Marine Corps History for March:
On March 2, 1867, Jacob Zeilin, who had served as Colonel Commandant of the Marine Corps since June 30, 1864, was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General Commandant.
On March 8, 1965, the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade landed at DaNang, Vietnam, becoming the first American ground combat troops to arrive in the country.
On March 11, 1778, Continental Marines aboard the Continental Navy frigate Boston sighted, engaged, and captured the British merchant ship Martha while en route to France.
On March 13, 1943, the first group of 71 female Marine officer candidates arrived at U.S. Midshipmen School (Women's Reserve) at Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
On March 18, 1967, Barbara J. Dulinsky was the first female Marine to serve in a combat zone reported for duty in Ho Chi Minh City (commonly known as Saigon), a city in southern Vietnam.
On March 25, 1945, the assault on the island of Iwo Jima appeared to have ended after 35 days of intense fighting.
On March 27, 1953, the 5th Marines, supported by the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, counter-attacked enemy-held positions in the first full day of fighting after Chinese forces launched an assault on Outpost Vegas the previous evening.
On March 31, 1801, the second Commandant of the Marine Corps, Lieutenant Colonel William W. Burrows, rode with then-President Thomas Jefferson in search of, "a proper place to fix the Marine Barracks on."
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