1st Battalion, 23rd Marines

1st Battalion, 23rd Marines
1st Battalion, 23rd Marines
	1st Battalion, 23rd Marines insignia
Active	1942
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Type	Infantry Battalion
Role	Locate, close with and destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver
Size	1000
Part of	23rd Marine Regiment ; 4th Marine Division
Garrison/HQ	Houston, Texas
Nickname(s)	"Lone Star"
Anniversaries	10 November 1775 Birthday of the Marine Corps
Engagements	World War II Battle of Kwajalein ; Battle of Saipan ; Battle of Tinian ; Battle of Iwo Jima ; Gulf War Operation Desert Storm ; War on Terror Operation Enduring Freedom ; Operation Iraqi Freedom ;
Commanders
Current; commander	LtCol Walt E. Larisey

Last updated March 23, 2024

1st Battalion, 23rd Marines (1/23) is one of 32 infantry battalions in the United States Marine Corps, and one of only eight battalions found in the reserve. It is located throughout Texas and Louisiana consisting of approximately 1000 Marines and Sailors. They fall under the command of the 23rd Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division.

Current units

Name	Location
Headquarters and Services Company	Houston, Texas
Alpha Company	Houston, Texas
Bravo Company	Bossier City, Louisiana
Carlos Company	Corpus Christi, Texas
Carlos Company(Det)	Harlingen, Texas
Weapons Company	Austin, Texas

Mission

Provide trained combat and combat support personnel, and units to augment and reinforce the active component in time of war, national emergency, and at other times as national security requires; and have the capability to reconstitute the Division, if required.

History

World War II

The battalion was activated on 20 November 1942, at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.

They participated in the Battle of Kwajalein (Roi and Namur) where they landed as part of the initial assault on 31 January 1944. Their assault objectives were the heavily defended Japanese occupied twin islands of Roi-Namur in the Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands in the Central Pacific. Roi-Namur were two tiny islands in the northern part of the atoll. It was the site of major Japanese three-runway airbase. 23rd Marines attacked Roi while the 24th Marines landed on Namur. The regiment secured Roi by the evening.

The Battalion's next action came at the Battle of Saipan which began on 15 June 1944. Their transport there was APA 35 the USS Calloway.^[1] Saipan was the linchpin in the Japanese defense of the Central Pacific. To make an amphibious assault even more difficult, it had several towns and a civilian population of about 20,000. Using the lessons learned at Roi-Namur, intensive pre-invasion naval bombardments and air strikes on Japanese positions began on 11 June 1944. Marines came ashore and were immediately met with intense and accurate fire from Japanese mortars, howitzers and antiboat guns. By 17 June 1944 a beachhead had been secured and on 18 June the Marines captured Aslito Airfield cutting Japanese defenses in two. The forces had to fight back a fierce Japanese counterattack in the form of banzai charges. For Siapan the 23rd landed on beaches blue 1 & 2. Shore party for 1/23 was the third battalion 20th Marines which was the 121st Seabees.^[2] The 4th Marine Division completed mopping up on Saipan on 16 July 1944 leaving only a week for preparation for the invasion of Tinian.
The Invasion of Tinian commenced on 25 July 1944. The 4th Marine Division was selected to lead the assault on Tinian. Again, the pre-invasion bombardment built to a crescendo as H-hour approached. Assault elements met only limited small arms fire when they reached the beach. With nightfall, came the expected Japanese counterattacks. The division employed flame throwers, demolition charges and automatic weapons fire to route Japanese soldiers out of caves, bunkers, and other defensive positions on the southern portion of the island. One of the most difficult aspects of the final phase of battle was convincing Japanese soldiers and thousands of civilians to surrender.

The final combat action for 1/23 would come during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima was only 750 miles from Tokyo and was a major objective on the way to the Japanese mainland. The Japanese were painfully aware of the strategic importance of Iwo Jima and had prepared extensive and formidable defenses with a network of miles of caves and tunnels. The tunnels were in the islands black volcanic rocky base well protected from preinvasion naval and air bombardment. The 4th Marine Division landed in the first assault wave on 19 February 1945 . The 23rd and 24th Marine Regiments led the division's assault with 1/23 being the left Assault Battalion on yellow beach 1. They landed from APA 158 the USS Newberry.^[3] The 23rd Marines were ordered to seize the Motoyama Airfield #1 for the 133rd Seabees to get operational. High seas, heavy surf and loose volcanic soil made movement off the beaches difficult. By 20 February 1945, 23rd Marines had made good progress towards capturing the airfield. With the exception of a few remaining small pockets of resistance, the division had defeated the resolute and entrenched enemy in its zone of action in twenty days at a cost of nearly 50 percent combat efficiency. The 23rd did not have a Pioneer Battalion for the assault so the Seabees of the 133rd Naval Construction Battalion were attached to the 23rd and assigned that job. A Co. 133 was Shore Party to 1/23 until relieved on D-plus 18 by the Army Garrison Shore Party.^[4]

Gulf War

The battalion was mobilized for the first time since World War II in January 1991 in support of Operation Desert Shield. The unit was deployed to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, in support of the 1st Marine Division during this time.

Global War on Terror

Operation Enduring Freedom(January 2002-January 2003) Elements of the battalion were activated after the 11 September attacks. Bravo Company and attachments from Alpha Company's Weapons platoon were deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they provided perimeter security for the base.

Operation Iraqi Freedom (June 2004) The battalion was again mobilized in June 2004 to conduct three months of pre-deployment training at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, in preparation for their upcoming deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion arrived in Iraq, relieving 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines in late August 2004. They augmented the 7th Marine Regiment, helping to secure the area spanning the Hit-Haditha corridor, west of Ramadi, out to the Syrian border of the Al Anbar Province. Initial assignments for the battalion's companies in Iraq saw assignments in Ar-Rutbah, Al Asad Airbase and Hit. The battalion returned from Iraq in late March 2005, having been relieved by 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines.

Marine marches past local Iraqi civilians during a security patrol around Ramadi, Iraq, 2004 USMC-041227-M-0484L-001.jpg — Marine marches past local Iraqi civilians during a security patrol around Ramadi, Iraq, 2004

In May 2007, Marines that had not participated in the June 2004 mobilization were tasked to support 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marines in their upcoming activation. Volunteers from the first mobilization were also part of this support. These Marines were deployed back to the Al Anbar Province and conducted operations near and around the Haditha Dam.

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) (November 2010 - December 2011)^[5]

About 800 marines and navy corpsmen departed in November 2010 for pre-deployment training at Camp Pendleton in California. The 1/23 Marines deployed in March 2011 in support of II Marine Expeditionary Force in southwestern Afghanistan. The battalion mobilized for about 400 days, with seven months spent in Afghanistan. Alpha Company supported Regimental Combat Team 8 in the upper Sangin Valley and then transitioned to its own battle space in and around Camp Delaram II in the northwest part of Helmand province. Alpha Company also led a mission that confiscated more than 150 tons of poppy seed, marking the largest drug seizure by NATO forces in Afghanistan. Bravo Company supported RCT-1 (Regimental Combat Team 1) in the southern portion of Helmand province. Charlie, Weapons and Headquarters and Service Companies were employed in several endeavors. These companies ran the Combat Operations Center at the Camp Leatherneck, Bastion and Shorabak complex and partnered with other coalition forces to make vast improvements to the security of the area.^[6]

The battalion officially handed responsibility over a wide variety of operations in Afghanistan to the Massachusetts-based 1st Battalion 25th Marines during a transfer of authority ceremony on 13 September 2011.^[6]

Security cooperation team Jordan (SCT-J) 2020-2021

Elements of the battalion where deployed to support NATO efforts in Afghanistan, training and advising the 23rd Georgian infantry battalion (gib) but were remission to Jordan to train and advise various units throughout the country.

Medal of Honor recipients

Joseph William Ozbourn , USMCR, Co B, 1st Battalion, 23d Marines, 4th Marine Division, 30 July 1944, Tinian Island, Mariana Islands

Darrell Samuel Cole , USMCR, Co B, 1st Battalion, 23d Marines, 4th Marine Division, 19 February 1945, Iwo Jima

Unit awards

A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces have different categories: i.e. Service, Campaign, Unit, and Valor. Unit awards are distinct from personal decorations. 1/23 has been presented with the following awards:

Ribbon	Unit Award
	Presidential Unit Citation
	American Defense Service Medal with one Bronze Star
	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 4 Arrowheads
	World War II Victory Medal
	National Defense Service Medal with three Bronze Stars
	Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation 1990-91^[7]
	Navy Unit Commendation Desert Storm, II^[8]
	Iraq Campaign Medal
	Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
	Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

Navy Unit Commendation and Afghanistan Campaign Medal

Related Research Articles

The 3rd Marine Division is a division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry divisions in the Marine Corps and together with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1stMAW) and the 3rd Marine Logistics Group forms the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The division was first formed during World War II and saw four years of continuous combat in the Vietnam War. Today, elements of the 3rd Marine Division are continuously forward deployed and forward postured to carry out the US Government's mission of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific in conjunction with its sister services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Marine Division (United States)</span> Ground combat element of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve

The 4th Marine Division is a reserve division in the United States Marine Corps. It was raised in 1943 for service during World War II, and subsequently fought in the Pacific against the Japanese. Deactivated after the war, the division was re-formed in 1966 and elements of the division deployed during the Gulf War in 1990–1991, as well as during the Iraq War. It is currently the ground combat element of the Marine Forces Reserve and is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has units throughout the United States.

The 25th Marine Regiment is one of two infantry regiments in the 4th Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps. From its headquarters in Fort Devens, Massachusetts, the regiment commands fifteen training centers in nine states throughout the Northeast. These units consist of approximately 3,500 reserve and active duty Marines and are located from Maine to Delaware, West Virginia and as far west as Ohio. The 25th Marines is primarily a cold weather regiment and frequently trains in northern Norway.

3rd Battalion, 25th Marines (3/25) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion was first formed in 1943 for service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, taking part in a number of significant battles including those at Saipan and Iwo Jima before being deactivated at the end of the war. In the early 1960s, the unit was reactivated as a reserve battalion. Currently headquartered in Brook Park, Ohio with units throughout Ohio, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, the battalion is nicknamed "three deuce five" and consists of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. They fall under the 25th Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division. Recent operations have included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Battalion, 24th Marines</span> Military unit

2nd Battalion, 24th Marines (2/24) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Chicago, Illinois, consisting of approximately 1000 Marines and Sailors. The battalion falls under the 23rd Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division.

The 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines (2/25) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps.

3rd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment (3/14) is a reserve artillery battalion comprising four firing batteries and a headquarters battery. The battalion is based in Bristol, Pennsylvania and its primary weapon system is the M777 howitzer with a maximum effective range of 30 km. They fall under the command of the 14th Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">24th Marine Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 24th Marine Regiment was one of three infantry regiments in the 4th Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps. Its last headquarters before being deactivated on 9 September 2013 was in Kansas City, Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">23d Marine Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 23rd Marine Regiment is a reserve infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps. It is headquartered in San Bruno, California and falls under the command of the 4th Marine Division and the Marine Forces Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines</span> Military unit

2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines (2/23) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps located throughout the Western United States consisting of approximately 1000 Marines and Sailors. They fall under the command of the 23rd Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division.

3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment (3/23) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps located throughout the Southern United States consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. The battalion was first formed in 1943 for service in the Central Pacific Area during World War II, taking part in a number of significant battles including those at Saipan and Iwo Jima before being deactivated at the end of the war. In the early 1960s, the unit was reactivated as a reserve battalion. The battalion is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri, with outlying units throughout the Southern United States. 3/23 falls under the command of the 23rd Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division. Recent operations have included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

3rd Battalion, 24th Marines (3/24) was a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion was first formed in 1943 for service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, taking part in a number of significant battles including those at Saipan and Iwo Jima before being deactivated at the end of the war. In the early 1960s, the unit was reactivated as a reserve battalion. It was located throughout the Midwestern United States and consisted of approximately 800 marines and sailors. The battalion was part of the 24th Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division. Recent operations included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. On May 19, 2013, the battalion was deactivated (retired) as a part of 2013 Marine Corps Force Restructuring, along with the 24th Marine Regiment. 3/24 personnel were reallocated to 23rd Marine Regiment, with the majority of the companies becoming 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Combat Engineer Battalion</span> Military unit

The 4th Combat Engineer Battalion is a combat engineer battalion of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. The headquarters is in Baltimore, Maryland and the Battalion has units in West Virginia, Alabama, Virginia, and Tennessee. They belong to the 4th Marine Division of the Marine Forces Reserve.

4th Tank Battalion was an armored battalion of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. Their primary weapon system was the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank and they were part of the 4th Marine Division and Marine Forces Reserve. The unit headquarters was at the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center San Diego, California, but other units in the battalion were located throughout the United States. Until the decision to divest the Marine Corps' armor capability, 4th Tank Battalion was the largest tank battalion in the US military with six lettered companies and an H&S Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Reconnaissance Battalion</span> Military unit

The 4th Reconnaissance Battalion is a reserve reconnaissance battalion in the United States Marine Corps. It falls under the 4th Marine Division and Marine Forces Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seabees in World War II</span> Military unit

When World War II broke out the United States Naval Construction Battalions (Seabees) did not exist. The logistics of a two theater war were daunting to conceive. Rear Admiral Moreell completely understood the issues. What needed to be done was build staging bases to take the war to the enemy, across both oceans, and create the construction force to do the work. Naval Construction Battalions were first conceived at Bureau of Yards and Docks (BuDocks) in the 1930s. The onset of hostilities clarified to Radm. Moreell the need for developing advance bases to project American power. The solution: tap the vast pool of skilled labor in the U.S. Put it in uniform to build anything, anywhere under any conditions and get the Marine Corps to train it. The first volunteers came skilled. To obtain these tradesmen, military age was waived to age 50. It was later found that several past 60 had managed to get in. Men were given advanced rank/pay based upon experience making the Seabees the highest paid group in the U.S. military. The first 60 battalions had an average age of 37.

20th Marine Regiment was a Composite Engineer Regiment of the United States Marine Corps that fought during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Landing Support Battalion</span> Military unit

4th Landing Support Battalion(4th LSB) was a Military Landing Support battalion of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. The unit was based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, and fell under the command of the 4th Marine Logistics Group. The Battalion has been decommissioned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133</span> United States Navy unit

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 is a United States Navy Construction Battalion, otherwise known as a Seabee battalion, homeported at the Naval Construction Battalion Center. The unit was formed during WWII as the 133rd Naval Construction Battalion. It saw action and was decommissioned shortly after the war ended. The unit was reactivated as Mobile Construction Battalion 133 for the Vietnam War and remains an active unit today.

A joint assault signal company (JASCO) was a joint service unit that provided ship to shore and air to ground communications to coordinate and control naval gunfire and close air support for American land forces during World War II. They were composed of specially trained officers and enlisted personnel from the Navy, Marines, and Army. The Army component was composed of Air Liaison Officers and enlisted communications technicians. JASCOs were created in the Pacific because previous small communication teams were ineffective and only served to clutter communications. After the costly Battle of Tarawa, the need for centralized command and control of air and naval fire support between the Navy, Marines, and Army was seen. Major General Alexander Vandegrift formed the Joint Assault Signal Companies based on his experiences in the Guadalcanal campaign. Navajo and other Native American code talkers were often attached to JASCOs.

References

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

↑ C Co 1/23 WWII History|
↑ US Marine Corps World War II order of battle : ground and air units in the Pacific War, 1939-1945|date=2002, Gordon L. Rottmann, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, p. 218-220
↑ How Annex 4th Marine Division's Operation Repoprt, April, 1945, National Archives, College Park, MD 20704
↑ Appendix 1 Dog Annex 4th Marine Divisions Operations Report of April 1945, National Archive, College Park, MD 20704
↑ "Houston-area Marine Reserve unit saddles up for Afghanistan". Chron. 4 November 2010.
1 2 "'Lone Star Battalion' finishes Afghan deployment, passes torch to 'New England's Own'".
↑ NAVMC 2922 August 2012[* Archived 30 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine
↑ "NAVMC 2922 August 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2017.

Bibliography

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

Web

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] C Co 1/23 WWII History|

[Rottman-2] US Marine Corps World War II order of battle : ground and air units in the Pacific War, 1939-1945|date=2002, Gordon L. Rottmann, Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut, p. 218-220

[3] How Annex 4th Marine Division's Operation Repoprt, April, 1945, National Archives, College Park, MD 20704

[4] Appendix 1 Dog Annex 4th Marine Divisions Operations Report of April 1945, National Archive, College Park, MD 20704

[5] "Houston-area Marine Reserve unit saddles up for Afghanistan". Chron. 4 November 2010.

[DVIDS_-_News-6] 1 2 "'Lone Star Battalion' finishes Afghan deployment, passes torch to 'New England's Own'".

[7] NAVMC 2922 August 2012[* Archived 30 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine

[8] "NAVMC 2922 August 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e 4th Marine Division
14th Marines	1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion 4th Battalion 5th Battalion
23rd Marines	1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion TOW Platoon
24th Marines	1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion
25th Marines	1st Battalion 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion
Other Battalions	4th Combat Engineer 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance 4th Reconnaissance 4th Tank 4th Assault Amphibian Anti-Terrorism