Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler (or simply Butler Marine Base)
is a
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
base located in the
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
of
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
. It was named after Marine Corps Major General and twice
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
recipient
Smedley D. Butler.
Installations
Camp Smedley D. Butler is actually a collection of facilities and satellite installations spread throughout Okinawa. Camp Smedley D. Butler was formerly called Camp or Fort Buckner, named for Army
General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., who commanded ground forces in the invasion of Okinawa and was killed in the last days of the battle. The renaming of Buckner to Butler occurred after most U.S. Army troops left Okinawa, and the base was transferred to the USMC. It is ironic that a foreign military base was named after
General Butler as he strongly believed that the military should be limited, by law, to operating within 200 miles of the coastline.
Additionally,
Marine Corps Air Station Futenma
is a United States Marine Corps base located in Ginowan, Okinawa, Japan, northeast of Naha, on the island of Okinawa. It is home to approximately 3,000 Marines of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and other units, and has been a U.S. military ai ...
(including satellite
Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield
Yontan Airfield (also known as Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield) is a former military airfield located near Yomitan Village on the west coast of Okinawa. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006. Today it i ...
) and
Marine Wing Liaison Kadena, while not part of the Camp Butler complex, shares many resources with it.
Other Marine installations in Japan include
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and
Camp Fuji.
See also
*
Okinawa Marine
*
United States Forces Japan
External links and references
Butler's web site
GlobalSecurity.org
References
{{Coord, 26.297360, 127.782983, type:landmark_region:JP, display=title
United States Marine Corps bases, Smedley D. Butler
Installations of the U.S. Department of Defense in Japan
United States Armed Forces in Okinawa Prefecture
1955 establishments in Japan