The 6th Marine Regiment has a rich history steeped in courage and honor. The timeline below offers a quick insight into some of the most significant events in which the Fightin' Sixth has played a distinct role. Please click HERE for information on the Fourragere and its significance to the Regiment. We will soon be posting additional information to our Lineage and Honors page. Please continue to check back often for updates.
6 April 1917
US declares war on Germany and its allies.
11 July 1917
6th Marine Regiment activated at Quantico, Virginia
15 March - 13 May 1918
6th Regiment enters active combat, Toulon sector, Verdun
31 May - 5 June 1918
Aisne Defensive, Chateau-Thierry Sector (Capture of Hill 142, Bouresches, Belleau Wood)
5th Marines and 6th Marines – 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood – Awarded the Fourragere aux couleurs de la Croix de guerre with palm leaf three times.
18-19 July 1918
Aisne-Marne Offensive (Soissons)
12-16 September 1918
St. Mihiel Offensive (vicinity of Thiaucourt, Xammes, and Joulay)
14 October 1918
Meuse-Argonne Offensive (Champagne), including capture of Blanc Mont Ridge and St. Tienne.
1-11 November 1918
Continuation of Meuse-Argonne Offensive
11 November 1918
Armistice ends hostilities in World War I
17 Nov – 10 Dec 1918
March from the Meuse River in France to Rhine River for occupation duty in Germany.
13 August 1919
6th Regiment deactivated at Quantico, Virginia
15 September 1921
6th Regiment reactivated at Quantico, Virginia
23 September 1922
83d Company, 3d Battalion, 6th Regiment, represented USMC at opening of Brazilian Exposition, Rio de Janeiro.
June 1924 - March 1925
Elements of 6th Regiment participated in expeditionary duty in Cuba and Dominican Republic.
15 March 1925
6th Regiment deactivated at Quantico, Virginia
26 March 1927
6th Regiment reactivated at Philadelphia Navy Yard for duty in China.
1927 - 1929
Duty in China.
31 March 1929
6th Regiment deactivated at San Diego, California
01 September 1934
6th Marines reactivated at San Diego, California
28 August 1937
6th Marines sailed for China on USS Chaumont
18 February 1938
6th Marines departed China for San Diego
31 May 1941
6th Marines sailed from San Diego for Iceland
07 July 1941
Transports bearing 1st Marine Brigade (Provisional), including the 6th Marines, reached Reykjavik, Iceland.
07 December 1941
Japan attacked U.S. Forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the U.S. into World War II .
31 January 1942
3d Battalion, 6th Marines, departed Iceland for the U.S.
09 March 1942
Last elements of 6th Marines departed Iceland.
30 March 1942
All elements of 6th Marines were again together, at Camp Elliott, near San Diego .
19 October 1942
6th Marines departed U.S. for New Zealand.
01 November 1942
Elements of 6th Marines began arriving in New Zealand.
26 December 1942
2d Marine Division, including 6th Marines, departed New Zealand for Guadalcanal .
04 January 1943
6th Marines landed on Guadalcanal to help replace elements of the 1st Marine Division.
19 February 1943
6th Marines began embarking on ships for movement back to New Zealand.
21 November 1943
Late in the day (D + 1), elements of 6th Marines began landing on Tarawa to reinforce units already fighting there.
23 November 1943
Tarawa declared secured; 6th Marines, less 2d Battalion, began preparing for re-embarkation.
26 November 1943
2d Battalion, 6th Marines, completed mopping-up of remaining islands of Tarawa Atoll.
Dec 1943 - May 1944
6th Marines, along with the rest of the 2d Marine Division, reequipped and trained replacements at Camp Tarawa in Hawaii.
25 May 1944
6th Marines departed Pearl Harbor enroute to Saipan in the Marianas.
15 June - 10 July 1944
6th Marines participated in the battle for Saipan.
24 July - 1 August 1944
6th Marines participated in the battle for Tinian.
01 April 1945
6th Marines participated in a turn-away landing on Okinawa before returning to Saipan.
06 August 1945
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, followed three days later by a second bomb dropped on Nagasaki.
14 August 1945
President Harry S. Truman announced the surrender of Japan.
22 September 1945
2d Marine Division arrived in Japan for occupation duty.
15 July 1946
6th Marines arrived at Camp Pendleton, California for duty with 3d Marine Brigade. (The remainder of the 2d Marine Division went to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.)
16 September 1947
3d Brigade disbanded; 6th Marines transferred to 1st Marine Division.
01 October 1947
6th Marines temporarily disbanded.
10 October 1947
6th Marines reactivated at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, as par t of 2d Marine Division.
6th Marines sent virtually all units and personnel to 1st Marine Division for Korea, and then began rebuilding the regiment.
15 July 1958
3d Battalion, 6th Marines, as part of 2d Provisional Marine Brigade, landed at Beirut, Lebanon to intervene in a civil war.
29 September 1958
The reinforced 6th Marines arrived in Beirut, while the 3d Battalion, 6th Marines, departed for the continental U.S.
18 October 1958
All Marine units departed Lebanon.
Elements of the 6th Marines embarked in amphibious ships during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
28 April - 6 June 1965
3d Battalion, 6th Marines, landed in the Dominican Republic to intervene in a civil war. Other elements of the regiment deployed to the Dominican Republic shortly afterwards.
6th Marines participated in a long series of training exercises at Camp Lejeune, other bases within the United States, and during numerous deployments with the fleet to the Caribbean, Norway, and the Mediterranean.
Elements of 2d Battalion, 6th Marines, transferred to Beirut, Lebanon, as replacements for Marine casualties.
Jan 1989 – Jun 1990
Elements deployed to Panama.
24 Dec 1990 – 10 April 1991
6th Marines participated in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm
July – October 1994
Elements participated in support of Operation Sea Signal, Cuba
Nov 2001 - Present
Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan
March 2005 – Oct 2009
Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq