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The 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment is an
Air Defense Artillery The Air Defense Artillery Branch is the branch of the United States Army that specializes in anti-aircraft weapons (such as surface to air missiles). In the U.S. Army, these groups are composed of mainly air defense systems such as the Patrio ...
regiment of the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
, first constituted in 1918 in the
Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standi ...
during World War I. During World War II the unit served as the 54th Coast Artillery Regiment


Lineage


World War I


44th Coast Artillery

Organized 26 March 1918 in the Regular Army from existing units in France as the Howitzer Regiment, 30th Brigade,
Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery du ...
, initially without weapons. The regiment was one of several US Coast Artillery regiments created to operate heavy
field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...
and railway artillery on the Western Front. Redesignated 7 August 1918 as the 44th Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps) with an authorized strength of 24 British-made 8-inch howitzers; served with the 32nd Brigade and 39th Brigade, including support of the IV Army Corps. Returned to the US February 1919 and moved to Fort Totten, New York. Inactivated 31 August 1921 at Camp Jackson, South Carolina. Redesignated 1 July 1924 as the 44th Coast Artillery (Tractor Drawn), a mobile coast defense unit.


54th Coast Artillery

Nine
Maine National Guard The Maine Department of Defense, Veterans, and Emergency Management (DVEM) is a government agency of Maine. It comprises the two components of the Maine National Guard, the Maine Army National Guard and the Maine Air National Guard, the Bureau of ...
and four
Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standi ...
Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery du ...
companies of the Coast Defenses of Portland, Maine were used to form the 54th Artillery (Coast Artillery Corps), a regiment that was sent to France and slated to be armed with 24 6-inch guns as heavy
field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...
. The regiment was organized in January 1918 in Maine and moved to France in March 1918, stationed at an artillery base, Operations and Training Center No. 6 at
Mailly-le-Camp Mailly-le-Camp () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. History The town is mentioned as ''Mailliacus'' for the first time in 859 AD document. In 1902 a large military camp was built in its territory. On 3–4 May 19 ...
and Haussimont. However, on 2 May 1918 the regiment became a replacement training unit, redesignated as the 54th Artillery Replacement Training Regiment. On 20 September 1918 the regiment was reorganized, with its battalions sent to different locations. The 1st Battalion was posted at
Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...
(Marne-et-Loire) as a training battalion for replacement men. The 2nd Battalion was stationed at Doulevant-le-Château (Haute Marne) and functioned as a replacement battalion for the tractor-drawn artillery regiments. The 3rd Battalion remained at Haussimont and Angers, France and functioned as the training battalion for the railway artillery regiments. In December 1918, after the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the L ...
that ended the fighting, the regiment was re-formed. In March 1919 the regiment returned to the United States and was inactivated at
Camp Devens Fort Devens is a United States Army Reserve military installation in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Due to extensive environmental contamination it was ...
, Massachusetts.Rinaldi, p. 162


World War II

Redesignated 13 January 1941 as the 54th Coast Artillery Regiment (155 mm gun) (Mobile) (Colored), a mobile coast defense unit. References indicate this was the only African American coast artillery regiment in World War II that was not an antiaircraft unit. Activated 10 February 1941 at Camp Wallace, Texas with cadre from 76th and 77th Coast Artillery regiments (Antiaircraft) (Colored); moved to
Camp Davis Marine Corps Outlying Field (MCOLF) Camp Davis is a military use airport northeast of the central business district of Holly Ridge, in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. It is used as a training facility by the United States Marine ...
, North Carolina 22 May 1941, garrisoned Temporary Harbor Defenses of Wilmington. 1st Battalion moved to Fort Cronkhite, California 28 February 1942. 2nd Battalion garrisoned
Fort Macon A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, NC in the Temporary Harbor Defenses of
Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions * ...
, NC 31 July 1942 until relieved by 3rd Battalion, 2nd Coast Artillery 3 September 1942.Gaines, p. 29 The unit was probably initially armed with 24 155 mm GPF-type guns (eight per battalion), and may have later received the
155 mm gun M1 The 155 mm gun M1 was a 155 millimeter caliber field gun developed and used by the United States military. Nicknamed "Long Tom" (an appellation with a long and storied history in U.S. field and naval artillery), it was produced in M1 and M2 ...
. 1st and 3rd Battalions assigned to the
Western Defense Command Western Defense Command (WDC) was established on 17 March 1941 as the command formation of the United States Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the Pacific Coast region of the United States during World War II. A second major resp ...
(WDC) at Fort Cronkhite and
Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, m ...
, California 22 April 1942. 2nd Battalion deployed to
Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region ...
26 October 1942 and Bougainville 7 February 1944 where it saw combat in a
field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...
role during the
Bougainville counterattack The Bougainville counterattack (also known as the Second Battle of TorokinaShindo (2016), p. 62.) was an unsuccessful Japanese offensive against the Allied base at Cape Torokina, on Bougainville Island, during the Pacific War of World War II. ...
in March. The remainder of regiment remained in California until broken up into battalions as part of an Army-wide reorganization. Regiment relieved from WDC and broken up 28 February – 5 June 1944 with its elements reorganized and redesignated as follows (units at Fort Ord, CA except 2nd Battalion at Bougainville): Headquarters and Headquarters Battery on 5 June 1944 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 152nd Coast Artillery Group (155 mm gun) (Colored). 1st Battalion on 5 June 1944 as the 606th Coast Artillery Battalion (Colored). 2d Battalion on 28 February 1944 as the 49th Coast Artillery Battalion (Colored) (deployed to New Guinea 18 March 1945, Philippines 27 August 1945). 3d Battalion on 5 June 1944 as the 607th Coast Artillery Battalion (Colored).


Post-World War II lineage

After 5 June 1944 the above units underwent changes as follows: Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 152nd Coast Artillery Group, disbanded 3 August 1944 at
Camp Livingston Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
, Louisiana Reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 54th Field Artillery Group Activated 17 January 1955 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina Redesignated 21 June 1958 as Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 54th Artillery Group Inactivated 7 November 1969 in Vietnam 606th Coast Artillery Battalion disbanded 3 August 1944 at Camp Livingston, Louisiana Reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with the 54th Armored Field Artillery Battalion (active) (see ANNEX 1) and consolidated unit designated as the 54th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 3d Armored Division Inactivated 1 October 1957 in Germany and relieved from assignment to the 3d Armored Division 49th Coast Artillery Battalion inactivated 20 January 1946 in the Philippine Islands Consolidated 28 June 1950 with the 49th Field Artillery Battalion (active) (see ANNEX 2) and consolidated unit designated as the 49th Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 7th Infantry Division. Inactivated 1 July 1957 in Korea and relieved from assignment to the 7th Infantry Division 607th Coast Artillery Battalion disbanded 31 July 1944 at Camp Rucker, Alabama Reconstituted 28 June 1950 in the Regular Army; concurrently consolidated with the 44th Field Artillery Battalion (active) (see ANNEX 3) and consolidated unit designated as the 44th Field Artillery Battalion, an element of the 4th Infantry Division. In 1963, the 6th Missile Battalion, 44th Artillery (HAWK), 38th Artillery Brigade was deployed to South Korea. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 54th Artillery Group; 54th Armored Field Artillery Battalion; and the 49th and 44th Field Artillery Battalions consolidated, reorganized, and redesignated 7 November 1969 as the 44th Artillery, a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System. Redesignated 1 September 1971 as the 44th Air Defense Artillery. Withdrawn 16 March 1988 from the
Combat Arms Regimental System The Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), was the method of assigning unit designations to units of some of the combat arms branches of the United States Army, including Infantry, Special Forces, Field Artillery, and Armor, from 1957 to 1981. ...
and reorganized under the
United States Army Regimental System The United States Army Regimental System (USARS) is an organizational and classification system used by the United States Army. It was established in 1981 to replace the Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS) to provide each soldier with continu ...
. The Battalion was activated at Fort Campbell, KY on 16 March 1988. The 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery, was for a long period the divisional air defense battalion for the
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
, but now appears to have taken up the C-RAM role. As of 2018, at least two battalions of the regiment are active: * 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment -
69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade The 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade is an air defense artillery brigade of the United States Army. Subordinate units include: * 4th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery. * 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery * 1st Battalion, 62nd Air De ...
, Fort Hood, Texas * 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment -
108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
,
Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...
, Kentucky. The battalion is separated from the other units of the brigade, which are at
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...
, NC.


History


Pershing missile

The 2nd Missile Battalion, 44th Artillery Regiment was the first Pershing 1 missile battalion in June 1962 under the 1st Field Artillery Missile Brigade at
Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...
, Oklahoma. Lt. Col. Patrick W. Powers took command on 13 October 1962, receiving the colors from Dr. Finn J. Larsen,
assistant secretary of the Army Assistant Secretary of the Army is a title used to describe various civilian officials in the United States Department of the Army. Present Assistant Secretaries of the Army At present, there are five offices bearing the title of Assistant Secret ...
. On 1 September 1971 the 2/44th was deactivated and reformed as the 3rd Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment.


Commanders

* September 1952: Lt. Col. Patrick William Powers * Col. James E. Convey


Distinctive unit insignia

*Description A gold color metal and enamel device consisting shield, crest and motto of the coat of arms. *Symbolism The shield is red for Artillery with a gold bend from the arms of Lorraine, cottised potenté counterpotenté as in the arms of Champagne. The units of this organization changed designation five times from 1917 to 1918. They were part of the 6th and 7th Provisional Regiment, C.A.C.; part of the 51st and 52nd Artillery, C.A.C.; and were organized as a unit called the Howitzer Regiment, 30th Artillery Brigade, C.A.C.; later designated the 81st Artillery, C.A.C.; and changed to the 44th Artillery, C.A.C. The variegated chameleon alludes to this fact. The double quatrefoil with the chameleon is an anagram of the figures "44" and "81"; the chameleon divides the figures into two fours and the full number of projections with the chameleon gives eight-one. *Background The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 44th Coast Artillery Regiment on 1 February 1937. It was redesignated for the 54th Coast Artillery Regiment on 13 March 1941. The insignia was redesignated for the 54th Armored Field Artillery Battalion on 22 July 1954. It was redesignated for the 44th Artillery Regiment on 31 December 1958. Effective 1 September 1971, the insignia was redesignated for the 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.


Coat of arms


Blazon

*Shield Gules, a bend double cottised potenté counterpotenté Or. *Crest On a wreath of the colors Or and Gules, a double quatrefoil Or charged with a chameleon displayed paleways barry of four Gules and Vert. Motto PER ARDUA (Through Adversity).


Symbolism

* Shield The shield is red for Artillery with a gold bend from the arms of Lorraine, cottised potenté counterpotenté as in the arms of Champagne. *Crest The units of this organization changed designation five times from 1917 to 1918. They were part of the 6th and 7th Provisional Regiment, C.A.C.; part of the 51st and 52nd Artillery, C.A.C.; and were organized as a unit called the Howitzer Regiment, 30th Artillery Brigade, C.A.C.; later designated the 81st Artillery, C.A.C.; and changed to the 44th Artillery, C.A.C. The variegated chameleon alludes to this fact. The double quatrefoil with the chameleon is an anagram of the figures "44" and "81"; the chameleon divides the figures into two fours and the full number of projections with the chameleon gives eight-one.


Background

The coat of arms was originally approved for the 44th Coast Artillery Regiment on 2 March 1929. It was amended to correct the blazon of the shield on 23 May 1936. It was redesignated for the 54th Coast Artillery Regiment on 11 March 1941. The insignia was redesignated for the 54th Armored Field Artillery Battalion on 22 July 1954. It was redesignated for the 44th Artillery Regiment on 31 December 1958. Effective 1 September 1971, the insignia was redesignated for the 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.


Campaign streamers

World War II * Pacific theater without inscription Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered BEACHES OF NORMANDY *Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered ST. LO *Presidential Unit Citation (Navy), Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1966-1967 *Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered QUANG TRI-THUA THIEN *Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered IRAQ 2003 *Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, Streamer embroidered KOREA 1978-1980 *Army Superior Unit Award, Streamer embroidered 2007-2008 *Belgian Fourragere 1940 *Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in Belgium *Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in the Ardennes *Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1971 Battery A additionally entitled to: Meritorious Unit Commendation (Navy), Streamer embroidered VIETNAM 1968 Army Superior Unit Award, Streamer embroidered 1996-1997


See also

*
Seacoast defense in the United States Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armies ...
*
United States Army Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery d ...


References

* (dead link 6 April 2018)


External links


44th ADA lineage and honors



Army Heraldry website
(dead link 6 April 2018)

* ttp://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cacunithistories/44th_Arty.html 44th Coast Artillery in WWI at Ancestry.com
Air Defense Artillery unit websites
accessed 6 April 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:044 044 Pershing missile African-American history of the United States military Military units and formations established in 1918 1918 establishments in France