6th Marine Division (United States)
| 6th Marine Division | |
|---|---|
 6th Marine Division insignia |
|
| Active | September 7, 1944 – March 31, 1946 |
| Country | United States |
| Branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Locate close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver |
| Nickname | The Striking Sixth |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr. |
The 6th Marine Division was a division in the United States Marine Corps that formed in 1944 and disbanded in 1946.[1] The division had formed to partake in the Battle of Okinawa and the planned invasion of Japan in World War II. The division had been in service about nineteen months and was the only Marine division to be formed and disbanded overseas.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Subordinate units
- Headquarters Battalion
- 6th Tank Battalion
- 6th Engineer Battalion
- 6th Pioneer Battalion
- 6th Service Battalion
- 6th Medical Battalion
- 6th Motor Transport Battalion
- Scout and Sniper Company
- 4th Marine Regiment
- 15th Marine Regiment
- 22nd Marine Regiment
- 29th Marine Regiment
[edit] History
The division was formed on the Solomon Islands on 7 September 1944.[1][2] The division had been formed from three infantry regiments: the 4th Marine Regiment, the 22nd Marine Regiment, and the 29th Marine Regiment, and other units such as Engineer, Medical, Pioneer, Motor Transport, Tank, Headquarters, and Service battalions.[1] The core about which the division was formed was the First Provisional Marine Brigade, which included the 4th Marine Regiment, the 22nd Marine Regiment, and the artillery battalions that had supported those two Marine regiments which had been combined into the 15th Marine Regiment.[1]
After the Battle of Guam had ended in the summer of 1944, the brigade was called to the Solomon Islands with the 1st Battalion of the 29th Marines, which had served with the 2nd Marine Division in the Battle of Saipan on the Mariana Islands. The 2nd Battalion and 3rd Battalion of the 29th Marines disembarked from the United States on August 1, 1944, and landed on Guadalcanal on 7 September 1944.[1]
The division trained on Guadalcanal before it was sailed 6,000 miles to land with the III Amphibious Corps on the island of Okinawa on 1 April 1945.[1] By April 15, the division swept through the northern Ishikawa Isthmus where it came under fire by the Imperial Japanese Army. After heavy fighting in the south, the division replaced the Army 27th Infantry Division on the western island. The division advanced south to partake in the assault against the strong Japanese defense line called the Shuri Line that had been constructed across the southern coastline. The Shuri Line was located in hills that were honeycombed with caves and passages, and the Marines had to traverse the hills to cross the line. The Marines that had assaulted the line were attacked by heavy Japanese mortar and artillery fire, which made it more difficult to secure the line.[1]
The division made it to the southern island until May 16, when it ran onto Sugar Loaf Hill near the Okinawan capital of Naha.[3] The division was ordered to capture the hill, as the hill formed the western anchor of the Shuri Line defense.[3][4] The 22nd Marines had first been ordered to take the hill, before the 29th Marines started fighting on the hill on May 16. After two days, the hill had been taken.[3] The battle on the island had come to an end on 21 June 1945.[1][3] The 6th Marine Division had suffered 2,662 Marines and Navy Corpsmen killed in action and 7,470 Marines and Navy Corpsmen wounded in action.[1][3]
In July 1945, the division was withdrawn to the island of Guam to prepare for Operation Coronet, the planned invasion of Honshū that was supposed to occur in April 1946. After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the 6th Marine Division had been sailed to Tsingtao, China to accept the surrender. The division remained in China until it was disbanded in Tsingtao on March 31, 1946.
[edit] Medal of Honor recipients
Six Marines from the division have been awarded the Medal of Honor:
- Richard E. Bush
- Henry A. Courtney, Jr.
- James L. Day
- Harold Gonsalves
- Robert M. McTureous
- Fred F. Lester
[edit] 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. The 6th Marine Division has been presented with the following awards:
[edit] See also
- 6th Marine Division on Okinawa
- List of United States Marine Corps divisions
- Organization of the United States Marine Corps
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Bibliography
- Rottman, 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. ISBN 0-313-31906-5.
- Web
[edit] External links
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