Significance of The Name
The ship was named in memory of the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood, in which United States Marines of the Fourth Brigade, American Expeditionary Forces, defeated German forces after nearly four weeks of intense fighting. It is said that the Germans referred to them as Teufel Hunde (correctly "Teufelshunde")—Devil Dogs—and it was this moniker that became the ship's mascot, and one of the nicknames for US Marines (Devil Dog).
Read more about this topic: USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3)
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