3rd Battalion 9th Marines The 3rd Battalion , 9th Marines ( 3 / 9 ) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps . Formed during World War I it served until the early 1990s when it was redesignated as 3rd Battalion , 4th Marines ( 3 / 4 ) during a realignment and renumbering of the Marine Corps ' infantry battalions , following the deactivation of the 9th Marine Regiment . The 3rd Battalion , 9th Marines was initially a subordinate unit of the 9th Marine Regiment , 3rd Marine Division , but was later operationally transferred to the 1st Marine Division as a subordinate unit of the 7th Marine Regiment where it remained until its redesignation as 3 / 4 . 3 / 9 was reactivated under the 2nd Marine Division in May 2008 as the Marines expands as a result of the continuing War on Terror . Current units . The battalion comprised four infantry companies , one weapons company and a headquarters and service company : History . Early years . The battalion was deactivated on 1 September 1937 . World War II . 3rd Battalion , 9th Marine Regiment was reactivated on 12 February 1942 , at Camp Elliot , San Diego , California as part of the 2nd Marine Division . The battalion was formed by a nucleus of officers and Marines from the 2nd Marine Regiment . In September 1942 , the battalion was relocated to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and reassigned to the 3rd Marine Division . The battalion was initially deployed to Cape Paerata , New Zealand in February 1943 and then moved to Guadalcanal in July of that year . 3 / 9 participated in the following campaigns during World War Two : Bougainville , Northern Solomons , Guam , and Iwo Jima . At Iwo Jima , 3 / 9 had the distinction of making the only battalion size unsupported , non - illuminated night attack against the Japanese in the Pacific War . Attesting to the ferocity of combat on Iwo Jima , all 22 of the battalions officers that landed on D - Day were killed or wounded by the end of the battle . For their service at Iwo Jima , the battalion received the Presidential Unit Citation . The battalion was disbanded on 31 October 1945 . Vietnam War . 3 / 9 became the first battalion - sized ground combat unit to be deployed to Vietnam when they landed on 8 March 1965 in Da Nang , Republic of Vietnam . Over the course of the next four and a half years , the battalion operated from Da Nang , An Hoa and Quang Tri and participated in over 40 combat operations , including Operation Double Eagle , Operation Buffalo and Operation Dewey Canyon . The battalion redeployed in 13 August 1969 , after four years of continuous combat operations . Kilo and India companies were deployed to Bien Hoa Air Base to provide ground support , for Marine Aircraft Group 12 in May 1972 . They remained at Bien Hoa until January 1973 . Kilo Co . 3 / 9 was deployed to Bien Hoa Vietnam from Okinawa in May 72 , India Co . 3 / 9 relived Kilo Co . at the July 72 and remained at Bien Hoa until 3 Feb 1973 . The last U . S . Marine killed in Action before the War ended at 0800 on 28 Jan 1973 ( local ) was in India Company 3 / 9 . The last Marine was KIA 32 . 5 hours before the End of the War at 2335 / 26Jan73 , ( PFC Miller USMC ) He is listed as a member of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing , but was in fact a member of India Company 3 / 9 TAD to the 1st MAW . The 1980s and 1990s . During 1986 though 1987 3 / 9 was commanded by LtCol James L Jones who later became the Commandant of the Marine Corps , NATO Commander , and the National Security Adviser . During 1986 the battalion participated in the filming of Heartbreak Ridge in Camp Pendleton , California and Hamburger Hill while deployed to the Philippines . Participated in Operation Desert Shield between August 1990 and January 1991 . Participated in Operation Desert Storm between January 1991 and March 1991 . Participated in Operation Restore Hope between 1992 and 1993 . Deactivated on 2 September 1994 and redesignated 3rd Battalion 4th Marines . 2000s . On 7 December 2006 , Headquarters Marine Corps released a message stating that 3rd Battalion , 9th Marines would be reactivated during 2008 as part of the continuing Global War on Terror . On 20 May 2008 , 3 / 9 was reactivated at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune , North Carolina under the 2nd Marine Division . In July 2009 , 3rd Battalion 9th Marines deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . They came home within 3 months due to troop withdrawals in Iraq . In December 2010 , 3rd Battalion 9th Marines deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom . While in Marjah , Helmand province , the Marines and Sailors of 3 / 9 successfully fought the Taliban out of an area twice the size of what the previous secure areas of Marjah had been . The Marine and Sailors of 3rd battalion , 9th Marine Regiment returned to America in early July 2011 . Tuesday , August 13 , 2013 marked the fifth time that 3rd Battalion , 9th Marines cased its colors aboard Camp Lejeune , this time under the command of LtCol . Carl E . Cooper , Jr . Medal of Honor recipients . The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States . It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself " . . . conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States . . . " . The following table contains the names of the men who were recipients of the Medal of Honor while serving in 3 / 9 . They are listed in accordance to the " Date of Action " in which the MoH citation was made . 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 . 3rd Battalion , 9th Marines has been presented with the following awards :