3rd Battalion 4th Marines 3rd Battalion , 4th Marines ( 3 / 4 ) is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps . Nicknamed " Thundering Third " it is known within the battalion as " Darkside " and the radio call sign s of the command and staff reflect this moniker . They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center , Twentynine Palms , California , and consist of approximately 1 , 000 Marines . The unit currently falls under the command of the 7th Marine Regiment , 1st Marine Division , but — along with its two sister battalions — is hosted by the 3rd Marine Division , at Camp Schwab in Okinawa , Japan , when training in jungle warfare . The 3rd falls under the 4th Marine Regiment at such times . History . World War II . Activated on May 1 , 1941 at Cavite , Philippine Islands as First Separate Marine Battalion , Navy Yard , Cavite . Relocated during December 1941 to Corregidor , Philippine Islands . Redesignated January 1 , 1942 to the Third Battalion , Fourth Marines , Corregidor , Philippine Island . The 4th Marine Regiment participated in the Battle of Corregidor from January to May 1942 . The unit was captured by enemy forces on May 6 , 1942 . After this 4th Marines temporarily ceased to exist . The regrouped 3rd Battalion 4th Marines of the 3rd Marine Division , participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima reinforcing the other Marine units of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions already there fighting . The 3rd Marine Division and other Marine Divisions were regrouping and training for the invasion of Japan , but before they were sent there , the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki finally bringing World War II to an end . Vietnam War . On April 14 , 1965 3rd battalion 4th Marines was deployed to an area near Chu Lai , South Vietnam . Two companies were sent north to Phu Bai to secure a small airfield just 8 miles south of Huế City . First contact was made on April 22 southwest of Da Nang with a VC unit . The Marines at Phu Bai made their first contact on April 24 . Both sides lost 2 men . These patrols continued until the whole battalion re - deployed back to Okinawa on December 24 , 1965 . In March 1966 , the Battalion returned to the Phu Bai , Huế City areas . They participated in company and platoon size patrols and ambushes against the VC in the Thừa Thiên – Huế Province till the end of June 1966 . At that time the entire Battalion moved north and just south of the DMZ , in the Song Ngan River Valley also known as " Helicopter Valley " , because of all the helicopters that were shot down with Marines on board . There they participated in Operation Hastings which was a multi - battalion operation that ran from July 15 to August 3 , 1966 . This was the first major Marine campaign against the North Vietnamese Army . A total of 8 , 000 Marines participated in this large operation . It stop the NVA from further advancing into South Vietnam . The 324B NVA Division losses were put at 824 killed and 17 POW ' s . Total Marine losses were put at 126 killed and 448 wounded . Capt . Robert J . Modrzejewski and SSgt . John J . McGinty were both awarded the Medal of Honor for their action and leadership during this time . This operation was also the most costly of the war to this point . In August 3 / 4 was back in Phu Bai again running patrols and ambushes in search and destroy missions . Early September the battalion moved its HQ 55 miles north to Dong Ha . On September 22 , 1966 the battalion was again in action against the 324B NVA Division in Operation Prairie which ran from August 3 to October 27 , 1966 . Fighting for Hill 400 and Hill 484 and also called Mutter ' s Ridge in the Razor Back Mountains , a heavily fortified Nui Cay Tri ridge . It was very costly for both sides , losses were put at nearly 1300 NVA killed and total Marine losses were put at 200 killed and over a 1000 wounded . Captain James J . Carroll was later posthumously awarded a Navy Cross for valor on Hill 484 . Photojournalist Larry Burrows took a large collection of " Time - Life " photos during the operation . The most recognizable is a Pulitzer Prize winning photo , taken on Hill 400 , showing a wounded Gunnery Sergeant Jeremiah Purdie being guided by a Hospital Corpsman Darrell Hinde as he reaches out to Sergeant [ Larry Mitchel ] whom was also seriously wounded waiting to be medevaced . Photo is called " Reaching Out " Shown in many special " Time - Life " issues . At the end of 1966 the 4th Marine Regiment was pulled out of the DMZ and sent south to participate in Operation Chinook around Huế . When that operation ended the battalion went into a rebuilding stage . On January 31 , 1967 Operation Prairie II started . On February 27 L / 3 / 4 and a tank platoon was involved in a battle near Hill 48 to save a recon team that ran into a NVA Regiment . On the 28th other Marine companies including M / 3 / 4 were brought in for ground operation . When the operation ended total casualties for both sides were put at 93 Marines killed 483 wounded and the NVA losses were put at 694 killed . Prairie II ended on March 18 , but Operation Prairie III started the next day . The battalion was pulled back to regroup and rebuild . For the next couple of months the battalion worked Route 9 guarding lines near Cam Lo , The Rockpile and Camp Carroll , which was the largest concentration of artillery pieces in northern I Corp . July and parts of August it was time for the battalion to spend time in the " Barrel " , Con Thien . On September 4 the Battalion was ambushed just south of Con Thien with heavy casualties . Again 3 / 4 was pulled back for rebuilding . Some of the other major operations in 1967 were Operation Hickory and Operation Kingfisher near Con Thien in the western area of Leatherneck Square . In the latter part of 1967 and in January 1968 , 3 / 4 also participate in Operation Kentucky . A new battalion CO LtCol Frank L . Bourne , Jr . took over command . Other operations the Battalion participate in 1968 were Operation Lancaster II , Operation Scrotum and Operation Robin South along Route 9 and near Khe Sanh . After November 6 , 3 / 4 was the last infantry battalion of the 3rd Marine Division left in South Vietnam . On November 24 , 1969 the battalion sailed from Vietnam to Okinawa . 1980s & 1990s . The first Marine unit in combat in Panama during Operation Just Cause was India Company , 3 / 4 . They landed in Panama on April 6 , 1988 and by April 10 were engaged in combat with clandestine units from Cuba . Some might have been from the 7th Company of the Panamanian Defense Forces , known as the " Macho de Monte " or " mountain machos " , a special ops / guerrilla warfare unit named after a sort of aggressive wild boar . 1996 – 1997 saw the battalion participate in Operation Hunter Warrior ( Sea Dragon ) . The objective of the operation was to test experimental gear , weapons and other equipment essential to a Marine Rifle Squad . In 1998 the battalion was transferred from Camp Pendleton , California to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in 29 Palms , California . There they worked back to full battalion strength and prepared for deployment to Camp Schwab , Okinawa in 1999 – 2000 . During this time the battalion also completed the summer and winter warfare training packages at Marine Corp Cold Weather Training Bridgeport , Ca . Global War on Terrorism . 3 / 4 deployed to Kuwait in January 2003 and went on to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq . They were the first U . S . Marine unit to enter Baghdad . This battalion was shown in the famous scene of the statue of Saddam in Firdos Square being pulled down . The battalion redeployed to Iraq in March 2004 and subsequently took part in Operation Vigilant Resolve while attached to the 1st Marine Regiment . They subsequently deployed to Fallujah , Iraq in January 2005 and provided oversight for Iraq ' s first national election in decades . 3 / 4 deployed again in September 2006 to Al Qaim , Iraq conducting counter insurgency combat operations and support and security operations . The battalion deployed in early 2008 to Al Anbar with dual missions of carrying out combat operations , training Iraqi security forces , and supervising the Iraqi peacekeeping effort . Their area of operations reached from Haditha to Hit , becoming the largest area any military unit had controlled in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The battalion also became the first U . S . military unit to reach 5 straight Iraq deployments and returned from their deployment in early September 2008 . They are also the only Marine battalion with eight straight combat deployments . The battalion deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan from October 2009 to May 2010 and from April to October 2011 . They are currently in the process of re - deploying back to the United States and will return to Afghanistan in the spring of 2013 .