The Battalion coat-of arms is a shield with scrolls above and below. The shield is divided twice diagonally into four wedges. Like traditional heraldry, the Battalion coat-of-arms is a composition of references to past deeds and unit associations.
The uppermost wedge contains the emblem of the 1st Marine Division. The Battalion, as part of the 5th Marine Regiment, was incorporated into the Division in 1941, when the Division was founded. The 1st Marine Division assaulted Guadalcanal in 1942 in the first U.S. ground offensive of World War II. From this battle came the division emblem: a large red "1", inscribed with the legend "GUADALCANAL", and the five stars of the Southern Cross, on a field of blue. Though the Division emblem holds the senior position on the coat-of-arms, the Battalion and the Regiment both pre-date the Division by over twenty-five years.
The lower wedge contains the emblem of the 5th Marine Regiment, founded in 1914. The Regimental emblem consists of five sea horses, representing sea-going service, on the cross of Saint Andrew. The colors are scarlet and gold, the traditional dress and display colors of the Marine Corps. The cross itself is hunter green, the color of the infantry.
The left and right wedges contain scrolls describing the sixteen
major actions of the battalion: three from World War I, NICARAGUA in 1927, four
from World War II, four from Korea, and four from Vietnam. The scrolls above and
below the shield read "BLT 2/5" and "SPECIAL OPERATIONS CAPABLE". 2d Battalion,
5th Marines, eighty years old as of 1994, is the most highly decorated infantry
battalion in the history of the United States Marine Corps.