th Marine - Iwo Jima

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