Dog Company

Dog Company was the heavy weapons outfit of First Battalion, 24th Marines.

The majority of the men who made up Dog Company joined the First Separate Battalion at New River, North Carolina (Camp Lejeune) in the late fall of 1942. Most of them learned to use the heavy Browning M1917 water-cooled machine gun.

Others trained on the heavy M1 81mm mortar.

And a small section was issued .50-caliber M2 machine guns.

Still others manned communications gear, handled ordnance, drove Jeeps, and dozens of other specialties.

In early 1943, they traveled to Camp Pendleton, California, where they became Company D, First Battalion, 24th Marines. Each of the three battalions in the regiment had its own weapons company – H (How) Company in the Second Battalion, and M (Mike) Company in the Third.

Marine heavy weapons companies did not deploy as a single unit. In training and in combat, each of the three machine gun platoons was assigned to support one of the battalion’s three rifle companies; for the duration of this assignment, the platoon was under the direct control of the rifle company commander.

The heavy mortars were deployed with HQ Company in order to provide fire support for the entire battalion. Their ability to drop quick barrages of heavy shells led to the nickname “hip pocket artillery.”

The weapons companies of the 24th Marines had a particularly brief existence.

In March of 1944, the Marine Corps reorganized from the “E Series” Table of Organization & Equipment (TO&E) to the “F Series.” Part of this shake-up eliminated the weapons companies from its infantry battalions. Dog, How, and Mike Companies disbanded, and the Marines were reassigned among the rifle companies.

Dog Company veteran Glenn Buzzard reported that the move was done with typical Marine Corps logic: the First MG Platoon went to Company A, the Second to Company B, and the Third to Company C. The “heavies” joined with the light machine guns already serving with the rifle companies to create an enlarged MG platoon. The 81mm mortars and support personnel went to the Battalion Headquarters.

Although Dog Company only campaigned as a unit – with its unique “415” UNIS marking – on Namur, its original cadre would go on to  fight (and in many cases, die) with the rifle companies on Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima.