USMC 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Patch — Embroidered Patch Fortuna Favet Fortibus — 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines "Fortune Favors the Strong" — and 3/8 proved it on battlefields from the Pacific to the Middle East across eight decades of service. This patch honors a battalion that was deactivated in 2021 but whose legacy will never be retired. 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines was based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, under the 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. Activated on 1 November 1940 in San Diego, 3/8 fought through the Pacific War's defining battles — Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan, Tinian, and Okinawa. During the Cold War, the battalion stood watch during the Cuban Missile Crisis and deployed to the Dominican Republic. In the 1980s, 3/8 served as part of the Multinational Peacekeeping Force in Beirut, Lebanon. Post-9/11, the battalion guarded the US Embassy in Kabul, deployed to Haiti for Operation Secure Tomorrow, fought in Fallujah and Ramadi during some of the Iraq War's bloodiest urban combat, and served multiple tours in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. On 27 May 2021, 3/8 was deactivated as part of Force Design 2030 — but the "Fortune Favors the Strong" motto still belongs to every Marine who served in its ranks. Perfect For: 3/8 Marines and veterans past and present, 8th Marines regiment personnel, 2nd MARDIV veterans, Camp Lejeune Marines, Fallujah and Ramadi veterans, Helmand Province veterans, and anyone who remembers that fortune favors the strong. Fortuna Favet Fortibus — 3/8's legacy stands forever.
