1st Battalion, 7th Marines

Unit Lineage

Activated on 1 April 1921 in San Diego, California, the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines has been fighting and winning for over a century. Assigned to the 7th Marine Regiment under the 1st Marine Division, 1/7 is currently based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California. The battalion carries the nickname "First Team" and has earned it in every conflict the United States has entered since World War II.

The roster of Marines who served with 1/7 reads like a hall of fame. Lieutenant Colonel Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller commanded the battalion at Guadalcanal, where Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone became the first enlisted Marine in WWII to receive the Medal of Honor. Lieutenant Colonel Raymond G. Davis earned his Medal of Honor leading 1/7 at the Chosin Reservoir. General James Mattis served with the battalion before rising to Secretary of Defense. These are not just names on a wall. They are the standard the First Team still measures itself against.

World War II

1/7 saw its first combat on Guadalcanal in 1942. Under Chesty Puller, the battalion held its positions against a full regiment of Japanese forces in some of the most intense close combat of the Pacific campaign. Basilone's stand with two sections of heavy machine guns during the Battle of Henderson Field is one of the most documented single acts of valor in Marine Corps history. The battalion went on to fight at Peleliu and Okinawa before deploying to North China for occupation duty. 1/7 was deactivated at Camp Pendleton on 5 March 1947.

Korea

When North Korea invaded the South in 1950, the First Team answered. On 21 September 1950, 1/7 made an amphibious landing at Inchon and fought its way inland. At the Chosin Reservoir, the battalion fought through overwhelming Chinese forces in temperatures that dropped below minus 35 degrees. First Lieutenant Frank Mitchell, Staff Sergeant Archie Van Winkle, and Lieutenant Colonel Raymond G. Davis all received the Medal of Honor for their actions with 1/7 during the Korean War. The battalion also fought in the battles of Hook, Reno, and Vegas along the MLR.

Vietnam

In August 1965, 1/7 deployed to the Republic of Vietnam. Over the next five years, the First Team participated in Operations Starlite, Piranha, and Oklahoma Hills, among others. The battalion earned four Presidential Unit Citation Streamers and three Meritorious Unit Commendation Streamers during the war. Hospital Corpsman Third Class Robert R. Ingram, attached to 1/7, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on 28 March 1966. Private First Class Ralph E. Dias also received the Medal of Honor while serving with the battalion in November 1969.

Desert Shield / Desert Storm

1st Battalion, 7th Marines was the first unit to man defensive positions in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield in August 1990. As part of Task Force Ripper, 1/7 spearheaded the diagonal thrust into Kuwait City during Desert Storm, helping to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. The battalion returned to Twentynine Palms in March 1991.

Somalia

On 11 December 1992, elements of 1/7 arrived in Mogadishu for Operation Restore Hope. The battalion conducted operations across Baidoa, Bardera, Oddur, Afgoye, and Mogadishu before turning over to the 10th Baluch Battalion in April 1993.

Iraq and Afghanistan

In March 2003, 1/7 crossed the Kuwaiti border into Iraq and seized the Az Zubayr oil pumping station, which controlled over 50 percent of Iraq's oil output. The battalion fought through to Baghdad and later held the city of An Najaf. Over the following years, 1/7 deployed repeatedly to western Iraq, conducting counterinsurgency operations along the Euphrates River Valley and in cities including Husaybah, Al Qaim, Haditha, Hit, Karmah, and Fallujah. In Helmand Province, Afghanistan, the First Team operated in Sangin district. In 2014, 1/7 was the final Marine Corps unit to occupy FOB Sabit Qadam and retrograde from Sangin, closing out the Marines' chapter in one of the most contested districts of the war.

Gear for the First Team

This collection is built for Marines who served with 1/7 and the families who stood behind them. Every t-shirt, hoodie, flag, and accessory in this lineup carries the battalion's history. Whether you walked the lines at Twentynine Palms, humped a pack through Helmand, or lost someone who did, this gear exists to keep that connection alive. Veteran-owned and made in the USA.

Browse our 1/7 Marines t-shirts, long sleeves, hoodies, tank tops, flags, decals, drinkware, and more below. Looking for OIF or OEF veteran designs? We have those too. Every order ships free at $75+.