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Further Reading

C Battery, 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment

The 4th Batallion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, at the time the oldest air defense battalion in the active Army, held an inactivation ceremony on 15 September 2005, at Leighton Barracks. The Battalion's Soldiers had seen action in almost every major conflict in US history, including in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II.

C Battery, 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment's roots were firmly found in the Field Artillery over 200 years ago. The Regiment was first constituted on 9 May 1794 in the regular Army as the 3rd Company, 4th Battalion, 3rd Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers. It was organized on 7 August 1794 at West Point, New York. The War of 1812 would mark the beginning of a long and distinguished history. The 3rd Regiment of Artillery stationed one battery at Fort Kearny, Nebraska to defend the Nebraska Territory, including the Oregon and Mormon Trails, and the Oregon and Washington territories against the Apache, Cheyenne, and Ute Indians. The 3rd Regiment would also deploy to the Southeastern United States to participate in the Indian Wars campaigns against the Seminole Indians.

The Regiment earned honor and distinction during several Civil War Battles including: Gettysburg, Chancellorsville and Antietam. Antietam marked General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North in September 1862 and led to Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. B Battery, 3rd Regiment of the United States Artillery, represented the earliest link to C Battery, 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery. At Gettysburg, B Battery, 3rd US Artillery Regiment distinguished themselves on 3 July 1863 by assisting in the pounding of General George Pickett and the infamous Pickett's Charge.

On the post-Civil War frontier, the 3rd Regiment would earn streamers for the Chinese Relief Expedition. During the Spanish American War of 1898, the Regiment aided in the invasion of Puerto Rico and the capture of San Juan Hill. In 1899 the Regiment participated in the Philippine Insurrection and in the defeat of Pancho Villa during the Mexican War. It was later broken up on 13 February 1901 and its elements reorganized and redesignated as separate Batteries of the Coast Artillery and Artillery Corps. In 1924 the Regiment was reconstituted as the 3rd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion and 4th Coastal Artillery Battalion in the 3rd Artillery Regiment with Headquarters at Fort MacArthur, California. The first army antiaircraft units were formed on 10 October 1917. By September 1939 a large portion of the Coast Artillery was antiaircraft in nature, and as the threat of enemy invasion faded, coast artillery personnel and assets were increasingly transformed into Antiaircraft Artillery units. Antiaircraft Artillery was officially separated from the Coast Artillery on 9 March 1942.

After 20 years of activating and deactivating separate Batteries, the 3rd Regiment was broken up on 18 October 1944 and its elements reorganized and redesignated. Several of the separate batteries were deployed to Europe for the great conflict of nations. During World War II, the separate batteries would protect fleet bases, defeat naval and air attacks against cities and harbors, undertake beach defense while acting as army or theater reserve artillery, and provide a mine-planter service. The Regiment participated in North Africa, Ardennes-Alsace, Rome-Arno, Anzio, Sicily, Omaha Beach, the Battle of the Bulge, and several other battles including those on the Far East front with Japan.

In the 1950s the Regiment would endure the harsh and cruel winters of the Korean War. While involved in the Korean War the Regiment earned the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation on 2 separate occasions. The first citation was for Uijong Bu from 18 April to 11 May 1951 and the second for Iron Triangle from 10-14 June 1951.

On 15 December 1961 Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Artillery Group consisting of the 18th Antiaircraft Artillery Missile Battalion; 3rd and 43rd Antiaircraft Artillery Battalions; and the 3rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion were consolidated, reorganized and redesignated as the 3rd Artillery. In 1965 the Regiment deployed to Vietnam to halt the expansion of communism.

The 3rd Artillery was finally reorganized and redesignated on 1 September 1971 as the 3rd Air Defense Artillery, a parent regiment under the combat arms regimental system. The 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment was activated in 1989 under the US Army Regimental System. On 30 July 1989, the "I Yield Not, I Strike" Battalion was activated. 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery was activated at Larson Barracks, Kitzingen, West Germany. During July 1995, A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery was reflagged as C Battery, 4th Battalion, 3rd Air Defense Artillery at Fort Riley, Kansas. The Battery was attached to support the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division during operations.