Designed for wear on your shirt, tie, or hat, this pin replicates the 2nd Marine Division insignia that was designed and approved in late1943—a time when the Division was engaged in some of the bloodiest fighting in its history on Tarawa Atoll.
Featuring the Marine Corps colors of scarlet and gold, the lapel’s shape evokes the image of the Marines as the “tip of the spear” in many operations, a concept reinforced by the hand holding a guiding torchlight aloft. The five stars stand for the Southern Cross, a constellation visible only in the Southern Hemisphere where the Division fought during the Second World War. Nicknamed “The Silent Second,” the Division motto—“Second to None”—has set the tone whenever the unit has responded to its nation’s call to duty.
Today, the 2nd Marine Division serves as the ground-assault component of the II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp LeJeune.