13th Marine Regiment (United States)

13th Marine Regiment
13th Marine Regiment Insignia
Active	1916 – 19; 1943 – 46; 1966 – 70
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Type	Infantry (1916-19) Artillery (1943-46; 1966-70)
Part of	5th Marine Division
Garrison/HQ	Deactivated
Engagements	World War II Battle of Okinawa Vietnam War Battle of Khe Sanh Battle of Kham Duc Operation Taylor Common
Commanders
Notable commanders	Major General Smedley Butler

The 13th Marine Regiment (13th Marines) is an inactivate United States Marine Corps infantry and later artillery regiment.

World War I

The 13th Marines was formed on July 3, 1916, as an infantry regiment. It embarked for France in late 1918 and served in Brest until it was deactivated on September 1, 1919.

World War II

On December 11, 1943, the regiment was reactivated and redesignated as an artillery regiment. The 13th Marines played an important role in securing Iwo Jima. On February 6, 1946, it was again inactivated.

Vietnam War

The 13th Marines were reactivated on May 1, 1966. In August 1967 1st Battalion, 13th Marines was deployed to South Vietnam.Battery "A" 1-13 participated in amphibious operations as part of SLF(Special Landing Force)26 and later BLT 1-26 in support of 1st Bn 26th Marine Regiment.

Battle of Khe Sanh

Battery A 1-13 was the primary supporting arm of 1st Battalion 26th Marines. Both were originally under the 5th Marine Division on Iwo Jima but in Vietnam were Op Con to 3rd Marines. A-1-13 made several amphibious landings in Vietnam,as part of BLT 1-26 in Operations Deckhouse Three, Deckhouse Five, and Prairie near the DMZ under the command of Captain Richard W. Bailey and were known as "Bailey's Raiders." A-1-13 was deployed to Hill 55 in late October 1966 and Captain John "Jack" V. Brennan relieved RW Bailey in January 1967. On 11 May 1967, Brennan's Bandits deployed to Khe Sanh just after the "Hill Battles." On 27 June 1967 at 0030h A-1-13 was targeted my NVA mortars and suffered 2 KIA (killed in action) and 30 WIA (wounded in action). Brennan's Bandits under the command of its wounded Skipper fired counter-battery fire and silenced the mortars. A-1-13 was the only artillery battery at Khe Sanh defending the base as the NVA began its buildup for the siege. In August 1967 Captain Dennis L. Pardee took command and renamed the battery "Pardees Pirates." August 67, HQ 1st Battalion arrived at Khe Sanh. Captain Pardee led A-1-13 through the siege until 29 February 1968. Pardee was also wounded during the siege. A-1-13 had 11 more KIA's and over 60 WIA's. Bravo and Charlie 1-13 were at Khe Sanh during the siege as 2nd Battalion, 26th Marines, 3rd Battalion 26th Marine Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 9th Marines ("The Walking Dead") joined the fight. At the Siege of Khe Sahn January 1968 -April 1968, all of the batteries of 1st Bn 13th Marines were reunited for the first time since Iwo Jima. On 8 February 1970 1st Battalion, 13th Marines celebrated firing its 700,000th round. On 30 April 1970, 1st Battalion, 13th Marines was deactivated. Alpha Battery 1-13 fired the last artillery rounds in Vietnam with 53 confirmed kills 21 of which were on the last day before deploying to Da Nang to return to CONUS. Of all the batteries in 13th Marines, "A" Battery fired the most rounds<Command Chronologies 1-26 and 1-13 including Muster Rolls A-1-13 Sept 1966; AA reports>

June–October 1966, the Regimental Headquarters, 2nd Battalion, and 4th Battalion were reactivated and commenced an extensive training program. In January 1967, 3rd Battalion was reactivated.

1967 Command Chronologies 1/13, 4/12, and 1/12 and Kilo Battery

According to the Command Chronology for (HQ) headquarters, 1st Bn battalion, 13th Marines (1/13) for January 1967, Kilo 4/13 was listed as a subordinate unit located on Okinawa. Captain Duncan Jones was listed as the K/4/13 commander until January 27, when Jay Evans assumed command.

On Jan 1st, the Battalion commander, Lt Col R.L.Christian, two officers and 33 enlisted were TAD to the Special Landing Force as FDC Fire Direction Center personnel for Deckhouse 5. On the 23rd, the battery embarked to Fuji for the scheduled 17-day exercise.

On February 20 the advanced party for Kilo’s Fire Exercise at Fuji departed.

The March Command Chronologies for 1/13 said Lieutenant Colonel Christian visited Kilo’s FireEx(Fire Exercise) at Fuji with the Battery undergoing day and night training and achieved a C-1 rating. The report says that Kilo returned to Okinawa on 10 March. It goes on to say that on 24 March, Jay Evans went temporary additional duty" (TAD) to HQ 3rd Division and Kilo Battery 4/12 in regards to proposed replacement of K/4/12 with K/4/13. He returned on 30 March.

On 16 April, Jay Evans and the advanced party departed for Vietnam with the rest of the Battery departing on the 19th.

4/12 had administrative control for the Battery in Vietnam Lt Col Duncan Jones, the old Kilo Battery Commanding Officer, was listed as the 4/12 commanding officer(CO). It had Captain Dave Cadiz as CO of K/4/12. The 4/12 report says that on “30 April, K/4/12 rotated to Okinawa and was replaced by K/4/13”.

For 1/13 and they list Cadiz’s Battery (btry) in Okinawa as “K”Btry 4/13, with parenthesis on the “K”. The report said that battery was redesignated as “4/13” on arrival in Okinawa. So the belief that we assumed their K/4/12 designation in Vietnam was wide spread.

The May Command Chronology of 4/12 states that on “6 May, K/4/13 was redesignated K/4/12 “resulting from the transplacement of the two batteries”.

The July Command Chronology for 1/13 states that 1/13 and all units except K/4/12 embarked for Vietnam.

The August Command Chronology for 2/12 gives the date of August 3, 1967, for the change of command from Jay Evans to Frank Bendrick.

In January 1968, The Regiment supported and mounted out 2nd Battalion to WestPac.

On September 15, 1968, the 2nd Battalion returned from (WestPac) Commander Western Pacific. While in Vietnam, the 2nd Battalion fired over 170,000 rounds of 107mm & 105mm ordnance in support of friendly forces. In addition, the 2nd Battalion trained Vietnamese cannoneers for the Republic of Vietnam Artillery Battalion. Casualties: The 2nd Battalion suffered 21 KIA & 59 WIA while inflicting a confirmed 947 KIA on the enemy.

During the months of December 1968 and January 1969, the Regiment supported and mounted out a platoon of to WestPac.

Additional activities included many BLT, RLT, and Division exercises, and host support to Marine Corps Reserve units.

On October 15, 1969, The Regimental Headquarters, 2nd Battalion, and 4th Battalion were "deactivated."

Insignia

The insignia of the 13th Marine Regiment is that of the 5th Marine Division, differenced by adjusting the charges to surmount crossed artillery cannons all below a banner of gold inscribed "THIRTEENTH MARINES" of scarlet and a 1936-type Marine Corps emblem of gold in the chief (top) of the shield. (From "U.S. Marine Corps Ground Unit Insignia."){{Multiple issues|