Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oceanside to the south, San Clemente and Orange County to the north, Riverside County to the northeast, and Fallbrook to the east.
2d Battalion 5th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps consisting of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. They are based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and fall under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division. The battalion has seen combat in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War and has deployed many times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the current War on Terror.
Alfredo Cantu "Freddy" Gonzalez was a United States Marine Corps Sergeant who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for service in the Battle of Huế during the Vietnam War.
James Marshall Thompson was an American film and television actor.
Retreat, Hell! is a 1952 American war film about the 1st Marine Division in the Korean War, directed by Joseph H. Lewis. It stars Frank Lovejoy as a career Marine battalion commander who is recalled from work at an American embassy, Richard Carlson as a veteran captain and communications specialist of World War II called up from the Marine Corps Reserves, Russ Tamblyn as a seventeen-year-old private who hides his true age to serve with the unit overseas and outdo his older brother, also a Marine, and Nedrick Young. Also appearing in the film is Peter Julien Ortiz, a highly decorated Marine who served in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and appeared in various films after retiring from the military.
Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369 (HMLA-369) is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters. The squadron, also known as the "Gunfighters", is based at Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, California and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 39 (MAG-39) and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.
Paul Hellstrom Foster was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam in October 1967.
Bradley Allan Kasal is a United States Marine who received the Navy Cross for heroic actions performed as the first sergeant of Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines during a firefight in Operation Phantom Fury in Fallujah, Iraq on November 13, 2004. He received the decoration in May 2006 during a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, followed by his promotion to sergeant major and reenlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps. He retired in 2018 after nearly thirty-four years of service.
Jimmie Earl Howard was a Marine Corps staff sergeant when he led an eighteen-man reconnaissance patrol in a fierce battle against a battalion of Viet Cong in June 1966. As a result of his heroic actions, Howard became the sixth U.S. Marine to be awarded the nation's highest honor for heroism in combat in Vietnam. The Medal of Honor was presented by President Lyndon B. Johnson in White House ceremonies on August 21, 1967.
Robert Emmett O'Malley is a United States Marine veteran who was the first Marine Corps recipient of the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War. He received the medal for his actions as a corporal on August 18, 1965, during Operation Starlite.
Master Sergeant Richard Allan Pittman was a United States Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on July 24, 1966, during the Vietnam War.
Salute to the Marines is a 1943 World War II war film drama in Technicolor from MGM, produced by John W. Considine Jr., directed by S. Sylvan Simon, and starring Wallace Beery. The film co-stars Fay Bainter, Reginald Owen, Ray Collins, Keye Luke, and Marilyn Maxwell. Beery's older brother Noah Beery, Sr. also appears in the film, which is set in the Philippines just prior to the beginning of the Pacific War.
To the Shores of Tripoli is a 1942 American Technicolor film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone and starring John Payne, Maureen O'Hara and Randolph Scott. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. Its cinematography was nominated for an Academy Award in 1943.
Halls of Montezuma is a 1951 American World War II war film directed by Academy Award-winner Lewis Milestone and starring Richard Widmark. It also stars Robert Wagner in his first credited screen role and features Richard Boone in his feature-film debut. The story is about U.S. Marines fighting on a Japanese-held island, and the title is a reference to the opening line from the Marines' Hymn.
Frederick Willard Zens was an American film producer, director, screenwriter and soundtrack composer who worked on mainly low budget films from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Marine Raiders is a 1944 RKO war film showing a fictional depiction of the 1st Marine Raider Battalion and 1st Marine Parachute Battalion on Guadalcanal, R&R in Australia, retraining in Camp Elliott and a fictional attack in the Solomon Islands. Produced by Robert Fellows, and directed by Harold D. Schuster, it stars Pat O'Brien, Robert Ryan, and Ruth Hussey.
Alaska Highway is a 1943 American drama film directed by Frank McDonald and starring Richard Arlen, Jean Parker, and Ralph Sanford.
Richard O. "Dick" Culver Jr. was a decorated United States Marine Corps officer who was one of the founders of the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School in Quantico, Virginia. Culver served in combat in Vietnam and was awarded the Silver Star for his heroic actions during a firefight in 1967.
John Lee Canley was a United States Marine and a recipient of the United States military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in January/February 1968 during the Battle of Huế. At the time of this action Canley was a gunnery sergeant with Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. Canley was originally awarded the Navy Cross but this was upgraded to the Medal of Honor, which was presented on October 17, 2018. The Expeditionary Sea Base USS John L. Canley (ESB-6) is named for him.
James Dale Beans is a retired officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of brigadier general. He is most noted for his service as the assistant chief of staff for Command, Control, Communications, and Computer, Intelligence and Interoperability Department and as director, Intelligence Division, Headquarters Marine Corps. He is the son of Brigadier General Fred D. Beans.
