Address by Regimental Commander

Fourteenth Marines
Fourth Marine Division
Fleet Marine Force

It gives me much pride to be able to speak to so many of you on this program which is both a celebration of peace and a service of humble devotion to those officers and men of the 14th who were no longer with us as we returned from Roi-Namur, from Saipan and Tinian and from Iwo Jima. To them, individually and collectively, we each owe a deep debt of gratitude. It is by the action of such men that the Marine Corps has won the reputation of being one of the fightingest forces that the world has ever known. I am sure that you all join me in the wish that never again will Marines be called upon to lay down their lives as they have done for the past three and one-half years.

To refresh the memory of those of you who have been with the regiment from the time of its' activation and for the information of you who have joined us since, I would like to repeat the high-lights in the history of the Regiment.

The Battalions were each activated or changed designation on the following dates:


1 May, 1943 -- 1/14 (75mm) Activated at New River.
26 March, 1943 -- 2/14 (75mm) Activated at Camp Pendleton.
20 February, 1943 -- 3/14 (75mm) Changed its designation from 3/12 at New River.
25/9 July 1943 -- 4/14 (105mm) Activated at Camp Pendleton.
1 June, 1943 -- 14th Regiment activated at New River.
14 August, 1943 -- East coast units arrive Camp Pendleton and move into Area 17, for the record, "I believe that we will soon see Area 17 again."
October, 1943 -- Maneuvers in the Desert at Camp Niland.
December, 1943 -- Maneuvers off San Clemente.
6 January, 1944 -- LST group departed States.
31 January, 1944 -- Assault on Marshall Islands began.
3 February, 1944 -- Islands secured.
Regiment expended 9,431 rounds and suffered the following casualties:
Killed in Action: 4;
Wounded and Evacuated 5;
Wounded & not Evacuated 3;
Sick and Evacuated 6;
Missing in Action 1;
A total of 19 Casualties.

12 February, 1944 -- Regiment less 1/14 had its first look at Camp Maui. (It was raining then and has been ever since.)
10 March, 1944 -- 1/14 arrived Camp Maui.
14 May, 1944 -- Regiment embarked at Kahului.
15 June, 1944 -- Regiment landed at Saipan.
9 July, 1944 -- At 1615, Saipan declared secured.
Regiment expended 135,000 rounds of ammunition and suffered the following casualties:
Killed in Action 55;
Wounded and Evacuated 183;
Wounded & not Evacuated 81;
Sick and Evacuated 81;
Total of 416 Casualties.

10 to 23 July, 1944 -- Period was spent rehabilitating and preparing for the landing on Tinian.
15 Jul, 1944 -- 3/14. 4/14, 5/14 (V Corps artillery) were attached to 24th Corps Artillery to support the landing from positions on southern tip of Saipan. 1/10 and 2/10 were attached to 14th Marines for the Tinian landing.
24 July, 1944 -- Regiment as described above landed on Tinian.
25 July, 1944 -- The C.P. of 1/14 suffered a direct hit which killed 10 officers and men including the Battalion Commander.
1 August, 1944 -- Tinian declared secured.
Regiment fired 50,000 rounds and suffered the following casualties:
Killed in Action 16;
Wounded and Evacuated 28;
Wounded & not Evacuated 55;
Sick and Evacuated 49;
A total of 148 casualties.

5 to 24 August, 1944 -- Elements of the Regiment aboard various ships enroute to Camp Maui.
25 August, 1944 -- Regiment arrived Camp Maui.
3 January, 1945 -- Regiment again embarked from Kahului.
27 January, 1945 -- Sailed from Pearl Harbor.
19 February, 1945 -- 1/14 and 2/14 land at Iwo Jima.
20 February, 1945 -- H & S 3/14 and 4/14 land at Iwo Jima.
16 March, 1945 -- Iwo Jima Declared secured.
Commandant of the Marine Corps calls Iwo Jima the most bitter battle in Marine Corps History.
Regiment fired 156,000 rounds and suffered the following casualties:
Killed in Action 55;
Wounded and Evacuated 146;
Wounded and Not Evacuated 71;
Sick and Evacuated 53;
A total of 324 casualties.

20 March, 1945 -- Regiment sailed from Iwo Jima enroute to Maui.
5 April, 1945 -- Arrived at Maui.
8 May, 1945 -- V - E Day declared by President.
10 August, 1945 -- Japanese request terms of surrender.
14 August, 1945 -- Japanese accept surrender terms.
16 August, 1945 -- The Commanding General, Major General C. B. Cates, declared the Regimental colors with the Presidential Unit Citation and Battle Streamer with three Stars.
1 September, 1945 -- Japan formally signs surrender aboard Admiral Halsey's Flagship.

The Regiment has been in contact with the enemy 64 days, and during that period has expended 350,000 rounds or approximately 17,000,000 pounds for an average of 5500 rounds per day.

Now that Japan has formally accepted surrender many of you will be prone to consider your job completed. Is it fully completed? It may very probably be that some further duties may be required of us and I would much prefer that you be prepared mentally for one more trip west and be surprised by orders to return to the States and your homes than to be disappointed by finding that more is required of us.

This Regiment has rightly won the reputation of being one of the best artillery regiments ever assembled. That reputation must be maintained to the very day that we are de-activated and I believe the reasons therefore can best be presented by reading to you a pertinent dispatch from the Secretary of the Navy.

"ALL HANDS OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY MARINE CORPS AND COAST GUARD MAY TAKE SATISFACTION IN THE CONCLUSION OF THE WAR AGAINST JAPAN AND PRIDE IN THE PART PLAYED BY THEM IN ACCOMPLISHING THAT RESULT
THE DEMOBILIZATION OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE RETURN TO CONDITIONS OF PEACE WILL CREATE PROBLEMS TAXING PATIENCE AND CONTROL ALMOST AS GREAT AS THE TENSIONS OF WAR
I ASK THAT THE DISCIPLINE WHICH HAS SERVED SO WELL TO BRING THIS DEMOCRACY THROUGH HOURS OF GREAT CRISIS BE MAINTAINED TO THE END THAT NOTHING SHALL MAR THE RECORD OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AND GLORY THAT NOW BELONGS TH THE NAVY MARINE CORPS AND COAST GUARD
JAMES FORRESTAL"

In closing I wnat to express appreciation to each of you for the splendid manner in which you have carried out your allotted tasks, regardless of danger, and also to tell you that I have taken extreme pride in being the original Commanding Officer, the Regimental Executive Officer during all four of our landings and finally winding up as your Regimental Commander. It is the good fortune of very few officers to have been so closely associated with such a fine group as we have had in the 14th marines.

Thank You.

R.M. Victory
Colonal, U.S. Marines Corps.
Commanding.