The 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (4th AAA Bn) was a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...

unit that served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Formed in 1940 as the 4th Defense Battalion, its original mission was providing air and coastal defense of advanced naval bases. It was one of first five defense battalions deployed in support of the color-coded war plans that called for the defense of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and other outlying United States possessions in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. These five battalions were nicknamed the "Rainbow Five." During the war the battalion took part in combat operations during the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

and at

Vella Lavella Vella Lavella is an island in the Western Province (Solomon Islands), Western Province of Solomon Islands. It lies to the west of New Georgia, but is considered one of the New Georgia Islands, New Georgia Group. To its west are the Treasury Isla ...

. The battalion was decommissioned on 9 June 1945 before the end of the war.

History

Formation, Gitmo and Pearl Harbor

The 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion was commissioned on February 1, 1940, at

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island (often abbreviated as MCRD PI) is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. The original manpower for the battalion came from a cadre from the 3rd Defense Battalion. The battalion departed the United States in February 1941 bound for Guantanamo Bay,

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Upon arrival they immediately established camp at the Deer Point area of the base. The unit did not stay in Cuba long and in October 1941 it boarded ships headed for Hawaii. The battalion arrived at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

on 1 December 1941 and was present for the

six days later. Although the battalion did not have any heavy guns operational during the attack it was able to get antiaircraft machine guns operational against Japanese aircraft. On December 13 the battalion began manning air defense positions around Pearl Harbor. At the same time that portions of the battalion were manning those new antiaircraft positions a large portion of the battalion was loading onto the USS Tangier (AV-8) as part of the relief force for the garrison on

Wake Island Wake Island (), also known as Wake Atoll, is a coral atoll in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean. The atoll is composed of three islets – Wake, Wilkes, and Peale Islands – surrounding a lagoon encircled by a coral reef. The neare ...

. The ship was loaded by December 13 however it was unable to leave until December 16 because it had to wait for the USS Saratoga (CV-3) to refuel. The relief expedition did not make it to Wake Island in time and was instead diverted to Midway. 4th Defense Battalion units at Pearl continued to man their positions until February 23, 1942, when they were relieved in order to prepare for movement to the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

Efate

The 4th Defense Battalion departed Pearl Harbor and on March 29, 1942, came ashore on

Efate Efate (), also known as Île Vate (), is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. Geography It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third larg ...

in the

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...

. The battalion provided air defense coverage for the island and endured a

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

epidemic during its first few months ashore. In July 1942, the battalion provided a detachment, alongside Marine Aircraft Group 21 to protect the newly constructed airfield at

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 ...

helping to ensure the lines of communication between Hawaii and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

remained open prior to the allied landings on

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

. In March 1943 the battalion departed Efate and sailed for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

to rest and conduct additional training. It departed New Zealand in July 1943 and arrived at

on 30 July 1943. During this time the battalion conducted additional preparations for upcoming operations in

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province (Solomon Islands), Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the List of islands by area, 203rd-largest island in the world. Since July 1978, the island has been par ...

Vella Lavella and re-designation

The 4th Defense Battalion came ashore on D-Day during the assault on Vella Lavella and established positions near

Barakoma Airfield Barakoma Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands (archipelago), Solomon Islands archipelago. History World War II The U.S. 35th Infantry Regiment (United States), 35th Infantry Regiment Land Battle of Ve ...

. The battalion claimed five enemy airplanes shot down on the first day of the battle. Enemy air raids came frequently after the initial assault however they soon declined as enemy losses mounted. Between 15 August and 6 October 1943, the 4th Defense Battalion claimed to shootdown 42 Japanese aircraft during 121 total air raids. 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 The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general and special forces within the United States Department of the Navy that perform offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Fleet Marine ...

. Because of the divestiture of the coastal defense mission, the battalion was re-designated as the 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion on 15 May 1944. All elements of the 4th AAA Battalion were back on Guadalcanal by early July 1944.

Guadalcanal, Peleliu and decommissioning

The battalion remained on Guadalcanal until September 1944 when it was divided into a forward and rear echelon. The rear echelon remained on Guadalcanal while the forward echelon eventually arrived at the

Kossol Roads Kossol Roads is a large body of reef-enclosed water north of Babeldaob in northern Palau at .Kossol Roads
...

on 25 October 1944 in order to assist the 12th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion with defense of the Palau Islands. During this time they were under the operational control of the Army's 81st Infantry Division as the area ground defense commander for

Peleliu Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. ...

. On 27 February 1945, two 90mm batteries, one 20mm battery and a searchlight battery that were part of the rear echelon on Guadalcanal were disbanded. The 2nd platoon of the Searchlight Battery still on

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

was maintained. On 20 April 1945 the battalion was relieved of its mission on Peleliu. The battalions 2d Platoon Searchlight Battery on Saipan was disbanded on 5 May 1945. During April/May 1945 the remainder of the forward and rear echelons of the battalion were consolidated on

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

. On 9 June 1945 the 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion was decommissioned.

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 4th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion has been presented with the following awards:

Citations

References

;Bibliography * * * * Part 1 * Part 2 * ;Web * {{US Marine Corps navbox AAA4 Air defense units and formations of the United States Marine Corps 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: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...