15th Marine Regiment (United States)

The 15th Marine Regiment (15th Marines) is an inactive United States Marine Corps infantry and later artillery regiment.

Infantry regiment
The 15th Marines was first organized on November 26, 1918 as an infantry regiment. It was deployed to the Dominican Republic on February 26, 1919 and saw action against Dominican rebels during the American occupation of the Dominican Republic. Having been organized for possible deployment to Europe in the event that hostilities resumed, the 15th Marines remained on garrison duty in the Dominican Republic and was deactivated on August 1, 1922, and its assets were absorbed into the 1st and 4th Regiments.

Artillery regiment
The 15th Marines was reactivated as an artillery regiment on October 23, 1944 on Guadalcanal, and assigned to the 6th Marine Division. It was formed by combining Pack Howitzer Battalions from the 4th, 22nd, and the 29th Marines. They were redesignated 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions, respectively. The 4th Battalion was activated on November 14, 1944. The regiment saw heavy action fighting on Okinawa and the 6th Division received the Presidential Unit Citation for their actions during the battle.

The Regiment was withdrawn from Okinawa after it was declared secure in July 1945 and was redeployed to Guam to prepare for the invasion of Japan. After the surrender of the Japanese, the Regiment was sent to Tsingtao, China to accept the surrender of the Japanese in that area. The 15th Marines remained in China until its deactivation on March 26, 1946.

Notable members

 * Harold Gonsalves - posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions during the Battle of Okinawa.