The division's regiments were in existence as early as March 8, 1911, when the 1st Marine Regiment was formed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.[1] The 5th Marines were created in Vera Cruz, Mexico on July 13, 1914[1] and participated in 15 major engagements during World War I, including Belleau Wood, Chateau Thierry, and St. Mihiel. On August 7, 1917,[1] 7th Marines were activated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and spent the duration of World War I in Cuba and were disbanded after the war.[1] The 11th Marines was formed in January 1918 at Quantico, Va., as a light artillery regiment. The regiment went to France as an infantry unit, providing a machine gun company and a guard company. Decommissioned and reactivated twice between the world wars, the regiment was re-formed in 1940 as a full-fledged artillery unit.
The 1st Marine Division was activated aboard the USS Texas on 1 February 1941.[3] The division's units were scattered over the Pacific with the support elements and the 1st Marine Regiment transported en route to New Zealand on three ships, the USATs Ericsson, Barnett and Elliott from Naval Reserve Air Base Oakland to New Zealand,[4] and later were landed on the island of Guadalcanal, part of the Solomon Islands, on August 7, 1942.

Initially only the 7th Marine Regiment was in garrison on British Samoa,[5] with the 5th Marine Regiment having just encamped at Wellington, New Zealand after disembarking from USAT Wakefield, and the 1st Marine Regiment not scheduled to arrive in New Zealand until 11 July.[6] The 1st Raider Battalion was on New Caledonia, and the 3rd Defense Battalion was in Pearl Harbor. All of the division's units, with the 11th Marines (artillery) and 75mm howitzer armed 10th Marines battalion would rendezvous at Fiji.
Due to the change in orders and shortage of attack and combat cargo vessels, all of the division's 2.5 ton trucks, M1918 155-mm howitzers[7] and the sound and flash-ranging equipment needed for counter-battery fire had to be left in Wellington. Also, because the Wellington dock workers were on strike at the time, the Marines had to do all the load reconfiguration from administrative to combat configuration


1st Marine Division[www.1st-md.com]
1st Marine Division[www.1st-md.com]
1st Marine Division[www.1st-md.com]