The Paramarines (also known as Marine paratroopers) was a short-lived specialized unit of the United States Marine Corps, trained to be dropped by parachute. The first Paramarines were trained in October 1940, but the unit was disbanded in 1944. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military responsible for providing power projection from the sea,[1] utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces to global crises. ... The Apollo 15 capsule landed safely despite a parachute failure. ... 

The first Paramarines (also known as Marine paratroopers) were trained at NAS Lakehurst in New Jersey in October 1940, followed by a second group in December 1940, forming the 2nd Marine Parachute Battalion. A third class trained at Camp Kearney in Santee near San Diego in early 1941, eventually forming the 3rd Marine Parachute Battalion. After the US joined the Second World War, the training program was stepped up, and a special training camp was opened temporarily at Camp Elliot in May 1942, next to Camp Kearney, moving to purpose-built accommodation nearby at Camp Gillespie in September 1942. A second training camp opened at Hadnot Point on the New River in North Carolina in June 1942, but closed in July 1943. Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area Ranked 47th - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²) - Width 70 miles (110 km) - Length 150 miles (240 km) - % water 14. ... Santee can refer to: Several towns in the United States Santee, California Santee, Nebraska Santee, South Carolina Two different ships The USS Santee (1855) The USS Santee (CVE-29) The Santee River This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the... Flag Seal Nickname: Americas Finest City Location Location of San Diego within San Diego County Coordinates , Government County San Diego Mayor City Attorney City Council District One District Two District Three District Four District Five District Six District Seven District Eight Jerry Sanders (R) Michael Aguirre Scott Peters Kevin... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The New River may refer to: The New River, a man-made watercourse in England The New River that flows into the Atlantic Ocean in southeastern North Carolina in the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area Ranked 28th - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²) - Width 150 miles (240 km) - Length 560[1] miles (901 km) - % water 9. ... 

Paramarines received a significantly increased salary after completing their training, so there was no shortage of volunteers, although all were required to be unmarried. Standards of fitness were high, and 40% failed the course. The unit ended up as a regiment-sized unit, the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment, with around 3,000 men in three battalions, in I Marine Amphibious Corps. However, the need for a parachute corps in the Marines was questioned, as was its cost. The Marine Corps also lacked the transport aircraft required for a massed parachute drop. The Commandant ordered 1st Marine Parachute Regiment to be disbanded on December 30, 1943, and it officially ceased to exist on February 29, 1944. A regiment is a military unit, consisting of a group of battalions, usually four and commanded by a colonel. ... The Commandant of the United States Marine Corps is the highest ranking officer of the United States Marine Corps and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reporting to the Secretary of the Navy but not to the Chief of Naval Operations. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... February 29th, or bissextile day, is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 306 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... 
First Marine Amphibious Corps Parachute Battalion
Parachute units assigned to 1st MAC were the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Parachute ans. which were combined into the First Parachute Regiment on 1 April 1943., as a result of lack of transport, long distances, and 

Focus on the 1st Marine Parachute Battalion and their actions against Gavutu and Tonombogo...then on Guadalcanal.. 

Interesting in that the Gavutu and Tonombogo.....in conjunction with Tulagi...were the first amphibious offensives of the war. 

397 men of the Marine parachute battalion ... in Higgins boats....attack over 800 dug in Imperial troops...The 3rd Kure Special Naval Landing Force (Japanese marines) on Gavutu and Tonombogo. 

Attacking, outnumbered...and with Reising machine guns that failed more often than they worked... 
and, with the Higgins boats hanging up on the Coral Reefs... 

In October 1940, the Commandant of the Marne Corp sent a circular letter to all units and posts to solicit volunteers for the paratroopers. To qualify a volunteer had to be unmarried, an indication of the expected hazards of the duty. The letter further stated that personnel qualified as parachutists would receive an unspecified amount of extra pay. " Parachute duty promised "plenty of action" and the chance to get in on the ground floor of a revolutionary type of warfare.
Marine Captain Marion L. Dawson oversaw the new school at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Two other officers, Second Lieutenants Walter S. Osipoff and Robert C. McDonough, were slated to head the Corps' first group of parachute trainees. 
On 26 October 1940, Osipoff, McDonough, and 38 enlisted men reported to Lakehurst. The initial training program included 16-week course of instruction at the Parachute Material School land that conclude on 27 February 1941. A Douglas R3D-2 transport plane arrived from Quantico on 6 December and remained there through the 21st, so the pioneer Marine paratroopers made their first jumps during this period. For the remainder of the course, they leapt from Navy blimps stationed at Lakehurst. Lieutenant Osipoff, the senior officer, had the honor of making the first jump by a Marine paratrooper. By graduation, each man had completed the requisite 10 jumps to qualify as a parachutist and parachute rigger. Not all made it through — several dropped from the program due to ineptitude or injury. The majority of these first graduates were destined to remain at Lakehurst as instructors or to serve the units in the Fleet Marine Force as riggers.
Lieutenant Colonel Jon T. Hoffman (USMCR)