January's Marine Corps History

• On January 10, 1995 * the Pentagon deployed 2,600 U.S. Marines to Somalia for Operation United Shield

• On January 11, 1945 * the first elements of Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 24, commanded by Colonel Lyle H. Meyer, arrived at Lingayen, Luzon in the Philippines to provide air support for US Army forces.

• On January 16, 1991 * Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as allied coalition forces launched an all-out attack air campaign against targets in Iraq and occupied Kuwait in an effort to liberate Kuwait.

• On January 18, 1951 * Marines with the 1st Division began operations against guerrillas near Pohang, South Korea.

• On January 20, 1968 * through the next 77 days, until April 6, the Marines and their South Vietnamese allies, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), fought off the siege in what was the longest, and one of the bloodiest, battles in the war.

• On January 21, 1918 * the 1st Aeronautical Company arrived at Ponta Delgada, Azores, for anti-submarine duty. This unit was one of the first completely equipped American aviation units to serve overseas in World War I.

• On January 22, 1969 * Operation Dewey Canyon, arguably the most successful high-mobility regimental-size action of the Vietnam War, began in the A Shau/Da Krong Valleys, commanded by Colonel Robert H. Barrow.

• On January 25, 1866 * Marines and sailors from the American sloop Decatur went ashore at the village of Seattle, Washington, to protect settlers from raids by the local native population.

• On January 27, 1988 * approximately 400 Marines and sailors from the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 2nd Force Service Support Group deployed for the Persian Gulf.

• On January 29, 1991 * the first serious ground-combat of Operation Desert Storm broke out when Iraqi troops mounted an attack into Saudi Arabia along a 40-mile front.