Triangle in Prince William County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Second Battalion First Marines Vietnam Memorial
HQ & SVC Echo Fox Golf Hotel
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 12, 2021
1. Second Battalion First Marines Vietnam Memorial
"Ghost Battalion
Presidential Unit Citation
Streamer with 3 Bronze Stars
Navy Unit Commendation
Streamer
Meritorious Unit Commendation
Streamer with 2 Bronze Stars
National Defense Service
Streamer
Vietnam Service Streamer
with 2 Silver and 3 Bronze Stars
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry
with Palm Streamer
Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation
Civil Actions Streamer
Initially, units of the battalion conducted heliborne raids into enemy-held areas. Because these assault units would suddenly appear, then disappear oly to reappear in a different location, the enemy radio operators referred to the battalion as "Ghosts."
During May 1968 while operating in the Khe Sanh area, the battalion outmaneuvered element of the North Vietnamese Army. When the NVA commander informed his HQ command that he lost contact with the battalion, he was relieved of his command. The intercepted NVA message traffic referred to 2d Battalion, 1st Marines as a "Ghost Battalion."
"They learned not to rely on us; they learned to rely on each other. And they were special in another way: They chose to be faithful. They chose to reject the fashionable skepticism of their time. They chose to believe and answer the call of duty. They had the wild, wild courage of youth. They seized certainty from the heart of an ambivalent age; they stood for something. And we owe them something, those boys. We owe them first a promise: That just as they did not forget their missing comrades, neither, ever, will we."
Ronald Reagan, 1986
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Location. 38° 32.416′ N, 77° 20.61′ W. Memorial is in Triangle, Virginia, in Prince William County. It can be reached from Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. 1) 0.1 miles south of Joplin Road (Virginia Route 619), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 18900 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Triangle VA 22172, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this memorial is in the Washington Metropolitan Area, in Northern Virginia, and in the Piedmont. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 12, 2021
2. Second Battalion First Marines Vietnam Memorial
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: America's 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines Battalion (within shouting distance of this marker); Hotel Company 2nd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment (within shouting distance of this marker); Firefighter Marines 9/11 Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Marines of the 1st 155 Gun Battery SP (within shouting distance of this marker); The Lieutenants of The Base School Class 3-67 and 41st OCC (within shouting distance of this marker); Golf Company 2/7 (within shouting distance of this marker); 'Staff Sergeant Reckless' (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Marine Corps Engineers Memorial (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Triangle.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 12, 2021
3. Second Battalion First Marines Vietnam Memorial
Credits. This page was last revised on March 13, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 13, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 2,017 times since then and 89 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 13, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
