2nd Battalion, 5th Marines

2nd Battalion 5th Marines
2/5's insignia
Active	July 1, 1914 – August 13, 1919 May 17, 1921 – January 5, 1929 February 14, 1929 – April 12, 1930 September 1, 1934 – present
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Type	Infantry battalion
Role	Conducts expeditionary, combined-arms, and mechanized operations in order to support theater engagement plans and contingency operations
Size	1,200
Part of	5th Marine Regiment 1st Marine Division
Garrison/HQ	Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
Motto(s)	"Retreat, Hell"
Engagements	World War I Battle of Belleau Wood Battle of Soissons Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge Meuse-Argonne Offensive World War II Guadalcanal Campaign Battle of Cape Gloucester Battle of Peleliu Battle of Okinawa Korean War Battle of Pusan Perimeter Battle of Inchon Second Battle of Seoul Battle of Chosin Reservoir Battle of Hwacheon Battle of the Punchbowl Battle of Bunker Hill (1952) First Battle of the Hook Battle for Outpost Vegas Battle of the Samichon River Vietnam War Operation Union II Battle of Hue Nicaraguan Revolution Operation Golden Pheasant Operation Desert Storm War on Terror Iraq War Battle of Donkey Island Operation Enduring Freedom
Commanders
Current commander	Lt.Col Clinton K. Hall
Notable commanders	William J. Whaling Harold E. Rosecrans Gordon D. Gayle Lewis W. Walt Ernie Cheatham

2nd Battalion 5th Marines (2/5 or "Two Five") is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps consisting of approximately 800 marines and sailors. They are based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and fall under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division. The battalion has seen combat in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War and has deployed many times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the War on Terror.

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 advised by a French officer to retreat and replied, "Retreat? Hell, we just got here!"