Wwii Named Purple Heart Grouping 2nd Marine Div.

Named WWII 2nd marine Division Uniform Grouping with a named and cased Purple Heart. The uniform jacket is adorned with a 2nd Marine Division Patch as well as an early White Diamond Discharge SSI. The tunic also has PFC Stripes and standard enlisted EGA's to the collar. The breast has a Marksmanship Badge and a four place Ribbon Bar. In the pocket are three Cased Medals to match the Ribbon Bars including a Cased and Named Purple Heart awarded to Mac Hianerna USMC. as well as a Sterling ID Bracelet named to him also. Excellent. Major General Clayton B. Vogel, its first commander, activated the 2nd Marine Division at a parade and review at the Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California, during a sunny Saturday afternoon of 1 February 1941. The division consisted of the 2nd, 6th, and 8th Marine Regiments (infantry); the 10th Marine Regiment (artillery); engineer, medical, service, and tank battalions; and transport, signal, chemical, and antiaircraft machine gun companies. By mid-1941, because of the growing threat of a German invasion to Iceland, the 6th Marine Regiment, a battalion from 10th Marines and other scattered units were pulled from the division and sent to garrison Reykjavík. After the outbreak of war the 8th Marine Regiment with an assortment of other division assets formed the 2nd Marine Brigade and were dispatched to garrison American Samoa. During World War II, the 2nd Marine Division (Headquarters) participated in operations in the Pacific Theater of Operations:The Guadalcanal campaign, in the Solomon Islands campaign – 4 January to 8 February 1943. 2nd Marines, reinforced: Guadalcanal–Tulagi landings, 7 to 9 August 1942; capture and defense of Guadalcanal, 10 August 1942 to 31 January 1943. 8th Marines, reinforced: capture and defense of Guadalcanal, 2 November 1942 to 8 February 1943. The Battle of Tarawa, in the Gilbert Islands campaign – 20 November to 4 December 1943. The Battle of Saipan, in the Mariana Islands campaign – 15 June to 24 July 1944. The Battle of Tinian – 24 July to 10 August 1944. The Battle of Okinawa (floating reserve) – 1 to 10 April 1945. Detachment of Headquarters and the 8th Marines, reinforced – 1 to 30 June 1945. Elements of the division were part of the occupation of Nagasaki, arriving twenty-five days after the nuclear strike. The 2nd and 8th Marines (reinforced by other units of the 2nd Marine Division) were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation while attached to the 1st Marine Division from 7 August and 4 November 1942, respectively, for the Guadalcanal operation. 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. Forced by the treacherous coral reefs to disembark from their landing craft hundreds of yards off the beach, the Second Marine Division (Reinforced) became a highly vulnerable target for devastating Japanese fire. Dauntlessly advancing in spite of rapidly mounting losses, the Marines fought a gallant battle against crushing odds, clearing the limited beachheads of snipers and machine guns, reducing powerfully fortified enemy positions and completely annihilating the fanatically determined and strongly entrenched Japanese forces. By the successful occupation of Tarawa, the Second Marine Division (Reinforced) has provided our forces with highly strategic and important air and land bases from which to continue future operations against the enemy; by the valiant fighting spirit of these men, their heroic fortitude under punishing fire and their relentless perseverance in waging this epic battle in the Central Pacific, they have upheld the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service." During the war two Seabee battalions were posted to the 2nd. The 18th Naval Construction Battalion (NCB) was assigned to the 18th Marines as the third battalion of the regiment. They received a Presidential Unit Citation for doing Tarawa with the 2nd Marine Division but also did Saipan and Tinian as well. The 18th Marines were inactivated and the Seabees stayed on Tinian to work on the airfield. They were replaced by the 71st NCB for the 2nd's assault on Okinawa.