2nd Battalion, 5th Marines

2nd Battalion 5th Marines
2/5's insignia
ActiveJuly 1, 1914 – August 13, 1919
May 17, 1921 – January 5, 1929
February 14, 1929 – April 12, 1930
September 1, 1934 – present
Country United States of America
Branch United States Marine Corps
TypeInfantry battalion
RoleConducts expeditionary, combined-arms, and mechanized operations in order to support theater engagement plans and contingency operations
Size1,200
Part of5th Marine Regiment
1st Marine Division
Garrison/HQMarine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Nickname(s)The Bloodline
Motto(s)"Retreat, Hell"
EngagementsWorld War I

World War II

Korean War

Vietnam War

Nicaraguan Revolution

Operation Desert Storm
War on Terror

Commanders
Current
commander
Lt.Col Clinton K. Hall
Notable
commanders
William J. Whaling
Harold E. Rosecrans
Gordon D. Gayle
Lewis W. Walt
Ernie Cheatham

2nd Battalion 5th Marines (2/5 or "Two Five") is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps consisting of approximately 800 marines and sailors. They are based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and fall under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division. The battalion has seen combat in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War and has deployed many times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the War on Terror.

2/5 is the most highly decorated battalion in the Marine Corps, and their motto, "Retreat, Hell!", comes from the French trenches of World War I, when a Marine officer named Lloyd W. Williams was advised by a French officer to retreat and replied, "Retreat? Hell, we just got here!"