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The 61st 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 Patriot ...
regiment in the United States Army. The lineages of some of the units that initially made up the 61st Artillery (
Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an Corps#Administrative corps, administrative corps responsible for coastal defence and fortification, coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft Seacoast defense in the United States, defense of the United S ...
) (CAC) give the regiment's 1st Battalion campaign credit for the War of 1812.


History


Lineage

Constituted and activated at
Fort Moultrie Fort Moultrie is a series of fortifications on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, built to protect the city of Charleston, South Carolina. The first fort, formerly named Fort Sullivan, built of palmetto logs, inspired the flag and n ...
9 March 1918 as the 61st Artillery (CAC) from existing Regular and National Guard companies. Demobilized at
Camp Upton Camp Upton was a port of embarkation of the United States Army during World War I. During World War II it was used to intern enemy aliens. It was located in Yaphank, New York in Suffolk County on Long Island, on the present-day location of Brook ...
, New York, 28 February 1919. Reconstituted 1 July 1921 as the 1st Antiaircraft Battalion and organized at
Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...
, Virginia. Redesignated 61st Artillery Battalion (AA) (CAC) 1 June 1922. Redesignated 61st Coast Artillery (AA) Regiment 30 June 1924 and reorganized as follows- * HHB * 1st BN HHB&CT * A Battery * B Battery * C Battery * D Battery * 2nd BN HHB&CT * E Battery from C Battery * F Battery * G Battery * H Battery Reassigned to Fort Sheridan 14 May 1930 * 61st Artillery (CAC) reconstituted and consolidated with 61st Coast Artillery Regiment 13 June 1930. 18 November 1939 Batteries C and D activated, 28 November 1939 2nd Battalion activated * reassigned to New York for shipment overseas 15 December 1941 * Arrived Reykjavik, Iceland 26 February 1942 and stationed at Camp Hilton. 10 July 1942 two detachments formed as separate Gun Battalions, and later redesignated 494th AAA Gun Battalion, and 495th AAA Gun Battalion. * Regiment deployed to England 8 August 1943 and stationed at
Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...
, Devon. Regiment deactivated and broken up 14 June 1944 as follows- * HHB deactivated (10 August 1943) * 1st Battalion redesignated 184th AAA Gun Battalion * 2nd Battalion redesignated 634th AAA (AW) Battalion * 3rd Battalion redesignated 635th AAA (AW) Battalion 28 June 1950 consolidated with elements of the 61st Coast Artillery Regiment which was concurrently reconstituted to form the 61st Antiaircraft Artillery Group with the following composition: * 92nd Group plus Hq 2nd Hq Batry, 6lst Regiment, became Hq and Hq Btry, 61st Group * 184th Battalion plus Hq and Hq Battery, 61st Regiment, became the 6lst Battalion * 634th Battalion plus 1st Battn, 61st Regiment, and the 39th Battalion became the 39th Battalion. * 635th Battalion plus 3d Battn, 61st Regiment, became the 52d Battalion Group Headquarters was established at
Camp Stewart Fort Stewart is a United States Army post in the U.S. state of Georgia. It lies primarily in Liberty and Bryan counties, but also extends into smaller portions of Evans, Long and Tattnall counties. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. Th ...
, Georgia. * The 61st Battalion was redesignated as the 61st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion on 21 August 1950 and assigned to the
6th Armored Division The 6th Armored Division ("Super Sixth") was an armored division of the United States Army during World War II. It was formed with a cadre from the 2nd Armored Division. History The division was activated on 15 February 1942 at Fort Knox ...
,
Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Woo ...
, Missouri, where it was inactivated 16 March 1956. * The 39th Battalion retained its designation as an Automatic Weapons Battalion until 16 May 1957 when it was inactivated at Southampton, Germany. * The 52d Battalion was redesignated 20 October 1950 as an Automatic Weapons Battalion and served in the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, being inactivated at Inchon 10 November 1951, reactivated at
Camp Roberts, California Camp Roberts is a California National Guard post in central California, located on both sides of the Salinas River in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, now run by the California Army National Guard. It was opened in 1941 and is named afte ...
, on 26 November 1952, and finally inactivated at
Castle Air Force Base Castle Air Force Base (Castle AFB, 1941–1995) is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base in California, located northeast of Atwater, northwest of Merced, and about south of Sacramento. The Central Valley base in u ...
, California, on 15 June 1957. reorganized and redesignated the 61st Artillery Regiment in 1958, and consolidated with the 436th Antiaircraft Artillery Missile Battalion (NIKE), the 548th Antiaircraft Artillery Missile Battalion (NIKE), and the 740th Antiaircraft Artillery Missile Battalion (NIKE) to form the present elements of the regiment. In addition, the 58th Antiaircraft Artillery Battery (EW) at
Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...
was reorganized and designated as Battery C (Electronic Warfare), 61st Artillery and assigned to
Fourth United States Army Fourth United States Army was a field army of the United States Army between 1932 and 1991. History In 1922, Fourth Army was organized as a unit of the Organized Reserves in New York City. It was allotted to the Regular Army as an inactive unit ...
.


Distinctive unit insignia


Description

A Gold color metal and enamel device 7/8 inch (2.22 cm) in height overall blazoned as follows: Per fess dancette Argent and Sable, a thunderbolt bendwise Proper penetrating the chariot wheel of Helios winged with two dexter wings inverted forming a saltire with the first charged all counterchanged and upon the wheel the sun in splendor of the third.


Symbolism

The aim and purpose of the unit are told in pictorial form by the story from Greek mythology of the winged chariot of Helios which was brought to earth by a bolt of lightning thrown by Zeus. A summary of the story is as follows: Helios, the sun, drove across the heavens from east to west daily, in a winged chariot drawn by the celestial horses. His son, Phaeton, in order to please his mother, and to satisfy those who doubted that he was really a son of Helios, obtained permission from his father to take his place in the chariot for one day. Phaeton had scarcely taken the reins when the celestial horses, despising their weak driver, turned out of their patch and set everything on fire. When the chariot came so near the earth that the Ethiopians were blackened by the near approach of the sun, Zeus, with a well aimed bolt of lightning, wrecked the chariot and sent it plunging into the river Po. This is the first historical record of a hit being scored against an aerial target. The shield is divided by the saw tooth line taken from Lord Delaware's arms which were the basis of the coat of arms for the Coast-Defense of the Chesapeake. The upper part of the shield is white, the lower half black, for day and knight.


Background

The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 61st Artillery Battalion on 16 November 1923. It was redesignated for the 61st Coast Artillery Regiment on 12 December 1939. The insignia was redesignated for the 61st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion on 10 August 1955. It was redesignated for the 61st Artillery Regiment on 19 December 1958. It was redesignated for the 61st Air Defense Artillery Regiment effective 1 September 1971.


Coat of arms


Blazon

* Shield Per fess dancette Argent and Sable, a thunderbolt bendwise Proper penetrating the chariot wheel of Helios winged with two dexter wings inverted forming a saltire with the first charged all counterchanged and upon the wheel the sun in splendor of the third. * Crest On a wreath of the colors Argent and Sable, an eagle's head erased Or. Motto NON EST AD ASTRA MOLLIS E TERRIS VIA (The Way To the Stars Is Not Easy).


Symbolism

* Shield The aim and purpose of the unit are told in pictorial form by the story from Greek mythology of the winged chariot of Helios which was brought to earth by a bolt of lightning thrown by Zeus. A summary of the story is as follows: Helios, the sun, drove across the heavens from east to west daily, in a winged chariot drawn by the celestial horses. His son, Phaeton, in order to please his mother, and to satisfy those who doubted that he was really a son of Helios, obtained permission from his father to take his place in the chariot for one day. Phaeton had scarcely taken the reins when the celestial horses, despising their weak driver, turned out of their patch and set everything on fire. When the chariot came so near the earth that the Ethiopians were blackened by the near approach of the sun, Zeus, with a well aimed bolt of lightning, wrecked the chariot and sent it plunging into the river Po. This is the first historical record of a hit being scored against an aerial target. The shield is divided by the saw tooth line taken from Lord Delaware's arms which were the basis of the coat of arms for the Coast-Defense of the Chesapeake. The upper part of the shield is white, the lower half black, for day and knight. * Crest The crest is from the arms of
James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
with the colors reversed, a red eagle's head on a gold shield.


Background

The coat of arms was originally approved for the 1st Antiaircraft Battalion on 25 October 1921. It was redesignated for the 61st Battalion (Antiaircraft) on 10 June 1922. It was redesignated for the 61st Coast Artillery Regiment on 15 December 1939. The insignia was redesignated for the 61st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion on 10 August 1955. It was redesignated for the 61st Artillery Regiment on 19 December 1958. It was redesignated for the 61st Air Defense Artillery Regiment effective 1 September 1971.


Campaign streamers

World War I * Streamer without inscription World War II • Iceland, 1942 & 1943 • England, 1943 & 1944 • Normandy, 1944 • Northern France, 1944 • Ardennes-Alsace, 1944 • Rhineland, 1944 & 1945 • Central Europe, 1945 Korea * CCF Intervention * First UN Counteroffensive * CCF Spring Offensive * UN Summer-Fall Offensive


Decorations

* Distinguished Unit Streamer embroidered ST VITH to 634th AAA(AW)btn *
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation The Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation () is a military unit award of the government of South Korea that may be presented to South Korean military units, and foreign military units for outstanding performance in defense of the Republic o ...
, Streamer embroidered KOREA to 635th AAA(AW)btn *
Belgian Fourragere Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German * Ancient Belgian language, an extinct langua ...
(1940) (awarded for Defense of Antwerp) to 184th AAA(Gun)btn


References

* * * Coast Artillery Journal, August 192

page 139 * Coast Artillery Journal, May 193


External links






B Battery
{{Artillery Regiments (United States) Air defense artillery regiments of the United States Army, 061