Battle for the Punchbowl: The U. S. 1st Marine Division 1951 Fall Offensive of the Korean War Page: 12
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which Fleet Marine forces are assigned. Thus, the Fleet Marine forces and the Naval
Amphibious forces plan and train together as a team."5
The Fleet Marine Forces were classified as a "Type Organization" of the U. S.
Fleets. "As its name implies, the type organization is based on types of ships or forces."
An example would be the "type command" of Commander Destroyers, in which all the
destroyers in a fleet are grouped. ". . . the Fleet Marine Force is a type command, since
it comprises all Marine Corps tactical units - air and ground - assigned to the Fleet."
The FMF is the teeth of the Corps, where the actual fighting forces are.6 (See Charts #
4 and 5)
The threefold mission of the Fleet Marine Forces at the time of Korea was: "(1) to
serve with the fleets in the seizure or defense of advanced naval bases and for the
conduct of such land operations as may be essential to the prosecution of a naval
campaign; (2) to develop, as directed by the commandant of the Marine Corps, those
phases of amphibious operations pertaining to tactics, technique, and equipment
employed by landing forces; and (3) to train a maximum number of personnel to meet
the requirements of expansion during time of war." In any case, the 1st Mar Div was still
under the administrative command of FMFPac (and the Commandant of the Marine
Corps), whose commander for the greater part of the Korean War (and in September
1951) was LtGen Lemuel Shepherd.7
On June 30, 1950, the total strength of the Corps was 74,279 active duty
Marines. This total consisted of 40,364 in Operating Forces; 24,552 in the Supporting
a James Donovan, U. S. Marine Corps, 82-83; Thomas, Heinl, and Ageton, Marine Officer's Guide, 86, 9,
63, Chapter 5; Thomas, Heinl, and Ageton, Marine Officer's Guide, 69-71; James Donovan, U. S. Marine
Corps, 96.
6 Thomas, Heinl, and Ageton, Marine Officer's Guide, 63.
7 James Donovan, U. S. Marine Corps, 83; Thomas, Heinl, and Ageton, Marine Officer's Guide, 86.12
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Montandon, Joshua W. Battle for the Punchbowl: The U. S. 1st Marine Division 1951 Fall Offensive of the Korean War, thesis, August 2007; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3938/m1/27/?rotate=270: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .