A few times the Army and Marines fought side by side in the Pacific. IIRC some "Lost" Marines served for a short time in Army units like the 77th Division. Does anyone have anymore information about this?? Did sometimes" Lost" Soldiers serve with Marine units?
While not exactly lost. The 164th Infantry was put in line with the 7th Marines on Guadalcanal to defend a ridge near Kokabouna. The resulting fight held the ridge. Puller mixed the Army units with the Marine companies in his Bn. So it created a mixed force. Also resulted in the Army "losing" some of it's M1 Garands according to Corps legend.
Im speaking about some that were lost from thier unit and hooked up with an Army unit. Not just Guadalcanal. I was was reffering to other areas where that might have happened. Unofficially.
Any battle where the two branches served together would be a candidate for short term "transfers". Operational control of a unit might be passed to the other branch because circumstances forced the candidate unit into another zone of control. I think this happened a few times on Okinawa, but it's been a while since I read the AARs.
Well I would assume that unoffically that in the Philippines it happened with Navy Army and Marines personell. With the way the invasion priogressed and Ad Hoc units had to be used..
I'd say Okinawa and Guam possibly New Britian would be the places to look. Oki especially on the Shuri line and the Sugar Loaf area had a great mingling of Marine and Army units ethier passing thru each other or relieving each other. I recall reading a book I think "Marine Rifleman at War" that tells of Soliders attaching themselves to a Marine Platoon when they became seperated from their unit on Oki.
I would humbly submit the 4th Marine Regiment on Corregidor in the Philippine Islands example. "On the eve of a battle which no one doubted was coming, the regiment was perhaps the most unusual Marine unit ever to take the field. From an understrength two-battalion regiment of less than 800 Marine regulars it had grown until it mustered almost 4,000 officers and men drawn from all the services and 142 different organizations.22 Its ranks contained 72 Marine officers and 1,368 enlisted Marines, 37 Navy officers23 and 848 bluejackets, and 111 American and Philippine Air Corps, Army, Scout, and Constabulary officers with 1,455 of their men."
Is there any history anywhere on the 187th replacement company 43rd Bn. Upon arriving in Manila (or Leyte) in April-May 1945, my father refers to combat apparently with this unit before being assigned to a regular unit. Where can I find history of replacement companies or repple depples in Leyte or Manilla? Did replacement companies or replacement soldiers ever see combat before their permanent assignments?
You might want to post this question in these parts of the forum for that type of information. You may have more luck. Information Requests - World War II Forums Military Service Record & Genealogical Research - World War II Forums
The Torokina Campaign After Action Reports list several instances where units were "loaned" to other services. The Raider Battalions were apparently handed back and forth several times. (AAR in the pipeline at this time.)