Our Story

 

Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point and New River, North Carolina are sacred ground to all Marines. On these bases and their supporting auxiliaries, more than four million Marines and other members of the sea services – known as the Carolina Marines – have heeded the call to defend their country and have prepared themselves to respond to crises anywhere in the world.

 

Since being established during World War II, these bases have played a critical role in the training of an elite fighting force and in the development of technological and tactical innovations.

 

In many ways, the war in the Pacific from 1942 until 1945 was won on the beaches of Onslow County, North Carolina and in the skies of eastern North Carolina, as the area became a center for amphibious training and the building of Marine units.

 

The two Army divisions that spearheaded the Allied assault on North Africa and Europe were likewise trained in amphibious operations by Marines and Coast Guardsmen at Camp Lejeune.