MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- The 5th Marine Regiment will unveil a memorial monument in honor of 89 Marines and sailors who served with the regiment and gave their lives in support of Operation Enduring Freedom during a ceremony at the Memorial Garden on Camp San Mateo here, June 5.
The regiment commands 1st Battalion, 5th Marines; 2nd Bn., 5th Marines; 3rd Bn., 5th Marines; and 2nd Bn., 4th Marines. The memorial will honor Marines and sailors from these battalions, as well as from the regiment’s Headquarters and Service Co. The memorial will also honor Marines and sailors from units which the regiment commanded between August 2011 and 2012.
The “Fighting Fifth” will also receive the Afghanistan Campaign Streamer in recognition of the unit’s service as Regimental Combat Team 5 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, at the Camp San Mateo helo pad here, June 5. RCT-5 deployed to Helmand in August 2011, and served under 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions as part of the ground combat element of I and II Marine Expeditionary Forces.
General John F. Kelly, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, will be in attendance to honor his son, 1st Lt. Robert M. Kelly, who was killed in action on Nov. 9, 2010 in Sangin, Afghanistan, while serving as an infantry platoon commander with Lima Company, 3rd Bn., 5th Marines.
Lieutenant Gen. John A. Toolan Jr., the commander of I MEF, and the mayors of Dana Point, Costa Mesa and San Clemente will also attend.
MEDIA COORDINATING INSTRUCTIONS: Media interested in covering the OEF Memorial dedication must call the 1st Marine Division Public Affairs Office at (760) 725-8766, or e-mail Capt. Alex Lim at alex.lim1@usmc.mil and RSVP no later than 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5. Members of the media who have RSVP’d will meet at Camp Pendleton’s CHRISTIANITOS GATE no later than 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, June. 6, 2013.
A live broadcast of the ceremony will be available via webcast at the following link: http://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/3058. For those media outlets that cannot attend or would like to record the live video feed, please call the DVIDS Technical Operations Center at (678) 421-6690 or the DVIDS Switchboard at (678) 421-6612.