The following events from Marine Corps history took place in December:
On December 4, 1950, after four days of fighting their way through the Taebek Mountains, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond G. Davis and the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines arrived in Hagaru-Ri, in present-day North Korea. Their victory over the numerically-superior North Korean and Chinese forces helped clear the way for the 5th and 7th Marines, and Davis was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism.
On December 6, 1928, a small detail of Marines under the command of Captain Maurice G. Holmes defeated Nicaraguan bandits near Chuyelite.
Captain Holmes was awarded the Navy Cross for gallantry, and Gunnery Sergeant Charles Williams was killed during the fighting.
On December 7, 1941, Japanese forces launched a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The attack began just before 8:00 am local time, and in the two hours it lasted, nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 aircraft were destroyed. 2,000 American troops died in the attack and a further 1,000 were wounded. The following day, the United States declared war on Japan, marking its official entry into Worl War II. For the next three-plus years, American soldiers, sailors, and Marines battled Japanese forces across the Pacific, until Japan surrendered in August of 1945.
On December 8, 1941, Japanese forces launched an attack on American sailors and Marines stationed on Wake Island, roughly 3,000 miles west of Honolulu, just hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. For more than two weeks, Marines from the 1st Defense Battalion and Marine Fighting Squadron 211 fought off Japanese forces, until being forced to surrender on December 23.
On December 9, 1992, Marines from the 15th Expeditionary Unit (special operations capable) landed in Somalia to begin Operation Restore Hope, the largest humanitarian relief operation of its kind.
On December 10, 1995, 22 Marines from Marine Corps Security Force Company, Naples, Italy were among the first American troops to arrive in Bosnia. The Marines provided security for Allied Forces Southern Europe headquartered in the nation's capital, Sarajevo. Approximately 2,500 NATO troops would be in place by 19 December taking on the task of peace enforcement in former Yugoslavia from the U.N.
On December 15, 1948, then-Secretary of the Navy John L. Sullivan signed a "Memorandum of Agreement" with the State Department. This memorandum laid the groundwork for the establishment of the modern Marine Security Guard program at U.S. embassies throughout the world.
On December 19, 1972, the Marine detachment of the USS Ticonderoga provided shipboard security for three U.S. astronauts, Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, Harrison Schmitt, and their Apollo-17 space capsule. The astronauts had successfully completed a (then) record lunar stay of more than 75 hours.
On December 20, 1989, Operation Just Cause was launched in Panama to protect American lives, restore democracy to the country, preserve the integrity of the Panama Canal Treaty, and remove dictator General Manuel Noriega from power. One Marine, Corporal Garreth C. Isaak, was killed and three other were wounded during the operation.
On December 23, 1941 Japanese forces launched a pre-dawn amphibious assault on American forces, including U.S. Marines stationed on Wake Island and Wilkes Island, as well as launching airstrikes against Wake, Wilkes, and Peale islands. After approximately 12 hours of resistance, the islands were surrendered.
On December 26, 1957, 20 helicopters from Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 162 were rushed to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) onboard the USS Princeton. Upon arrival, Marines participated in the rescue and evacuation of flood victims.