WW II-USMC 4th Division TB02

Please drop this item in rural OR Premium Member Only caches.  Do not place it in an urban cache or abandon it at a caching event.  Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean and prevents tangling with other items.  Otherwise, take the travel bug anywhere you wish.  No permission is needed to leave the U.S.

Photos in the travel bug logs are appreciated.  I will be re-post them here, where they can be seen by other cachers.

Replica Shoulder Patch.  I have great respect for all the men and women who have served in the armed forces.  However, I hold the Marine Corps in the highest regard.  It stems some from their legendary exploits in WW II (my father's generation), but also from my contact with them after they served.  I have known them as my own classmates and teachers in high school and college, as administrators and colleagues in my professional life and as recreational companions.  I have also socialized with more than a few because some years ago my wife taught at the Marine Military Academy, in Harlingen, TX.  Every one of those men fought at some place like Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Iwo Jima or Okinawa.  And several also served in Korea and survived the Chosin Reservoir.  To a person they (even those never having seen combat) believe they are part of something so much larger than themselves.  I use the present tense advisedly becaue I have learned there is no such thing as an ex-marine.  This particular TB is to honor the 4^th Division of the USMC.

The 4th Marine Division is presently a reserve division in the USMC.  It is the ground combat element headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana and has units throughout the United States.  This division was formed by the organization and redesignation of several other units from other divisions.  It was formally activated on August 14, 1943 at Camp Pendleton.
 
After intensive training, it shipped out on 13 January 1944, and in 13 months made four major amphibious assaults, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima, suffering more than 17,000 casualties. It was awarded two Presidential Unit Citations and a Navy Unit Commendation, and then deactivated 28 November 1945.
 
The division patch worn on Saipan had a gold “4” on a scarlet background, the official colors of the U.S. Marine Corps. The emblem was designed by SSgt John Fabion, a member of the Division’s Public Affair’s Office before the Marshalls Campaign.  His commanding officer was astonished to find that when the Division attacked Roi Islet in Kwajelean Atoll in the Marshall Islands (January 1944), the layout of the runways on the airstrip there were an exact replica of the “4.”