Photo By Gunnery Sgt. Jesus Sepulveda Torres | The 3rd Marine Regiment sign is shown on Bougainville Day, Marine Corps Base Hawaii,...... read more read more
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On Nov. 1, 1943, U.S. Marines with 3rd Marine Regiment (3rd Marines) boarded their landing craft and made way for their second confrontation after Guadalcanal to Empress Augusta Bay on the island of Bougainville. Facing a larger force of Imperial Japanese soldiers, and with the unit’s creation only a year prior, these Marines were ready for a bloody fight.
Clearing the beachhead alongside their 3rd Marine Division sister units and pushing back the enemy took 52 days of fierce fighting. After the smoke had cleared, the Regiment had taken this heavily fortified island earning high prestige for the unit and receiving four Medals of Honor for Marines’ valor and courage during this campaign.
Exactly 74 years later on the anniversary of that beach assault, 3rd Marines commemorated the event as Bougainville Day, honoring the lineage of the Marines that fought at the Battle of Bougainville, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Nov. 1, 2017.
Sgt. Maj. Alfonso Via, the regimental sergeant major, said the day’s celebration began with a motivational run with 3rd Marine Division leaders.
“Leading us in our unit’s Bougainville Day was the division commanding general, Maj. Gen. Craig Timberlake,” said Via. “The regiment ended the run at 7:30 a.m., which coincided with the time that Marines landed at Empress Augusta Bay.”
Via said the purpose for the run was to instill a sense of comradery among the Marines and motivate them for Bougainville Day.
“The run wasn’t meant to be for exercising, but to have everyone out together and be motivated as a regiment,” Via said. “This run with the commanding general and regiment is to kick off the rest of the events happening today.”
Col. Michael Styskal, the commanding officer of 3rd Marines, said after the run, the regiment conducted a battle colors ceremony celebrating the 75th birthday of the regiment and the 74th anniversary of the Battle at Bougainville.
“The battle colors ceremony is a time honored tradition where we read out our lineage and honors of past battles and campaigns, while also decreeing today as Bougainville Day,” said Styskal. “After the ceremony we held a cake cutting at the chow hall to celebrate our birthday and Bougainville. As a key battle in the Pacific campaign, Marines fought every step of the way, and after 52 days, defeated the enemy forces there, earning four Medals of Honor.”
During the ceremony, retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Frank Bendrick, a representative with the Naval Order of the United States presented Styskal with a battle drum from the early 20th century.
“Every generation builds off the previous generation and I want the younger Marines to see that this drum is part of their lineage,” he said. “I was tasked with returning and presenting the drum from the Naval Order of the United States back to the regiment.”
Styskal said the drum and festivities is geared towards his Marines and instilling a sense of pride in being 3rd Marines.
“I hope the Marines take from this day a sense of lineage and what it means to be with this regiment,” he said. “I hope all the battalions learn today of the Marines that have come before us and that they are following in their footsteps.”
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.03.2017 19:53 |
| Story ID: | 254083 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 209 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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