5th Marine Regiment ( United States ) The 5th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton , California . It is the most highly decorated regiment in the Marine Corps and falls under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force ( I MEF ) . Current Units . The Regiment comprises four infantry battalion s and one headquarters company : History . World War I . The unit was activated on June 8 , 1917 , in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , as the 5th Regiment of Marines . They immediately deployed to France and were assigned to the 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army . Later that year , in October , they were reassigned to 4th Brigade of Marines under the 2nd Infantry Division . In spring the regiment was involved in the fierce battle of Belleau Wood , gaining the respect even of the hardened German veteran front troops . The Fifth subsequently participated in the offensive campaigns at Aisne , Battle of Saint - Mihiel and in the Meuse - Argonne offensive . They also participated in the defensive campaigns at Toulon - Troyon , Château - Thierry , Marbache and Limey . From 1918 until 1919 the regiment participated in the occupation of the German Rhineland . In August 1919 they relocated back to Marine Corps Base Quantico , Virginia . They were deactivated on August 13 , 1919 . The regiment ' s actions in France earned them the right to wear the Fourragère ( seen in the outline of the unit ' s logo ) , one of only two in the Marine Corps ( the other being the 6th Marine Regiment ) . The award was a result of being the only regiments in the American Expeditionary Force to receive three Croix de guerre citations : two in the order of the army and one in the order of the corps — Fourragère and Croix de guerre with two Palms and Gilt Star . The Fourragère became part of the uniform of the unit , and all members of the organization are authorized to wear the decoration on the left shoulder of the uniform as long as they remain members of the organization . Three Marines of the regiment were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the war . Sergeant Louis Cukela , Gunnery Sergeant Ernest A . Janson , and Sergeant Matej Kocak each received two Medals of Honor ( one from the Navy and one from the Army ) for a single action , making them three of only nineteen double recipients of the medal . In addition , two U . S . Navy officers attached the 5th Marines received the Medal of Honor : Lieutenant Commander Alexander Gordon Lyle of the Navy Dental Corps and Lieutenant Orlando H . Petty of the Medical Corps . Inter - war years . Unit was Reactivated on July 8 , 1920 . Elements of the Regiment participated in mail guard duty in the Eastern United States from November 1921 through May 1922 and once again from October 1926 through February 1927 . They then deployed to Nicaragua from January 1927 . They continuously fought Nicaraguan Rebels until they were again deactivated on April 11 , 1930 . 5th Marines was reactivated for the last time on September 1 , 1934 at Quantico , Virginia and were assigned to the 1st Marine Brigade . In 1940 they were deployed to Guantánamo Bay , Cuba and reassigned to the 1st Marine Division in February 1941 . They were garrisoned at New River , North Carolina . World War II . After the outbreak of war , 5th Marines deployed to Wellington , New Zealand in June 1942 . During World War II they fought on Guadalcanal , New Britain , Eastern New Guinea , Peleliu and Okinawa . Immediately following the war in September 1945 they deployed to Tientsin , China and participated in the occupation of North China until May 1947 . They were redeployed to Guam in May 1947 and reassigned to the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade . In 1949 they were relocated to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton . Korean War and early 1960s . On August 5 , 1950 , 5th Marines were deployed to the Pusan Perimeter as part of the Provisional Marine Brigade . From there they participated in the Inchon Landing , Battle of Chosin Reservoir and fighting on the East - Central Front and Western Front until the end of hostilities . Immediately after the war they participated in the defense of the Korean Demilitarized Zone from July 1953 until February 1955 . The regiment returned to Camp Pendleton in March 1955 . Vietnam War . On March 5 , 1966 , 5th Marines once again answered the call and deployed to the Republic of Vietnam . They remained in Vietnam for the next 5 years fighting at Rung Sat , Chu Lai , Phu Loc , Hue , Que Son Valley , An Hoa , Tam Ky and Da Nang . The 5th Marines finally left Vietnam in April 1971 . In 2003 , former 5th Marine sniper - turned - Vietnam War author , John J . Culbertson , documented in " 13 Cent Killers : The 5th Marine Snipers in Vietnam " , the true stories of young 5th Marine Regiment marksmen who , as the publisher describes , " fought with bolt rifle s and bounties on their heads during the fiercest combat of the war , from 1967 through the desperate Tet battle for Hue in early ’ 68 . " Post - war years through the 1990s . Elements of the regiments participated in Operation New Arrivals which was the relocation of Vietnamese refugees to Camp Pendleton , California from July through December 1975 . Their next major action was Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm from August 1990 through April 1991 . Combat operations in Southwest Asia were quickly followed by Operation Sea Angel in Bangladesh in May – June 1991 . Global War on Terrorism . On January 5 , 2003 , 5th Marines deployed to Kuwait with its 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Battalions ( 1 / 5 , 2 / 5 , 3 / 5 ) as part of the force that would be part of the invasion of Iraq . They were supported by elements of the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion , 2nd Tank Battalion , various firing batteries of the 11th Marines , 2nd and 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion s , Company B from the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion , and Combat Service Support Company 115 ( CSSC – 115 ) . These attachments brought regimental strength up to more than 6 , 000 personnel on any given day . This was the largest the regiment had been in its history . On March 21 , the regiment became the first unit to cross into Iraq as it moved to seize the Rumayllah Oilfields . For the drive north , RCT - 5 would advance up a four - lane highway before swinging east toward the Tigris River until the 1st Marine Division reunited to push into the red zone that encompassed Baghdad and its suburbs . After all objectives had been secured , the Marines occupied assigned security sectors and conducted follow - on combat operations . During much of the attack north , the Regiment led the 1st Marine Division in the deepest attack in Marine Corps history . The regiment suffered 12 killed and 126 seriously wounded in 33 days of combat . From October 2004 to March 2005 the regimental headquarters staff , led by Colonel Stuart Navarre , was deployed to Iraq in order to take over the role of the Iraqi Security Forces training directorate in support of 1st Marine Division at Camp Blue Diamond . Because the regiment wasn ' t deployed as a regimental combat team the headquarters staff took on the responsibility of working with the Al Anbar Iraqi National Guard ( ING ) and the Iraqi Police in Ramadi . In February 2006 , the regiment deployed as Regimental Combat Team 5 to the Al Anbar Province , Iraq and assumed control of the greater Fallujah area from the 8th Marine Regiment . They conducted combat operations , which included the training and advising of Iraqi forces in conjunction with Military Transition Teams ( MiTT ) and Police Transition Teams ( PiTT ) . RCT - 5 was camped in Camp Fallujah under the command of I Marine Expeditionary Force ( Fwd ) until January 2007 when they were relieved in place by the 6th Marine Regiment ( RCT 6 ) . As of December 2007 , the 5th Marine Regiment had lost 221 members during combat operations in Iraq . This includes members of the regiment and of other battalions that served under 5th Marines . In late December 2007 and early January 2008 , the Regiment deployed again as Regimental Combat Team 5 ( RCT - 5 ) to the Al Anbar Province , Iraq and assumed control of the greater Al Asad area and western portion of the province from the 2nd Marine Regiment ( RCT - 2 ) . They conducted combat operations , which included the training and advising of Iraqi forces , and along with RCT - 1 and Multi National Forces - West ( MNF - W ) , oversaw Anbar ' s pacification and eventual transfer to Provincial Iraqi Control . RCT - 5 also participated in the initial stage of the retrograde of thousands of pieces of equipment out of Iraq . RCT - 5 was in Camp Ripper , Al Asad , under the command of I Marine Expeditionary Force ( Fwd ) and led by Colonel Patrick J . Malay until January 2009 when they were relieved in place by the 8th Marine Regiment ( RCT - 8 ) . Throughout the deployment , RCT - 5 lost one Marine and one Soldier who served in units under the Regiment while conducting combat operations . In early 2009 , 5th Marines was designated as a contingency force due to back - to - back 13 month deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom ( OIF ) . The Regiment continued to participate in exercises and contingency deployments with the 1st Marine Division , and to prepare forces for deployment . In August 2011 , 5th Marines deployed as Regimental Combat Team 5 ( RCT - 5 ) , for the first time to Helmand province , Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom . They conducted a Relief - In - Place ( RIP ) with the 1st Marine Regiment ( RCT - 1 ) and under the command of Colonel Roger Turner , assumed control of their area of operations of Marjah , Garmsir and Nawa districts . RCT - 5 was based out of Camp Dwyer . Their focus was on developing local defense forces in Garmsir and Nawa , mentoring and expanding the police force across southern Helmand , providing further training to the Afghan National Army and supporting the retrograde of thousands of pieces of equipment out of Afghanistan . In early July 2012 , RCT - 5 conducted a RIP with RCT - 6 , which was a historic moment since it was the first time in 94 years that the two Regiments have been together on the battlefield . RCT - 5 returned to Camp Pendleton , California , in early August 2012 . In August 2012 , LtCol Jason Bohm ( Col select ) was selected to be the next Regimental Commander . In April through early May 2013 , 5th Marines participated in Exercise Desert Scimitar at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center , 29 Palms , California . The purpose of the exercise was to command and control a Marine Air Ground Task Force ( MAGTF ) as part of the Marine Corps ' shift from counterinsurgency back to conventional , linear warfare in light of the war in Afghanistan winding down . The training exercise included units from ground combat , aviation and logistics elements . Fifth Marine Regiment formed as a Regimental Combat Team , focusing on practicing traditional warfare command and control tactics directing infantry , artillery and armored assets . The Regiment practiced direct small and medium arms fire with infantrymen serving with 2nd Battalion , 5th Marines , and 1st Bn , 7th Marines ; high - explosive indirect fires with the artillery of 2nd Bn , 11th Marines ; armored support assets of 1st Tank Bn ; and 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Bn during the exercise . In late May 2013 , Marines of 5th Marine Regiment participated in a training exhibition with the French 21st Marine Infantry Regiment in Frejus , France . The Marines learned about French weapons systems , including the FAMAS G2 assault rifle . Afterward , they were given the opportunity to fire the weapons on a French military operated rifle range . They also used kayaks to venture into the Mediterranean Sea , providing the Marines with an opportunity to learn about the French Marine ’ s reconnaissance tactics . 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 5th Marine Regiment has been presented with the following awards :