III Marine Expeditionary Force
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The United States 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force was originally activated in 1942, and took part in the struggle against the Japanese Empire during World War II. It took part in some of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific, including invading the Japanese islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Demobilised from occupying Okinawa soon after the Second World War, the force was reactivated to serve in the Vietnam War in 1965. Redeployed to a permanent forward base on Okinawa in 1988, the III Marine Expeditionary Force helps to fulfill the 1952 United States treaty obligation to defend Japan.
Since the end of the Cold War, the Marines of this Expeditionary Force served in 1990 Operation "Desert Shield" to help protect Saudi Arabia. More recently the marines have also engaged in humanitarian work, such as evacuating civilians in the Philippines following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, and providing disaster relief in the Japanese city of Kobe following a devastating earthquake in January 1995.