16th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
16th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion | |
---|---|
Active | |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Air Defense/Coastal Defense |
Size | ~800 men |
Part of | V Amphibious Corps |
Engagements | World War II *Battle of Okinawa |
Commanders | |
Current commander | N/A |
Notable commanders | Richard P. Ross Jr. |
The 16th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (16th AAA Bn) was a
History
Organization
16th Defense Battalion Table of Organization (1943):[3]
- Headquarters and Service Battery
- Light tank platoon
- Searchlight Batteries
- Seacoast Artillery Group
- Group Headquarters
- 2 x 155mm Gun Batteries
- AAA Group
- Group Headquarters
- 3 x 90mm Gun batteries
- Special Weapons Group
- Group Headquarters
40mm Battery(w/ 12 guns)- 20mm Antiaircraft Gun Battery
- .50cal Antiaircraft Machine Gun Battery
The 16th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion was commissioned on November 10, 1942 at
As the war progressed, the Marine Corps removed coastal artillery from the defense battalions in order to form additional heavy artillery units for the Fleet Marine Force.[4] Because of the divestiture of the coastal defense mission, the battalion was re-designated as the 16th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion on April 19, 1944. For the next few months, the battalion had to grow back to regular strength and continue training. On November 11, 1944, the battalion was transferred to the 1st Provisional Antiaircraft Artillery Group prior to deploying for combat operations in the Western Pacific.
The battalion continued training on Kauai until December 12, 1944 when it received a dispatch ordering it to quickly prepare for deployment to
Okinawa
On March 12, 1945, the assault echelon of the battalion departed Tinian and sailed towards
On May 11, 1945 an SCR-270 crew from the battalion was attacked by 12-14 Japanese soldiers. 11 Japanese were killed in the incident and 1 Marine was killed in action (KIA) and six more wounded in action (WIA).[9] Two Marines from the battalion were KIA during the battle and another thirty two were WIA.[10] The battalion remained on Okinawa providing air defense until September 20, 1945.
Decommissioning
On October 22, personnel of the 16th AAA Battalion embarked on the
Notable members
- Gil Hodges - first basemen for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and manager for the New York Mets.[11]
Unit awards
A unit citation or commendation is an award bestowed upon an organization for the action cited. Members of the unit who participated in said actions are allowed to wear on their uniforms the awarded unit citation. The 16th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion has been presented with the following awards:
Streamer | Award | Year(s) | Additional Info |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
Presidential Unit Citation Streamer | 17 April - 14 July 1945 | Okinawa |
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Streamer with one Bronze Star
|
Okinawa | ||
World War II Victory Streamer
|
1941–1945 | Pacific War |
See also
- Marine Defense Battalions
- List of United States Marine Corps aviation support units
Citations
- ^ a b Rottman 2002, pp. 212.
- ^ Rottman 2002, pp. 217.
- ^ Rottman 2002, pp. 211.
- ^ a b Rottman 2002, pp. 216.
- ^ War Diary, 1 - 31 December 1944 (PDF) (Report). First Provisional Antiaircraft Artillery Group. January 3, 1945. pp. 2–4.
- ^ War Diary, 1 - 30 April 1945 (PDF) (Report). First Provisional Antiaircraft Artillery Group. May 9, 1945. p. 18.
- ^ Nichols & Shaw 1955, pp. 200.
- ^ Rottman 2004, pp. 88.
- ^ War Diary, 1 - 31 May 1945 (PDF) (Report). First Provisional Antiaircraft Artillery Group. June 10, 1945.
- ^ Nichols & Shaw 1955, pp. 305.
- OCLC 798797291.
References
- Bibliography
- Nichols, Charles S. Jr.; Shaw, Henry I. (1955). Okinawa: Victory in the Pacific (PDF). United States Marine Corps Historical Branch.
- Rottman, Gordon L. (2002). U.S. Marine Corps World War II Order of Battle: Ground and Air Units in the Pacific War, 1939–1945. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31906-5.
- Rottman, Gordon L. (2004). US Marine Corps Pacific Theater of Operationss 1944-45. Osprey Press. ISBN 1841766593.