They fought in the Pacific Theater in World War II, most notably at the battles of Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa.

Gunnery Sergeant Fred W. Stockham voluntarily gave up his own gas mask to a platoonmate and was later awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for that action.

The next day, the 6th Marine Regiment stepped off, advancing alone from Vierzy toward Tigny, but was stopped short of the objective by intense artillery and machinegun fire.

First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates (a future commandant of the Marine Corps) reported only about two dozen of more than 400 men survived and added "...

Two Navy medical personnel attached to the 6th Regiment received Medals of Honor for their actions at Soissons: future admiral Joel T. Boone and corpsman John H.

[9] After a month-long rest, the Marines were assigned to the U.S. First Army to participate in the first "all-American" push, a double envelopment to eliminate the St. Mihiel salient.

The push began early on 12 September, and the initial attack carried virtually all of the division's objectives before noon that day.

Here the Marines successfully captured their objectives after bloody fighting, and with support from the 36th Division fought off German counterattacks until the flanking French units were able to catch up to the American advance.

The 2nd and 36th Divisions then advanced and captured a German strongpoint at St. Etienne, after which the 2nd was withdrawn from the line to regroup and returned to American command.

[11] For the actions at Belleau Wood, Soissons, and Blanc Mont, the 6th Marine Regiment was awarded the French croix de guerre three times.

When the armistice on 11 November 1918, ended active hostilities, the 6th Regiment was assigned to the U.S. Third Army to spearhead the Allied march from France through Belgium and Luxembourg to Coblenz, Germany.

[12] The 6th Marines was deactivated at Quantico on 13 August 1919 after victoriously parading through the streets of New York City and Washington, D.C. Thomas Boyd's novel Through The Wheat.

Together, these storied units conducted training and made national headlines by participating in a series of much-heralded summer maneuvers that recreated famous Civil War battles (Wilderness, Gettysburg, Antietam, and New Market) using modern tactics and equipment.

[18] Next on the slate was Operation Forager, the capture of the Mariana Islands, which would put American forces within bomber range of Japan.

Machine gunner PFC Harold G. Epperson sacrificed his own life by diving on a grenade on 25 June and received a posthumous Medal of Honor for that action.

After that, the regiment drove north up the west side of the island through the coastal town of Garapan and on toward Tanapag where the Marines mopped up following the largest Japanese "Banzai" attack of the war.

The regiment spent a couple of weeks clearing out bypassed enemy and concurrently prepared to seize nearby Tinian in July.

During that fighting, PFC Robert L. Wilson covered a live grenade with his body to protect his comrades and earned a posthumous Medal of Honor.

There, the regiment alternated searching for Japanese holdouts, conducting small unit training, and improving habitability while preparing for Operation Iceberg, the seizure of Okinawa which would serve as the final stepping stone on the long road to Tokyo.

The 6th Marines made an administrative landing in Japan for occupation duty in September 1945 and remained there for almost a year before returning stateside.

When trouble broke out in Lebanon in July 1958, the Third Battalion, and Sixth Marines landed within fifteen hours after receipt of orders.

The 6th Marines conducted the northernmost breach of the infamous Saddam Line on 24 February 1991 then advanced to a key objective known as the Ice Tray.

The cease fire found the 6th Marines securely lodged at the base of Mutla Ridge blocking a major exit from Kuwait City.

During the first part of 2004, Battalion Landing Team 1/6 deployed to Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

RCT-6 Headquarters was located at FOB Delaram, AFG with Marines from the unit at Combat Out Post (COP) and Patrol Bases (PB) to support subordinate commands.

In the 2011 video game L.A Noire, the protagonist Cole Phelps and several other characters served in the 6th Marines during World War 2.