2nd Battalion 3rd Marines 2nd Battalion , 3rd Marines ( 2 / 3 ) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii consisting of approximately 1000 Marines and sailors . The battalion falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Regiment and the 3rd Marine Division . History . World War II . The 3rd Training Battalion , Division Special Troops , 1st Marine Division was activated on May 1 , 1942 at New River , North Carolina . On June 17 of that same year , they were redesignated the " 2d Training Battalion , 3rd Marines " and in September were deployed to Tutuila , American Samoa and reassigned to the 2d Marine Brigade . They remained there until they moved to Auckland , New Zealand in May 1943 . In June of that year , they were reassigned to the 3d Marine Division and were again moved to Guadalcanal in July . 2 / 3 participated in the following World War II campaigns : Vietnam War . 2 / 3 deployed to Da Nang in the Republic of Vietnam in April 1965 . They fought in Vietnam from April 1965 until October 1969 , operating from DaNang , Camp Carroll , Quang Tri , Cam Lo , the A Shau Valley and Khe Sahn . The battalion made a night helicopter assault in the Elephant Valley south of Da Nang on 12 August 1965 , shortly after Marine ground troops arrived in country . In October 1969 , the battalion relocated to MCB Camp Pendleton . In April 1967 , 2 / 3 was flown to Khe Sahn and walked North up into the DMZ and participated in one of the bloodiest fights , later to be know as the " Hill Fights Battle of 881 & 861 " in 1967 " . Capt . James P . Sheehan Commanding Officer Golf company assaulted the hills on or about 29 April 1967 The Gulf War and the 1990s . In January 1991 , under the command of Lt . Col . Robert B . Blose , 2d Battalion / 3rd Marines deployed to Saudi Arabia and participated in Operation Desert Storm and the Liberation of Kuwait . The battalion was deployed to Southwest Asia from January to April 1991 , when 2 / 3 returned to Kaneohe Bay . Global War on Terror and the Iraq War . The battalion deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the Konar and Laghman regions in north eastern Afghanistan in 2005 - 2006 . 2 / 3 suffered 4 KIAs . 2 / 3 deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Haditha region of Al Anbar Province in western Iraq in 2006 - 2007 . 2 / 3 faced some of the worst fighting in the entire war . They were one of the last Marine units to face combat in Al Anbar . 2 / 3 suffered 23 KIAs from September 2006 to April 2007 and was given the nickname of " The Angels of Anbar " . . In February 2008 , the battalion again deployed to Iraq , operating in the vicinity of Fallujah . On June 26 , 2008 , the commanding officer of 2 / 3 , LtCol Max Galeai and two other Marines ( Captain Philip J . Dykeman and Cpl . Marcus W . Preudhomme ) from the battalion were killed when a suicide bomber dressed as an Iraqi policeman detonated an explosive vest at a meeting of tribal sheiks in the town of Karmah . The battalion returned from this deployment in late August / early September 2008 . 2 / 3 Deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 ( 10 KIA ) as part of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade . They were part of the 17 , 000 troop increase announced by President Obama in mid - February . 2 / 3 returned to Marine Corps Base Hawaii late 2009 , and redeployed to Afghanistan in November 2010 to Helmand province to the Nawa - I - Barakzayi District . During this deployment , do to increased security in Nawa , Fox Company was attached to 3rd Battalion 9th Marines in Marjah , during less than 6 months the Company found over 270 + weapons caches & IED ' s , more than any other Marine Company deployed to Afghanistan . 2 / 3 returned from Afghanistan in June 2011 . In April 2012 Fox Company was the first US military unit to begin regular training rotations through northern Australia . It is expected that eventually 2500 US Marines will be posted near Darwin , Northern Territory with the 5th Battalion , Royal Australian Regiment , as part of increased security ties between the two nations ( See Australia – United States relations ) . Awards . 2 / 3 Medal of Honor recipients . During World War II , PFC Leonard F . Mason , serving with the 2 / 3 , despite being mortally wounded , single - handedly destroyed an enemy machine gun position during the Battle of Guam . Mason was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . During the Vietnam War , PFC Bruce W . Carter threw himself on a grenade to save the lives of fellow Marines . He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor . During the Vietnam War , Staff Sergeant Peter S . Connor was awarded the MOH ( posthumously ) for actions on 25 February 1966 . During the Vietnam War , Private First Class James Anderson , Jr . was awarded the MOH ( posthumously ) for actions on 28 February 1967 .