The 2d Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (2d AAA Bn) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

antiaircraft unit that served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Formed in 1940 as the 2d Defense Battalion, its original mission was to provide air and coastal defense for advanced naval bases. During the war the battalion defended

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Tutuila Tutuila is the main island of American Samoa (and its largest), and is part of the archipelago of Samoan Islands. It is the third largest island in the Samoan Islands chain of the Central Pacific. It is located roughly northeast of Brisbane, Au ...

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

and

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

and took part in combat operations at Tarawa Atoll and

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. The battalion returned to the United States after the war and was decommissioned at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

on 28 November 1945.

History

Formation and early training

The 2d Defense Battalion was commissioned on March 1, 1940 at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. Lieutenant Colonel

Bertram A. Bone Bertram Allison Bone (September 19, 1893 – October 22, 1961) was a decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of Brigadier general (United States), brigadier general. He is most noted for his service as commanding officer ...

was the first commanding officer of the battalion. Because of the Marine Corps' rapid growth beginning in 1939, there was a great deal of movement amongst leadership as the institution struggled to keep pace. This led to the battalion having five commanding officers by the time the war began in December 1941. The battalion was the only defense battalion still stateside when war broke out. It deployed to Hawaii in December 1941 and quickly prepared for follow on tasking. The battalion arrived in

in January 1942 to assist the

7th Defense Battalion The 7th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (7th AAA Bn) was a United States Marine Corps antiaircraft unit that served during World War II. Formed in 1940 as the 7th Defense Battalion, its original mission was to provide air and coastal defense for ...

with air and coastal defense of the region.

Battle of Tarawa, training on Hawaii and Guam

In November 1943 the 2d Defense Battalion was assigned to the

V Amphibious Corps The V Amphibious Corps (VAC) was a formation of the United States Marine Corps which was composed of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions in World War II. The three divisions were the amphibious landing force for the United States Fifth Fleet ...

for the

Battle of Tarawa The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, an ...

. They came ashore on November 23 after most of the battle was complete in order to garrison the island against Japanese counterattack from the air. For this operation the battalion was reinforced by one half of the 2d Airdrome Battalion which came in from the Ellice Islands. Following operations at Tarawa the battalion was moved to Hawaii. 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. Because of the divestiture of the coastal defense mission, the battalion was re-designated as the 2d Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion on 16 April 1944 while on

Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

. The battalion continued training on Kauai until December 12, 1944 when it received a dispatch ordering it to quickly prepare for deployment to

. On December 26, 1944, 56 officers and 1286 men from the battalion sailed from Nawiliwili onboard the SS Agwiprince

Battle of Okinawa

The 2d AAA Battalion was one of four AAA battalions that formed the

1st Provisional Antiaircraft Artillery Group The 1st Provisional Antiaircraft Artillery Group was a provisional unit that served as the headquarters for all United States Marine Corps antiaircraft battalions that participated in the Battle of Okinawa. The group was formed on Kauai, Territo ...

during the Battle of Okinawa. During the battle they were emplaced near

Yontan Airfield Yontan Airfield (also known as Yomitan Auxiliary Airfield) is a former military airfield located near Yomitan Village on the west coast of Okinawa. It was closed in July 1996 and turned over to the Japanese government in December 2006. Today it i ...

in order to protect the airfield against Japanese air raids and

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

attacks. At the end of the war the battalion returned to the United States and was decommissioned on November 28, 1945.

Citations

References

;Bibliography * * * * ;Web * Part 2 {{US Marine Corps navbox AAA2 Military units and formations established in 1940

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

Military units and formations of the United States Marine Corps in World War II

History

History

Formation and early training

Battle of Tarawa, training on Hawaii and Guam

Battle of Okinawa

See also

Citations

References