3rd Marine Division ( United States ) The 3rd Marine Division is an infantry division in the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney , Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D . Butler and Okinawa , Japan . It is one of three active duty divisions in the Marine Corps and together with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing ( 1stMAW ) and the 3rd Marine Logistics Group ( 3rd MLG ) forms the III Marine Expeditionary Force ( III MEF ) . The division was first formed during World War II and saw four years of continuous combat in the Vietnam War . History . World War II . The 3rd Marine Division was officially activated on 16 September 1942 at Camp Elliott , San Diego , California . Most of the original members of the division were drawn from the cadre staff of the 2nd Marine Division . The division was initially built around the 9th Marine Regiment , commanded by Colonel Lemuel C . Shepherd , Jr . who later became the 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps . Major General Charles D . Barrett was the first Commanding General of the Division . The division echeloned into Auckland , New Zealand between January and March 1943 . In June of that year they moved onto Guadalcanal for additional training . 27 September 1943 saw the division land as part of the Battle of Bougainville and fight on the island until their last unit to arrive , the 21st Marine Regiment , embarked on 9 January 1944 . During the course of the battle the division had approximately 400 Marines killed . They returned to Guadalcanal in January 1944 to rest , refit and train . The next operation the division took part in was the Battle of Guam . From 21 July 1944 until the last day of organized fighting on 10 August , the division fought through the jungles on the island of Guam . During these 21 days of fighting , the Division captured over of territory and killed over 5 , 000 enemy soldiers . The next two months saw continuous mopping up operations in which the Marines continued to engage left over Japanese forces . At the end of the battle the Division had sustained 677 Marines killed , 3 , 626 wounded and 9 missing . The Division remained on the island of Guam for training purposes until they embarked as part of the landing force for the Battle of Iwo Jima . The 3rd Marine Division was initially in reserve for the battle however they were committed one regiment at a time as the initial regiments that landed needed to be relieved . The 21st Marines came ashore on 20 February followed by the 9th Marines and a reinforcement BN . of the 3rd Marines on 25 February . The Marines of these two infantry regiments , supported by the artillery of the 12th Marine Regiment and tanks of the 3rd Tank Battalion , fought on Iwo Jima until the end of organized resistance on 16 March and the subsequent mopping up operations for the next month . All elements of the Division were back on Guam by 17 April 1945 . The fighting on Iwo Jima would cost the 3rd Marine Division 1 , 131 killed in action and another 4 , 438 wounded . After the return to Guam , the Division began preparing for the invasion of Japan . This however never took place as Japan surrendered in August 1945 . The Division was deactivated on 28 December 1945 . Korean War . The Division was reactivated on 7 January 1952 at Camp Pendleton , California . Immediately after its activation and still in its organizational state , the Division began intensive combat training , including new tactics and maneuvers based on lessons learned in Korean War . During the remaining part of 1952 elements of the Division participated in numerous exercises and training problems , including vertical envelopment ( helicopter landing ) , airborne operations and attack , and defense against atomic weapons and missiles . In August 1953 the Division arrived in Japan to support the 1st Marine Division in the defense of the Far Eastern area . In March 1956 the Division moved to Okinawa and remained there in a readiness posture until 1965 . The 3rd Marine Division moved to Okinawa in June 1955 making an amphibious landing . Vietnam War . On 6 May 1965 , the 3rd Marine Division opened the Marine Compound at the Da Nang Air Base , Vietnam . They were the first American combat troops to be sent to Vietnam to protect the Da Nang airport . By the end of 1965 the Division had all its regiments ( 3rd Marines , 4th Marines and 9th Marines ) on the ground . In October 1966 , then commanding general Lew Walt was ordered to establish strong points just south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone ( DMZ ) . The division moved its headquarters from Da Nang to Phu Bai in late 1966 . At the same time the division was also building outposts along the southern half of the DMZ at Con Thien , Gio Linh , Cam Lo and Dong Ha . The first major multi - regiment operations against the North Vietnamse Army was Operation Hastings in July 1966 . Operation Prairie followed in October . This area would come to be known as Leatherneck Square . In late 1967 the headquarters moved again from Phu Bai to Dong Ha in the Quang Tri Province and more outpost were opened . Camp Carroll , Rockpile , Ca Lu and Khe Sanh . The two main enemy divisions the Marines fought were the 324B NVA Division and the 320th NVA Division . On November 14 , 1967 the 3rd Marine Division commander was killed northwest of Hue City in a helicopter crash . Some of the major operations in 1967 and early 1968 in this area were Operation Prairie III , Operation Prairie IV , Operation Hickory , Operation Cimarron , Operation Buffalo , Operation Kingfisher and Operation Kentucky . Nearly 8 , 000 NVA were killed during this time period . The Marines suffered over 1400 killed and over 9 , 000 wounded . There were five Medal of Honor s awarded and nearly 40 Navy Cross es given during this period of time . For Meritorious Service in the Republic of Vietnam the division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation in 1967 . The 3rd Marine Division departed South Vietnam in November 1969 with more than 20 Marines receiving the Medal of Honor . They moved to Camp Courtney , Okinawa , where it is presently located . 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 . 3d Marine Division has been awarded the following :