The 25th Marine Regiment (25th Marines) is one of two infantry regiments in the

4th Marine Division The 4th Marine Division is a reserve division in the United States Marine Corps. It was raised in 1943 for service during World War II, and subsequently fought in the Pacific against the Japanese. Deactivated after the war, the division was re ...

of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. From its headquarters in

Fort Devens, Massachusetts Fort Devens is a United States Army Reserve military installation in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Due to extensive environmental contamination it was l ...

, the regiment commands fifteen training centers in nine states throughout the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

. These units consist of approximately 3,500 reserve and active duty Marines and are located from

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

and as far west as

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The 25th Marines is primarily a cold weather regiment and frequently trains in northern

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Mission

Prepare for employment as a regiment tasked to plan and conduct combat operations in order to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, or to repel his assault by close combat. The reserve mission is to provide trained and qualified units and individuals to augment, reinforce, or reconstitute the active component of the Marine Corps in time of war, national emergency, and such other times as the national security may require.

Organization

The regiment comprises three4thMARDIV Units, 25th Marines

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s and a headquarters company. The regiment also has a support company that provides one anti-armor section to every infantry battalion in the 4th Marine Division except 4th LAR and 4th Recon. * Headquarters Company -

1st Battalion, 25th Marines 1st Battalion, 25th Marines (1/25) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps located throughout New England and upstate New York and consisting of approximately 850 Marines and Sailors. The battalion falls under the 25th ...

(1/25) -

2nd Battalion, 25th Marines The 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines (2/25) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. Headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, it has units located throughout the Mid-Atlantic States. It consists of approximately 1,000 Mar ...

(2/25) -

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 23,272 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within the Town of Hempstead ...

3rd Battalion, 25th Marines 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines (3/25) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion was first formed in 1943 for service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, taking part in a number of signifi ...

(3/25) -

Brook Park, Ohio Brook Park is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,595. History Brook Park became a city in 1960. The city attracted national attention when 21 Marines of the 3rd ...

1st Battalion, 24th Marines 1st Battalion, 24th Marines (1/24) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps located throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana consisting of approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors. Nicknamed ''Terror from the North'', the ba ...

(1/24) -

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

* Truck Company, 25th Marines -

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

* Anti-Tank Training Company -

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Broken Arrow is a city in Tulsa and Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2020 census, Broken Arrow has a population of 113,540 residents and is the 4th most populous city in the s ...

History

The 25th Marines was activated on 1 May 1943, at

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States Armed Forces, United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for Amphibious warfare, amphibious assault training, an ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and was initially composed of Marines from throughout the

. The regiment was subsequently assigned to the 4th Marine Division for service in World War II. Initially located at

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by O ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the regiment was ordered to the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

in January 1944 and participated in the

Battle of Kwajalein The Battle of Kwajalein was fought as part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It took place 31 January – 3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the Battle of Tarawa, the Unite ...

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

Battle of Tinian The Battle of Tinian was part of the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II. It was fought between the United States and Japan on the island of Tinian in the Mariana Islands from 24 July until 1 August 1944. The battle saw napalm used f ...

and the

Battle of Iwo Jima The was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, desi ...

. D-day Iwo found 1/25 the assault Battalion on blue 1, 3/25 was the assault battalion on blue 2 and 2/25 was the reserve for blue beaches. Transports to target were: - 1/25; - 2/25; and -3/25. The regiment won two Presidential Unit Citations for its participation in these battles. The 25th Marines returned to Camp Pendleton at the end of the war and on 10 November 1945 the regiment was deactivated. On 1 July 1962, 16 ½ years after its colors had been folded following its service in World War II, the 4th Marine Division was reactivated as a reserve division. This reactivation included all three battalions of the 25th Marines. Reserve Marines of the regiment have served alongside their regular counterparts in training exercises throughout the world. In February 1991 the entire regiment was activated for

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. Although, only 1st Battalion deployed into

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

and participated in the 1st Marine Division's initial breach of Iraqi defenses, the regimental headquarters, 2nd and 3rd Battalions mobilized in support of other operational requirements. In January 2002 the regimental headquarters Company and 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines moved to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

and

Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

. Subsequently, Headquarters Company and 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines were deactivated in January 2003. Since 2003 the regiment has routinely deployed infantry battalions, advisor teams, and

Military Transition Teams A Military Transition Team or Transition Team, commonly abbreviated as MiTT, in the context of the United States Military, is a 10 – 15 soldier team that trains foreign national and local security forces. The term has been used in the " War on ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, and the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

in support of the Global War on Terror. Concurrently, the regiment actively participates in numerous bilateral and multilateral theater engagement operations throughout the globe.

Regimental Commanders

*Colonel Richard H. Schubert (1 May 1943 – 27 July 1943) *Colonel

Samuel C. Cumming Samuel Calvin Cumming (October 14, 1895 – January 14, 1983) was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of Major general (United States), major general. He is most noted for his service as assistant divis ...

(28 July 1943 – 10 April 1944) *Colonel Merton J. Batchelder (11 April 1944 – 31 October 1944) *Colonel John R. Lanigan (1 November 1944 - October 1945) *Colonel William W. Davies (October 1945 – 10 November 1945)

Notable former members

Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey gained stardom in his own Situa ...

, game show host, actor, comedian and

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

part owner. * Harry O'Neill, served in Weapons Company during World War II *

Wilbur F. Simlik Wilbur Frank Simlik (June 19, 1921 – February 12, 2014) was a highly decorated major general in the United States Marine Corps. A veteran of World War II, he distinguished himself as platoon leader of the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, during th ...

, served with Company L, 3rd Battalion on

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

; later Major General, USMC * Mayor Jondavid R. Longo, served with Company K, 3rd Battalion in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan

Notes

References

: ;Bibliography * ;Web
25th Marine Regiment's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:025 4th Marine Division (United States) Military units and formations in Massachusetts Military units and formations established in 1943 Infantry25 Infantry units and formations of the United States Marine Corps