Fourth Recruit Battalion, Training Regiment, Recruit Depot, Mcb, San Diego, Calif
3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion (3rd AABn) is one of two active duty assault amphibian battalions in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion's primary weapon system is the Amphibious Assault Vehicle or AAV. The AAV is a 27.5-ton armored vehicle that carries up to 21 combat-loaded Marines and is armed with the UGWS (UpGunned Weapons Station), which mounts a .50 cal (12.7 mm) M2HB machine gun and a Mk-19 40 mm grenade launcher. The battalion is also equipped with the Amphibious Combat Vehicle or ACV, a rather new variant to the USMC’s amphibious armament which will replace the AAV in years to come. The AAV ACV are the only armored vehicles in the U.S. inventory that are fully capable of operations both on land and in the ocean. The battalion is part of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force. The unit is based in Camp Pendleton, California.
The first wave of U.S. Marines in LVTs during the invasion of Peleliu on 15 September 1944
Marines waiting in their fighting holes
LVT-Amphibious-Assault-Vehicle
J
oseph Barham Hargis "Jodie" was born July 11, 1925 in Martinsville, Nacogdoches County, Texas, USA.. The son of Thaddeus Adelbert Hargis (1885–1973) and Annie M Kendrick (1889–1949). Jodie attended Nacogdoches High School. He married Eva Louise Perry (1925–2000). Jodie entered the Marines in October of 1943. He trained in Camp Elliote in San Diego California. He was assigned to the 1st. Division 3D Assault Amphibian Battalion. US Marines of the 1st Marine Division and then soldiers of the US Army's 81st Infantry Division fought to capture an airfield on the small coral island of Peleliu. The battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager, which ran from June to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater. Jodie was killed in action on Peleliu on October 16, 1944. On 27 November the island of Peleliu was declared secure, ending the 73-day-long battle. The reduction of the Japanese pocket around Umurbrogol mountain has been called the most difficult fight that the U.S. military encountered in the entire war. the 1st Marine Division suffered over 6,500 casualties during its month on Peleliu, over one third of the entire division. The battle was controversial in the United States because the island lacked strategic value and yet cost so many American lives. The defenders lacked the means to interfere with potential US operations in the Philippines, and the airfield captured on Peleliu did not play a key role in subsequent operations. Instead, the Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands was used as a staging base for the invasion of Okinawa. The high casualty rate exceeded all other amphibious operations during the Pacific War. Jodie was brought back to Nacogdoches County, and buried at Black Jack Cemetery. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, a Presidential Unit Ciatation, and a Asian Pacific of Operations Ribbon.
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