United States. Marine Corps. 17th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
Biography
The 17th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion of the United States Marine Corps played a significant role in World War II, particularly in the Pacific Theater. Originally formed in 1942 as the 2d Airdrome Battalion, it was the last defense battalion established by the Marine Corps during the war. Its initial mission was to provide air and coastal defense for advanced naval bases, and it served in the Ellice Islands, including Nukufetau. On March 22, 1944, the unit was redesignated as the 17th Defense Battalion and assigned to the V Amphibious Corps, only to be redesignated again as the 17th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion on April 19, 1944. After training in Hawaii for the occupation and defense of small Pacific islands, the battalion departed in three echelons between June 10-18, 1944, and spent 54 days at sea before arriving at Eniwetok and later moving to Tinian in August 1944. On Tinian, the battalion established crucial anti-aircraft positions north of the airfield and in the harbor, protecting key installations such as North Field, from which the B-29s carrying the atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki took off. The unit remained on Tinian, conducting routine patrols and capturing Japanese prisoners, until it was relieved of its tactical duties on August 15, 1945. The battalion finally departed Tinian on November 1, 1945, and was officially decommissioned on December 6, 1945, at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California.