2nd Battalion 7th Marines The 2nd Battalion , 7th Marines ( 2 / 7 ) is a light infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps . They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors . The battalion falls under the command of the 7th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division . Subordinate units . At the beginning of World War II , the battalion had three subordinate rifle companies – E ( Easy ) , F ( Fox ) , G ( George ) – a weapons company designated as H ( How ) , and a Headquarters Company . As the war progressed , the weapons company was eliminated and the component elements redistributed throughout the headquarters and rifle companies . During the Korean War the battalion ' s three rifle companies were designated D ( Dog ) , E ( Easy ) and F ( Fox ) . During the Vietnam War the battalion was organized under a four rifle company order of battle – E ( Echo ) , F ( Fox ) , G ( Golf ) and H ( Hotel ) . History . World War II . Guadalcanal . The battalion was activated on 1 January 1940 at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . On 18 September 1942 , 2 / 7 landed on Guadalcanal . They fought the Battle of Guadalcanal for four months until they were relieved by elements of the United States Army ' s Americal Division . The battalion was then sent to Australia along with the rest of the 1st Marine Division for rest and refit . Operation Cartwheel . 2 / 7 landed on Cape Gloucester , New Britain on 26 December 1943 securing an airfield the first day . That night , Japanese Marines counterattacked and 2 / 7 took the brunt of the assault and the fighting continued throughout the night . By the time the sun began to rise , the entire Japanese force had been wiped out . On 14 January , 2 / 7 along with the rest of the regiment assaulted and took the last Japanese stronghold on the island , Hill 660 . Two days later , the counter - attack came but the Marines held the hilltop often resorting to hand - to - hand fighting . The battalion continued to run patrols around the island to protect against guerrilla attacks from hold - out Japanese soldiers . In March 1943 , New Britain were declared secure and in 1 April Marine Division was relieved by the US Army 40th Infantry Division . 2 / 7 , and the rest of the 1st Marine Division again returned to Australia . Battle of Peleliu . On 15 September 1944 , 2 / 7 landed along with the rest of the 1st Marine Division . They were met by intense artillery and mortar fire from Japanese positions that had not been touched by the pre - invasion bombardment . On 20 September , the 7th Marines broke out of their beachhead and linked up with the 1st Marines . The battalion fought on the island for another eight weeks before it was secured . Battle of Okinawa . On 1 April 1945 , was part of the 80 , 000 Marines that landed on Okinawa . The 1st Marine Division landed on the southern portion of Okinawa against light resistance . Their beachhead was quickly secured and supplies began flowing in . Resistance began to become stronger as the Marines pushed north . The 1st Marine Division was ordered into Reserve to protect the right flank of the invasion forces . The battalion fought the Japanese along the coast and was stopped suddenly at the Shuri Castle . For 30 days , along with the rest of the Division and the Army 77th Infantry Division , battled the Japanese stronghold . After Okinawa , 2 / 7 was part of the occupation in China where they were to disarm the Japanese forces there . In addition they were called upon to keep the peace during the bloody civil war between the Chinese Nationalists and Communist forces . In 1947 , 2 / 7 returned to California and were deactivated later that year . Korean War . During the Battle of Chosin Reservoir Captain William Barber earned the Medal of Honor for his actions as commander of Fox 2 / 7 . F / 2 / 7 held a position known as " Fox Hill " against vastly superior numbers of Chinese infantry , holding the Toktong Pass open and keeping the 5th Marine Regiment and the 7th Marine Regiment from getting cut off at Yudam - ni . His company ' s actions to keep the pass open , allowed these two regiments to withdrawal from Yudam - ni and consolidate with the rest of the 1st Marine Division at Hagaru - ri . The mission to relieve F / 2 / 7 on top of Fox Hill also led to LtCol Raymond Davis , then commanding officer of 1st Battalion 7th Marines , receiving the Medal of Honor . In addition to Chosin , the Battalion participated in the Inchon Landing , the recapture of Seoul and operations along both the Eastern and Western Fronts . Vietnam War . 2 / 7 was deployed to Vietnam from July 1965 until October 1970 has part of the 7th Marine Regiment , 1st Marine Division . The Battalion operated in the southern half of I Corp most of the time . Qui Nhon , Chu Lai , Da Nang Air Base ] ] , Dai Loc and An Hoa . [ [ File : 2dBn 7thMar logo Vietnam Era . PNG | thumb | right | 2 / 7 ' s Vietnam Era battalion logo The Gulf War and the 1990s . 2 / 7 relocated during January 1990 to [ [ Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms ] ] , California , and participated in [ [ Gulf War | Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm ] ] in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait from August 1990 through March 1991 when they redeployed back to the United States . For the rest of the 1990s the battalion took part in the regular [ [ Unit Deployment Program ] ] ( UDP ) rotation to Okinawa . In this scheme , 7th Marine Regiment sequentially rotated one of its battalions to [ [ Camp Schwab ] ] for six months to serve as one of the three battalions attached to the [ [ 4th Marine Regiment ( United States ) | 4th Marine Regiment ] ] . In October 1994 , 2nd Battalion 7th Marines boarded the and to sail from Okinawa to the Philippines to take part in the 50th Anniversary reenactment of the landings at Leyte Gulf . [ [ File : Hires 070324 - M - 4804L - 067 . jpg | thumb | left | | Marines from Company E , 2nd Battalion , 7th Marines patrol in [ [ Zaidon ] ] , Iraq . ] ] Iraq . During the [ [ 2003 invasion of Iraq ] ] , 2 / 7 was stop - moved in Okinawa until the Summer of 2003 . The battalion deployed in February 2004 in support of [ [ Iraq War | Operation Iraqi Freedom ] ] ( OIF ) . They were among the first Marines redeployed to the country after the initial invasion , and lost eight Marines during that deployment . The battalion deployed in support of OIF for the second time from July 2005 to January 2006 . They operated in the Anbar Governorate and suffered 13 Marines killed in action . The battalion was again deployed to Al - Anbar from January to August 2007 . During this third Iraq deployment , 2 / 7 suffered 8 Marines killed in action . Afghanistan . [ [ File : Hires 080801 - M - 9389C - 066 . jpg | thumb | right | Marines from Company F , 2nd Battalion , 7th Marines conduct combat operations against the enemy in [ [ Now Zad ] ] , Helmand . ] ] 2 / 7 deployed to Helmand and [ [ Farah Province ] ] s , Afghanistan from April to December 2008 . The battalion spearheaded the return of Marines to Afghanistan , and was engaged in heavy combat with insurgent elements throughout their deployment . 2 / 7 operated from Camp Bastion and bases in Sangin , [ [ Gereshk ] ] , [ [ Musa Qaleh ] ] , [ [ Now Zad ] ] , Delaram , [ [ Gulistan District | Gulistan ] ] , [ [ Bakwa ] ] and Bala Baluk . Called " the hardest hit battalion in the Corps this year , " The battalion suffered 20 men killed and 160 wounded , thirty of which were amputees . 2 / 7 returned to Afghanistan in 2012 . Okinawa , Unit Deployment Program , and the 31st MEU . Following its Afghanistan deployment , 2 / 7 deployed to Okinawa for the first time since 2003 . The Battalion was the ground combat element for the [ [ 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit ] ] from December 2009 - June 2010 , and then again from June – December 2011 . < br > 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 appropriate ribbon of the awarded unit citation . 2nd Battalion , 7th Marines have been awarded the following : Medal of Honor . [ [ File : MitchellPaige . gif | thumb | right | 180px | Sgt [ [ Mitchell Paige ] ] receives the [ [ Medal of Honor ] ] from [ [ Alexander Vandegrift | General Vandegrift ] ] as a reward for outstanding heroism while manning a machine - gun of the 2d Battalion , 7th Marines during the late October 1942 battles for [ [ Battle for Henderson Field | Henderson Field ] ] on [ [ Guadalcanal Campaign | Guadalcanal ] ] ] ] Ten Marines and one Sailor have been awarded the Medal of Honor while serving with 2d Battalion , 7th Marines . [ [ Battle of Guadalcanal ] ] [ [ Battle of Peleliu ] ] [ [ Korean War ] ] [ [ Vietnam War ] ] References . [ [ Category : Infantry battalions of the United States Marine Corps ] ] [ [ Category : 1st Marine Division ( United States ) ] ]