2nd Marine Division Unit Patch Decal: Marine Decals, Unit Patches, USMC Decals, Marine Decor, Marines, 2nd Marine Division, Marines CrazedWolfDesigns. “Some didn’t even know if they had to get on a truck and drive to the other side of Fiji from Suva to get there, or get back on the boat. Camp Paekakariki - 45 kms north east of Wellington - home of the 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division GUADALCANAL On 12 August 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Goettge, Intelligence Officer, led a 25 man reconnaissance patrol along the west bank of the Matanikau River on Guadalcanal. Key Point: American forces fought alongside New Nealanders to defeat the Axis. Group portrait of men of Company C, 2nd Tank Battalion, US 2nd Marine Division, Wellington, New Zealand, May 1943. MONARCH SIZE. The Prime Minister, Peter Fraser, appealed to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill for assistance in strengthening New Zealand’s defences. All non-text content is subject to specific conditions. Some of these early U.S. arrivals down under were originally trained and destined for Europe, but with Australia and New Zealand threatening to bring their forces home from battlefields in Europe and North Africa, Roosevelt redirected the U.S. troops to the Pacific. We have 15 biographies, 23 articles, related to US Forces in New Zealand. March 1942 The battalion returns to San Diego and is reassigned to 2nd Marine Division. Some New Zealanders feared that Auckland might be next. For Aucklanders, the invasion began on 12 June 1942. In February 1943, the 3rd Marine Division arrived in the Auckland area for a five-month stay before heading off to Bougainville in the Solomon Islands, followed by the Army’s 25th Division. Hi Oakes, thanks for this. Soon after New Zealand declared war on Germany in 1939, the 2nd New Zealand Division was formed and sent off to fight alongside its British counterparts in … It meant literally picking up the fleet formation steaming on a specific course, rotating that force [for example] through fifty degrees, and then putting it down again so that the ship maintained its relative station just as if you had not moved.”. Some of the Marines who had already gone to New Zealand would tell the girls not to date any Marine who had a “rope” around his shoulder as that was a sign he had venereal disease. Get the best deals for 2nd marine division shirt at eBay.com. On 7 December 1941 Japanese bombers had crippled the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu. Another 6,000 served in the Navy, 24,000 in the Air Force. Cpl. The next morning the Mayor of Auckland, J.A.C. Most of the U.S. military personnel coming to New Zealand were young. As they berthed, another interesting exchange occurred. Created August 1998 - Updated 6 February 2004. In April 2019, Maj. Gen. David J. Furness, the then commander of the 2nd Marine Division, sent out a policy letter detailing a basic daily routine every Marine in the division … Naval Censor. The division had redeployed to New Zealand from Guadalcanal with nearly 13,000 confirmed cases of malaria. The 6th MR joined the rest of the 2nd MD on Guadalcanal in January 1943. When the rest of the division left Guadalcanal, they were still fighting. 5 … Commercial re-use may be allowed on request. During World War I, the United States had roughly four million in uniform with 8.2 percent becoming casualties. The Whitehouse family … An agrarian nation, New Zealand was cut off from the rest of the world in terms of foreign travelers. Soon after New Zealand declared war on Germany in 1939, the 2nd New Zealand Division was formed and sent off to fight alongside its British counterparts in … 5 out of 5 stars (621) $ 3.50. There American forces could train for offensives ahead or recuperate from battles just past. On 14 June 1942 the United States' 1st Marine Division landed in Wellington. Central Pacific Drive: Saipan. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japanese forces moved rapidly south, taking British strongholds such as Hong Kong and Singapore. After recovering from the still undiagnosed illness he had acquired in Samoa, he joined the 4th Marine Division and saw combat in the Marshalls and Saipan in the Marianas. The skies were grey and the water the colour of steel as five transport ships, with a cruiser in front and a destroyer in the rear, sailed into Auckland Harbour unannounced. By Christmas Day Hong Kong had fallen; and then on 15 February 1942 Singapore surrendered. It helped eliminate the remaining Japanese forces on the island. Naval Censor. I knew the American's had troops in New Zealand during World War II and was led to believe they were all US Army. In the Western Desert Campaign, the division played a prominent role in the defeat of German and Italian forces in the Second Battle of El Alamein and the British Eighth Army's adva… The 8th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps.They are based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and fall under the command of the 2nd Marine Division and the II Marine Expeditionary Force. However, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the friendly invasion of U.S. military personnel, that changed. New Zealand would thus serve as a source of supply and a staging post for operations against the Japanese in the Pacific. Links SAPR Press Deployed Mailing Resources Courts Martials Division Orders News. We had these trucks with a Kiwi bird stenciled on the door panels, and it was frequent that a Yank asked, ‘Say guy, what’s that chicken on your truck?’”. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-General Bernard C. Freyberg. The distinction – army units to Auckland, Marines to Wellington – was to remain largely (although not exclusively) the pattern as Americans, women as well as men, arrived over the next two years. Republic of Korea and U.S. Marines participate in Korean Marine Exchange Program 16-16 on Camp Rodriguez, South Korea, March 22-April 11, 2016. Wellington’s invasion began two days later, on 14 June 1942, when a battered USS Wakefield entered the harbour. The United States shared this concern, and within the first four months of America’s entry into the war it had over 100,000 military personnel south of the equator to protect the sea lanes between the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Mackenzie Gregory was a young ensign in the Australian Navy when the war broke out. It fought in Greece, Crete, the Western Desert and Italy. US Forces in New Zealand Soon after New Zealand declared war on Germany in 1939, the 2nd New Zealand Division was formed and sent off to fight alongside its British counterparts in Greece, Crete, and North Africa. The majority of Allied forces in that theater came under U.S. command. Gregory was trained in the tradition of the British Royal Navy. US Marines training at Camp McKay, New Zealand, 1943. When war came in December 1941, only 8,918 Marines were assigned to the Old Breed, far short of the authorized strength of almost 20,000. Allum, and four military bands stood on Prince’s Wharf waiting to greet the new arrivals. Allum, and four military bands stood on Prince’s Wharf waiting to greet the new arrivals. He was one of the survivors when his ship, the cruiser HMAS Canberra, was sunk at the Battle of Savo Island along with three American heavy cruisers in August 1942. During which time the battery participated in Operation Enduring Freedom in Pakistan and Afghanistan and served as the security detail for the American Embassyin Ka… The warships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were sunk by Japanese torpedoes. Everybody had to start doing things the American way. Major General Julian C. Smith's utmost concern when he assumed command of the 2d Major Division on 1 May 1943 was the physical condition of the troops. Second World War The Americans threw down oranges, cigarettes and money; the waiting Kiwis picked up the gifts and threw back New Zealand coins. The unit acted in support of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and also was accompanied by troops with New Zealand’s Queen Alexandra’s Mounted Rifles. The 1st Division was soon joined in New Zealand and more particularly at Paekakariki by the "Indian Head" 2nd Marine Division giving a combined standing of three Infantry Regiments, the 2nd, 6th and 8th. © Copyright 2021 Center for the National Interest All Rights Reserved. The ROK Marines are with 1st ROK Marine Division … New Zealand men of military age (18-45) numbered roughly 355,000. The US Marine Memorial in Queen Elizabeth Park opened my eyes to a short period in time that I didn't know about. Joe Wetzel, a Marine of the 2nd Marine Division, Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Battalion, said they just assumed they were on their way to “another stinking island to fight more Japs!” However, to their pleasant and unexpected surprise, when they entered the Cook Straits and saw a modern city before them, the capital of Wellington, and some of those hardened Marines started crying. Page 3, US soldiers march down Queen Street, Auckland. New Zealand at War A lot of them were homesick and frightened. Radio programs from the United States were also popular imports to New Zealand before the war. This was quite a sacrifice for such a small nation. In March 1942, the Third Marine Brigade, organized around the Seventh Marines, sailed for Western Samoa. WWII History, 6th Marine Regiment on Green Beach, Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, 1943, Guadalcanal and New Zealand. Fall 1942 The battalion sails to Wellington, New Zealand where it begins to have advanced combat training. Clifford Carrington of Chicago, Illinois, also from the 2nd Marine Division, was one of many Marines taken in by New Zealand families. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items! The next morning the Mayor of Auckland, J.A.C. This time it played the Marine Corps hymn, ‘From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli…’, for these arrivals were the 1st Marine Division. News Updates Photos Contact Us Staff Sections. When elements of the 2nd Marine Division left Guadalcanal to join the rest of the division in New Zealand, they were not told where they were going when they boarded ship. A generation later, the population of New Zealand was approximately 1.6 million. Favorite Add to MA-3046 2nd Marine Division 2d MARDIV Bumper Sticker Vinyl Window Decal ISellStickersPLUS. Of that number, 135,000 served overseas during World War II during six long years from 1939 to 1945. Paekakariki consisted of two large Camps, Camp Russell (now Queen Elizabeth Park) and on the other side of the State Highway, Camp McKay. The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry division of the New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the Second World War. It was a Sunday morning and there were few about, but again there was a band waiting on King’s Wharf. This small nation also had a Home Guard of 124,000 men at its peak, many of whom had served in World War I. Of that 20 percent, 100,000 served overseas, and of that 100,000 more than 60 percent became casualties. After landing on Aotea Quay the marines went by train to Paekākāriki, where they set up camp. Half the division would have to be replaced before the next campaign. Almost overnight he had to reeducate himself: “The first few times I had to change to a new course while part of a U.S. Navy task force were an absolute nightmare. He remembered that a lot of the young Americans they met in Suva did not know where Auckland was. Tourism was not part of New Zealand’s economy the way it is today. Many people in both countries feared an actual invasion as a result of Japan’s conquests. The Pacific was divided into two main theatres: the South-west Pacific – including Australia, the Philippines, New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies – and the Pacific Ocean, in which New Zealand was a main base. Four days later Darwin was bombed. From the American perspective, New Zealand had strategic importance. As a result, they were the last regiment of the 2nd Division to fight on Guadalcanal. During these reunions the veterans reconnected with New Zealand families and in some cases old girlfriends. The First Division arrived in Wellington 14 June 1942 then were shipped off to Guadalcanal (where many would die) on 22 July. After that, it was sent to New Zealand to prepare for the invasion of Tarawa. New Zealand could also grow vegetables and provide stores for the forces in the front line. In May 1942, the rest of the Division sailed from Norfolk Naval Base bound for New Zealand. Other U.S. Army units, along with U.S. Marine Corps and Navy personnel, were sent to New Zealand. New Zealand military ranks are largely based on those of the United Kingdom.The three forces (army, navy, and air force) have their own rank structure, with a rank equivalency that allows seamless interoperability between the services.All three services form part of the New Zealand Defence Force And not having trained together before the war proved fatal in the early days, especially in the early naval battles. Early in the 20th century, the population of New Zealand was just under a million. By this time, most of New Zealand’s young men had been gone for three years or more while parents, wives, children, and friends worried about whether they would ever see them again. “These Americans didn’t know anything about New Zealand,” recalled Dunlop. Many U.S. Marines and sailors coming to New Zealand from Guadalcanal were sick with recurring bouts of malaria and other tropical diseases, and others suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. For Aucklanders, the invasion began on 12 June 1942. Even before the Japanese entered the war, New Zealand sent troops to Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa to secure what they considered their northern frontier. Contains photographs, maps, casualty lists, Marine Corps information, Corpsman and Corpsmen information, research projects, and items of historical and general interest. He became a private first class in Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. However, few Americans of that day had ever heard of New Zealand. Joining the 2nd Marine Division in New Zealand, the 8th Marines spent several months refitting for the Battle of Tarawa. One Marine brigade was sent to Pago Pago, American Samoa, in January 1942, followed by another in March. The British would control the Middle East–Indian Ocean area, the European–Atlantic zone would be a shared responsibility, and the Pacific would come under the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. When Japan attacked, holding and reinforcing those islands became even more important. Kilo Battery (Battery K) served as the Marine artillery attachment for the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit from September 2001 to April 2002. This relieved New Zealanders of some of their concerns. NEW. 26 December 1942 2d Marine Division, including 6th Marines, departed New Zealand for Guadalcanal . Information on various landing craft, LVT, LCPR, LST, LCVP, Higgins Boats, and APA-11. Elements of 6th Marines began arriving in New Zealand. MQ430824A $15.00: Add to Cart U.S. Marine Corps Soldier's Free Mail 1943 U.S. Navy, 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division New Zealand to Oakland, Calif. Smudge. Churchill was sympathetic but in no position to help. Joseph Miles Griggs, Jr. H Battery/3/10; Bibliography; Marines wade ashore on Saipan. Battle of Saipan. For many of these Americans this was their first time away from home. Principal Staff. Send an Email: copyright 2001 T.O.T.W. If New Zealanders felt vaguely thankful that the Americans were now involved in the war, their confidence was quickly shaken. However, he came down with an undiagnosed tropical disease while there and was invalided home, missing out on Guadalcanal later that year. A son of New Zealand, General Sir John Westall, born in Napier, became the Commandant General of the Royal Marines, 1952-53. 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion 2nd Battalion 4th Marines 1ST TANK BN 3D AA BN 1ST CEB 3D CEB 1ST RECON BN 1ST LAR BN 3D LAR BN 1ST DIV BAND Resources. 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It was the dramatic spread of war to the Pacific some six months earlier which had brought about the first substantial landing in New Zealand of overseas troops since British regiments in the 1860s. With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Japanese forces moved rapidly south, taking British strongholds such as Hong Kong and Singapore. When some of the visitors wondered where they were, an American on the wharf, one of the advance guard, told them all they needed to know: ‘No Scotch, two per cent beer, but nice folks.’ Some evidently did know what country they had reached, for the first of the newcomers to land on New Zealand soil was Sergeant Nathan E. Cook, chosen in commemoration of the explorer Captain James Cook. The U.S. 37th Division arrived in Auckland in June 1942. They knew then they were not going to fight on another stinking island but have some time to rest and recuperate. Division Orders G-2 G-3 G-4 G-6 6c Transport (2) 1943 U.S. Navy, 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division Wellington, New Zealand Double Concession Airmail to Los Angeles, Calif. Our Mission 2nd Marine Division is a multi-role, expeditionary ground combat force. The majority of New Zealanders who served during World War II served in the Army (127,000). In addition, 9,700 New Zealand women also served in their country’s armed forces. New Zealand families with sons of their own they had not seen, and might not see, for years took in these young American servicemen and gave them homes away from home. Roosevelt agreed, and on 24 March cabled that ‘we are straining every effort’ to send forces as soon as possible. At the same time elements of the 2nd Marine Division that had fought in the Solomons with the 1st Marine Division rejoined the balance of their parent 2nd Marine Division in camps around Wellington. That same month Lt. Gen. A.A. Vandergrift’s 1st Marine Division landed in Wellington in preparation for the planned counteroffensive against the Japanese in the Solomon Islands set for August with landings on Guadalcanal. So on 5 March 1942 Churchill asked Roosevelt to send a division to New Zealand on the condition that the New Zealanders remained in Egypt. Within days British naval strength, for so long New Zealand’s surest bastion, was shown to be vulnerable. Bill Hoover: 2nd Division on Saipan. Eleanor Roosevelt at the American Red Cross establishment at the Hotel Cecil in Wellington, New Zealand, 28-30 Aug 1943. The 2nd Marine Division in WWII: Tinian. To withdraw them would be time-consuming and costly in terms of shipping. Robert Dunlop, who served in the 3rd New Zealand Division (the only New Zealand Army division to serve in the Pacific) before it was disbanded in late 1944, was in Fiji when U.S. Army troops first arrived there before heading off to New Zealand. Others quickly took their place, including the 2nd and 3rd Marine Divisions and members of the 37th, 43rd and … Soon after New Zealand declared war on Germany in 1939, the 2nd New Zealand Division was formed and sent off to fight alongside its British counterparts in Greece, Crete, and  North Africa. MONARCH SIZE. Arriving in June 1942, the Division was alerted for combat operations in the South Pacific. With U.S. entry into World War II, the Pacific became an American theater of operations. He was wounded on Saipan and invalided home for a second time. This film, made the following year, describes their first day ashore through the diary of a private, Bob Hatch. The 2nd Marine Division Association made this clear in the 1960s when it began having its reunions in New Zealand every fifth year. Today, these aging veterans consider New Zealand their second home. The battalion is reassigned to the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade and deploys to garrison Reykjavik, Iceland against German invasion. This site is produced by the History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The 2nd Marine Division was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, 20–24 November 1943: "For outstanding performance in combat during the seizure and occupation of the Japanese-held Atoll of Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, 20 to 24 November 1943. In mid-March the Allies had decided to divide responsibility for their forces into three zones. In 76 hours of some of the bloodiest fighting in American history, the Marines seized that island and opened the door to the Japanese Empire. Here's how some Americans and News Nealanders fell in love. Altogether, 10,130 New Zealanders lost their lives in World War II and another 19,345 were wounded. But the war in the Middle East was delicately balanced, and the New Zealand troops had been trained to fight there. The skies were grey and the water the colour of steel as five transport ships, with a cruiser in front and a destroyer in the rear, sailed into Auckland Harbour unannounced. Nov. 21, 1943 At the behest of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and in agreement with Prime Minister John Curtin of Australia, President Franklin D. Roosevelt directed U.S. Army divisions to Australia in early 1942. Most New Zealanders knew about the United States in those days because of the plethora of Hollywood movies that inundated the country, movies mostly about cowboys and gangsters. Forced by the treacherous coral reefs to disembark from their landing craft hundreds of yards off the beach, the Second Marine … New Zealanders and Australians alike, with most of their fighting men on the other side of the world, felt vulnerable to the new approaching threat. It was some hours before all his comrades of the 145th Regiment, 37th Infantry Division were marched off to the railway station and on to camp. Found out this was incorrect. New Zealanders and Australians alike, with most of their fighting men on th… Had this not happened, Prime Minister Peter Frazer of New Zealand, like John Curtin of Australia, would have been tempted to bring New Zealand forces home. Home Local ferries blasted their horns, passengers waved; the Americans, nurses in blue, soldiers in olive-green, cheered and crammed the city side of one transport so tightly that the ship listed heavily. Links. Meet the NZHistory.net.nz team. The obvious option was to emulate Australia and withdrawing the 2nd New Zealand Division from the Middle East to defend the homeland. This might sound simple enough, but it was not for those unfamiliar with the U.S. military’s way of doing things. G-1. This proved to be the situation for all Allied forces serving in the Pacific under U.S. command. According to official sources, 20 percent of New Zealand’s eligible manpower served in uniform during World War I. They played appropriate pieces – ‘The Stars and Stripes forever’; ‘Colonel Bogey’ – and were quickly answered by sousaphones onboard ship playing Roll out the barrel. Carl Matthews of Dawson, Texas, was 16 when he enlisted in the Marine Corps before Pearl Harbor and was a member of that first Marine brigade sent to Pago Pago in January 1942.
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