Company C, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines

Company C, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines
Unit name	Company C, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines
Dates	1944–1946
Country	United States
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Type	Infantry
Role	Rifle company
Command structure	2nd Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division

Company C, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines

Company C, 2nd Battalion, 28th Marines was a rifle company of the United States Marine Corps formed during World War II as part of the 28th Marine Regiment in the 5th Marine Division. The company trained for amphibious assault and expeditionary warfare for operations in the Pacific Ocean Theater, culminating in participation in the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. Its personnel served under regimental, divisional, and corps command echelons drawn from the United States Fleet Marine Force and supported joint operations with elements of the United States Navy and United States Army.

Formation and Organization

Company C was constituted during the wartime expansion of the United States Marine Corps in 1944 and assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 28th Marine Regiment, itself part of the newly formed 5th Marine Division. The company organized along standard Marine rifle company tables of organization and equipment used by Fleet Marine Force Pacific units, with rifle platoons, weapons squads, and support elements designed for assault operations similar to those practiced at Camp Pendleton, Camp Lejeune, and Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. Training emphasized coordination with Naval Gunfire Support, Close Air Support provided by United States Army Air Forces, and combined arms doctrine refined through exercises at Hawaii staging areas such as Camp Tarawa and Mokuleia ranges.

World War II Service

After activation, Company C participated in intensive amphibious and live-fire training cycles intended to prepare regiments for the anticipated invasion of Japanese-held islands in the Central Pacific Campaign. The 28th Marine Regiment completed embarkation procedures aboard attack transports and trained with amphibious tractors coordinated by Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner's amphibious forces and with carrier-based aviation drawn from task forces under Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Unit movements involved staging through Pearl Harbor and logistical coordination with Rear Adm. Kelly Turner's assault shipping and Seventh Fleet elements. Company C's tactical preparation reflected lessons from earlier operations at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan.

Battle of Iwo Jima

Company C took part in the 28th Regiment's assault during the Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February–26 March 1945), an operation planned by Joint Chiefs of Staff directives and executed within the Marianas and Bonin Islands campaign. During the landing phase, the company assaulted heavily fortified positions on the beaches under intense fire from entrenched defenders of the Imperial Japanese Army and positions overseen by commanders following doctrines established after the Battle of Okinawa. Company C advanced inland toward objectives designated by the 28th Regiment, engaging in close-quarters combat amid volcanic terrain, bunker networks, and cave systems linked to defensive plans influenced by Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi. The company operated in concert with neighboring units from 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 28th Regiment, coordinated supporting fires from battleship and cruiser gunfire, and received tactical resupply via landing craft and naval logistics under wartime constraints. Actions by members of Company C contributed to the regiment's capture of key features on the island and were contemporaneous with iconic events involving the Flag Raising on Iwo Jima photographed by Joe Rosenthal and widely reported by news outlets such as Associated Press and United Press International.

Postwar Activities and Deactivation

Following Victory over Japan Day and the end of hostilities, Company C participated in occupation-related duties, casualty evacuation, and consolidation of local security while the 5th Marine Division prepared for redeployment. The unit processed personnel rotations, demobilization procedures guided by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal's postwar policies, and administrative transfers under Bureau of Naval Personnel authority. In the broader postwar reorganization of the United States Armed Forces and in line with reductions mandated by the National Security Act of 1947 planning, the 28th Marine Regiment and its subordinate companies, including Company C, were deactivated during the immediate postwar drawdown, with veterans returning to civilian life across the United States.

Unit Honors and Decorations

Individual Marines and collective elements of the 28th Marine Regiment received campaign credits and decorations for service in the Pacific Theater and the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal eligibility period, including unit citations tied to actions at Iwo Jima. Members of Company C were eligible for awards administered by the Department of the Navy, such as the Purple Heart for combat injuries sustained during the assault and other decorations like the Bronze Star Medal for valor in ground combat. The regiment's actions were recognized in official histories produced by the Naval History and Heritage Command and chronicled in unit postwar records held by the National Archives and Records Administration.

Legacy and Commemoration

The service of Company C contributed to the collective legacy of the 28th Marine Regiment and the 5th Marine Division remembered in memorials such as the Marine Corps War Memorial inspired by the Iwo Jima flag-raising, exhibits at the National World War II Museum, and veterans' reunions coordinated by organizations like the Marine Corps Association and various veterans' organizations. Scholarly treatments of the Battle of Iwo Jima and regimental accounts appear in works by historians associated with the United States Army Center of Military History and independent authors featured in military history publications and archives at institutions including the Library of Congress and university special collections. The company's wartime record endures in oral histories, unit rosters, and commemorative ceremonies observed on anniversaries of the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Category:Infantry units and formations of the United States Marine Corps Category:United States Marine Corps in World War II