2nd Battalion
5th Marines
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 ordered to retreat and replied, "Retreat? Hell, we
just got here!"
Major Lloyd
W. Williams. A famous saying is attributed to Williams, who was serving as
a company commander in the 5th Marines during the Battle of Belleau Wood. When advised to
withdraw by a French officer at the defensive line just north of the village of
Lucy-le-Bocage on June 1, 1918, he is said to have replied: "Retreat?
Hell, we just got here!" Captain Williams would not survive the ensuing
battle, and was posthumously promoted to major and awarded the Distinguished Service
Cross.
Here's a wiki link on this group
of Americans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_Battalion_5th_Marines
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