A History of Battery C, 1st Battalion 214th Field Artillery Regiment

By Maj. William Carraway, Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

 

Left: Members of Waynesboro’s Battery D, 101st AAA Battalion disassemble a 90-millimeter antiaircraft artillery gun at Camp Stewart
where they are undergoing two weeks of field training in July 1949. Right: Flames erupt from the muzzle of a Georgia Army National Guard
howitzer of Battery C, 1-214th Field Artillery during live-fire training at Fort Stewart in March, 2016. Photo by Capt. William Carraway

Early History

Battery C was originally organized February 5, 1890 as the Burke Light Infantry.[1] On July 5, 1916, the unit, then serving as Company E, 1^st Georgia Infantry Regiment, was mobilized to the Mexican Border. The company served in El Paso, Texas before returning to Georgia in April 1917. Remaining in federal service, the company was redesignated Headquarters Battery, 118^th Field Artillery Regiment September 23, 1917 and on October 1 was redesignated Battery C, 118^th FA.[2] The unit mobilized to France with the 31^st Infantry Division in October 1918 but arrived too late to take an active part in combat operations during World War I.

CAMP WHEELER, Macon, Ga. February 21, 1918 – Members of the 118th Field Artillery Regiment conduct “Butts Manual Drill” (rifle PT)
at Camp Wheeler. Photo 5485, National Archives Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Md.

The battery was reorganized in Waynesboro June 18, 1924 as Battery A, 118^th Field Artillery Regiment, a unit of the 30^th Division.[3] On December 1, 1934, the 118^th was converted from horse-drawn artillery unit and received trucks for its towed 75mm howitzers.[4] In 1939, on the eve of World War I, the unit’s command team consisted of Capt. William J. Hatcher and 1^st Sgt. Wister Black.

World War II

Ordered into federal service September 16, 1940, Battery A mobilized to Fort Jackson, S.C. for initial training with other units of the 30th Infantry Division. In June, the 30th ID mobilized for the Tennessee Maneuvers which put the Soldiers of the 118th in the field training until August 1941 when they returned to Fort Jackson.[5] That fall, the 118th departed for the Carolina Maneuvers, a massive training exercise conducted in North and South Carolina. During the maneuvers, the 30th Infantry Division was part of the I Corps, First Army.[6]

At the conclusion of the maneuvers, the 118th returned to Fort Jackson and in the summer of 1942 traded its 75 mm guns for 105 mm towed howitzers. In October the 118th traveled to Camp Blanding Fla., where it conducted training with the new weapons systems through May 1943. A training stint at Camp Gordon followed after which the battalion mobilized to Camp Tick, Tenn., where the battalion tackled field problems and maneuvers. This training rotation ran through November 1943 when the 118th was dispatched to Camp Atterbury, Indiana. Here, the battalion honed its expertise with the howitzer in preparation for deployment to the European Theater. In February 1944 the battalion was transported by rail to Camp Miles Standish, Mass. From there, the 118th set sail for England on the John T. Erickson on February 12, 1944.[7]

The 118th was in camp in England on June 6, 1944 when Operation Overlord was launched. Six days later, the 118th left camp just after 3:00 in the morning and arrived 12-hours later at a marshaling point near Dorchester.[8] Battery C loaded onto Landing Ship Tank 30 along with Headquarters Battery for transport to the continent and arrived the next day.

The 1st Battalion 118th Field Artillery Regiment unloads equipment on Omaha Beach June 13, 1944.

On June 13, 1944, the first elements of the 118th Field Artillery Battalion went ashore on Omaha Beach. Reaching a position near Neuilly, France, the Soldiers of the 118th established their first firing positions in an orchard outside of town. Three days later, an observation post overlooking the Vire Et Taute Canal called in a fire mission which was routed to one of the howitzers of Battery C. Thus, on the afternoon of June 16, 1944, with the pull of lanyard cord, Battery C fired the first round of the war for the 118^th. Battery C and the 118th Field Artillery served with the 30^th Division from France to Germany earning four Meritorious Unit Commendations. For their actions at the Battle of Mortain, the 118^th received the Presidential Unit Citation.

Post War Reorganization and the Korean War

BG Paul Stone January 1963

Following the post-World War II reorganization of the Georgia National Guard, The former Battery C, 118^th FA was reestablished in Waynesboro as Battery D, 101^st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion assigned to the Winder-based 108^th Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade. The 101^st was called to active federal service on August 14, 1950 with other units of the 108th AAA.[9] With a combined strength of just over 1,000 men, the 108th was dispatched to Fort Bliss Texas and assigned to the 8th U.S. Army. In November 1951, the 108th was dispatched to the Midwest and the 101st was garrisoned at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. From there, the batteries of the 101^st were assigned to protect the skies over cities and industrial centers of the Midwest with Battery D protecting the skies over Chicago.

The Waynesboro Battery remained in position through April 1952 with Capt. Paul Stone in command. After demobilizing at Camp McCoy, the 101st returned home. Over the next seven years, the Waynseboro battery earned six consecutive superior ratings and Stone received the Georgia Distinctive Service Medal and promotion to major.[10] After a brief tenure on the staff of the 108th AAA, Stone transferred to the Georgia Air National Guard. He retired in 1971 as a brigadier general having served eight years as commander of the Ga. ANG.[11]

 

The Berlin Crisis

On July 1, 1959 Battery D was reorganized as Company B, 111^th Signal Battalion.[12] Later that year, Company B became the first unit of the Georgia National Guard to receive a live video broadcast which was sent from Fort Gordon, Ga.[13] The battalion conducted annual training at Fort Gordon June 26-July 10 1960 and July 16-30, 1961.

FORT GORDON, Ga. November 30, 1959 - Major General George Hearn, Georgia's Adjutant General, and Brig. Gen. David P. Gibbs,
commanding general of the Signal Training Center conduct the first live telecast sent to National Guardsmen during training.
More than two hours of live and video taped messages were transmitted from Fort Gordon to the Waynesboro, Ga. Armory of Company B,
 111th Signal Battalion. Georgia National Guard Archives.

In August 1961, after months of tension between the United States and Soviet Union the Soviets blocked the lines of communication into Berlin, isolating the city and began construction of the Berlin Wall. In response, President Kennedy activated 156,000 Guard and Reservists and dispatched two additional Army divisions to Europe. While several units of the Georgia National Guard were placed on alert the 111^th Signal Battalion was the only one called to active federal service. The 111th reported for active-duty October 15th and departed by train for Fort Meade, Md. October 25th.[14]

Guardsmen of Waynesboro-based Company B 111th Signal Battalion. Georgia National Guard Archives.

Arriving at Fort Meade the next day, the 111th replaced an active-duty signal battalion which had been mobilized to Europe. Within 24 hours, the Berlin Crisis reached new heights as U.S. and Soviet tanks faced each other with live ammunition at Checkpoint Charlie, a crossing point between East and West Berlin. Ultimately, Kennedy and Khruschev, speaking through intermediaries, agreed to deescalate the situation and the tanks were withdrawn.

Unaware of how close the United States had come to the brink of war, the 111th settled into their new environment at Fort Meade. In addition to their regular duties, the 111th trained aggressively for possible deployment, conducted field problems and became more proficient in switchboard operation and the emerging technology of television.

In May, 1962, the 111th Signal Battalion participated in Operation Wet Horse II, a U.S. Army amphibious assault exercise designed to test the capability of reserve units to conduct large-scale landing operations. Cameras of the 111th Signal Battalion covered the operation as tanks of the 150th Armored Cavalry Regiment drove ashore from landing craft piloted by the U.S. Army Reserve’s 231st Transportation Company. Images of these landings were prominently featured in U.S. and European newspapers and conveyed the resolve of the United States’ position in Berlin.

FORT MILES, Del., May, 1962 - A jeep with a trailer slashes through the surf as it disembarks from an Army landing craft at Fort Miles during
Exercise Wet Horse II. It will be followed by an M-48 Patton tank.  Photo by Georgia Army National Guard, 111th Signal Battalion, Photo Platoon.
  Image courtesy of National Guard Educational Foundation, Washington, D.C.

On August 9, 1962, their mission complete, the Georgia Guardsmen of the 111th Signal Battalion boarded charter aircraft for the flight home. Landing at Bush Field in Augusta, the 111th received a hero’s welcome. Major Gen. Hearn greeted each Guardsman as they departed the aircraft then read a special citation from Governor Ernest Vandiver commending the Soldiers for their” loyalty and sacrifices made in the national interest.”[15]

Reorganization, the 48^th AD and Return to Artillery Mission

The 1963 reorganization of the Georgia Army National Guard prompted the conversion of Company B to form Company C, 3^rd Battalion, 121^st Infantry Regiment.[16] The conversion brought the company under the 48^th Armor Division. This command relationship held through the December 1967 inactivation of the 48^th AD whereupon the unit was converted to its present designation, Battery C, 214^th FA, and equipped with self-propelled 155mm howitzers.[17]

Soldiers of Battery C were among the 500 Georgia Guardsmen activated in response to the winter snowstorm of February 10-11, 1973. The Waynesboro Guardsmen responded to more than 200 calls for assistance and delivered 18 stranded motorists to the Waynesboro Armory for shelter where they provided them blankets, lodging and meals.[18]

FORT STEWART, Ga. July 1974 - Georgia National Guard Soldiers of Battery C, 1st Battalion 214th Artillery of Waynesboro, Ga. receive a briefing
before a firing mission at annual training at Fort Stewart, Ga. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The Waynesboro Battery mobilized to Norway for annual training as part of the NATO Composite Force in 1992, 1994 and 1996.[19] Operating more than 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, the artillerymen of the 1-214^th trained in a region that had previously been the target of Russian invasion. Within weeks of their return from Norway in 1994, the Waynesboro Guardsmen were deployed in response to Tropical Storm Alberto which caused widespread flooding in South Georgia in July 1994.

In 1998 the 214^th received the M-109A6 Paladin, the most advanced self-propelled howitzer in the Army inventory. The Paladins replaced the older model M109A3 Howitzers.[20]

The War on Terror to Present

ATLANTA, April 26, 2014 - Specialist Jonathan Mathews of Battery C, 1-214th Field Artillery is honored by Governor Nathan Deal during
a ceremony following the return of the unit from Afghanistan. Georgia National Guard archives.

The 214^th was activated March 20, 2003 for service in Iraq. After arriving at Fort Bragg the battalion’s mission was changed to support Operation Noble Eagle which encompassed state-side security operations. Soldiers of Battery C were among the nearly 500 Soldiers mobilized and were the last to return from mobilization in January 2004.[21]

Battery C mobilized to Iraq in June 2007 following a train up at Fort Bliss and assumed the detainee security mission at Camp Bucca. The unit returned to Georgia June 2, 2008.[22]  

In 2013, the 1-214^th again mobilized overseas to provide base defense operations in western Afghanistan. As part of the mission the 1-214^th secured entry control points, provided flight line security and patrolled an area of 315 square kilometers.[23]

FORT STEWART, Ga. March 16, 2016 – Battery C, 1-214th Field Artillery conducting live-fire training. Photo by Capt. William Carraway.

In 2020, Battery C relocated from Waynesboro to Ellenwood.[24] The following year the unit added to its long history over overseas mobilizations with personnel and howitzers participating in Exercise African Lion in Morocco in June 2021.

 

The guidon of the Ellenwood-based Battery C, 1st Battalion, 214th Field Artillery, 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, stands at the ready during
M109A6 Paladin howitzer training during African Lion 2021 at Cap Draa, Morocco, June 16, 2021. Photo by Sgt. Nathan Baker.

 

The battery guidon of the Ellenwood-based Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 214th Field Artillery, 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Georgia Army National Guard, stands at the ready during M109A6 Paladin howitzer training during African Lion 2021 at Cap Draa, Morocco, June 16, 2021. Photo by Sgt. Nathan Baker.

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[1] Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Georgia and Official Register of the National Guard for the Year 1920. (Atlanta: Chas. P. Byrd) 169.

[2] Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Georgia and Official Register of the National Guard for the Year 1920. (Atlanta: Chas. P. Byrd) 169.

[3] Center for Military History. “Roster, Federally Recognized National Guard Units. (Parts 1 and 2) 1917.” Unpublished manuscript, 1925, typescript.

[4] Center for Military History. “Form 3-10955 Battery A 118^th FA (typescript)”

[5] Gordon Burns Smith. History in Action: 118th Field Artillery, 30th Infantry Division 1942-1945, 2nd Edition. (Washington, D.C.: Florida “Gator” Chapter, 1988) 8.

[6] Christopher R. Gabel. The U.S. Army GHQ Maneuvers of 1941. (Washington, D.C: Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1992) 200.

[7] Gordon Burns Smith. History in Action: 118th Field Artillery, 30th Infantry Division 1942-1945, 2nd Edition. (Washington, D.C.: Florida “Gator” Chapter, 1988) 19.

[8] Gordon Burns Smith. History in Action: 118th Field Artillery, 30th Infantry Division 1942-1945, 2nd Edition. (Washington, D.C.: Florida “Gator” Chapter, 1988) 33.

[9] Renee Hylton. Where Are We Going: The National Guard and the Korean War 1950-1953, 51.

[10] “Brig. Gen. Paul S. Stone Becomes Asst. Adj. Gen. for Air.” Georgia Guardsman, January 1963, 5.

[11] “Retirements.” Georgia Guardsman, May 1974, 20.

[12] RA 73-59 June 10, 1959 effective July 1, 1959.

[13] “Closed-Circuit Telecasts Beamed to 111^th Sig BN.” Georgia Guardsman, Oct-Nov-Dec 1959, 8.

[14] “President Mobilizes Georgia Guard’s 111^th Signal Battalion.” Georgia Guardsman. Oct, Nov, Dec 1961, 4-5.

[15] “Signal Battalion Returns to Georgia After Ft. Meade Duty.” Georgia Guardsman, July-August 1962, 8-9.

[16] RA 57-63 March 21, 1963 effective April 16, 1963.

[17] RA 71-67 December 14, 1967 effective January 1, 1968.

[18] “Guardsmen Rescue Georgians and Travelers.” Georgia Guardsman, March April 1973, 2-4.

[19] “Ga. Guard Spans Globe for Annual Training.” Georgia Guardsman, March 1993, 5.

[20] Building for the New Century: The Georgia Department of Defense in 1998. (Atlanta: 1998) 7.

[21] First Friday Briefing, February 7, 2004.

[22] First Friday Briefing, June 2008, 1 and 15.

[23] Jasmine Jacobs. “Welcome Home Granite Battalion. Georgia Guardsman, January 2014, 3.

[24] OA 133-20 September 29, 2020 effective May 25, 2020.

Christmas in Combat: A Review of GA. National Guard Deployments 1916-2021

By Major William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

 

Citizen Soldiers of the Georgia National Guard celebrate Christmas overseas in 1918 and 2018. Right photo by 1st Lt. Leland White.

For more than a century, Citizen Soldiers and Airmen of the Georgia National Guard have mobilized in support of operations at home and abroad. The separation of deployment for service members and their families can be much more difficult during the holiday season, a time when families tend to gather to celebrate. This year, nearly 650 of Georgia’s Citizen Soldiers and Airmen are deployed around the world. In performing their duty, these service members are weaving their own thread in the tapestry of service which links them with past generations of Guardsmen.

Mexican Border Service, 1916

In Jun 1916, more than 3,600 Georgia National Guard Soldiers were called to active duty following unrest on the Mexican Border. Deployed to El Paso in October, these Soldiers would pass Christmas guarding the border from outposts scattered from Yselta Texas to lonely stations in New Mexico. Returning in March 1917, these Guardsmen remained in active service and were immediately summoned to training camps for premobilization training for World War I.[1]

 

Soldiers of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Georgia Infantry Regiment pose for this Christmas card in El Paso, Texas in 1916. Company F
would serve in WWI as Company A, 151st Machine Gun Battalion and in World War II as Service Company, 121st Infantry Regiment.
Photo from the 1st Lt. Vivian Roberts collection courtesy of Tonie Maxwell.

This Christmas card from World War I
depicts Santa Claus, Uncle Sam and an
American dough boy.

World War I

In the summer of 1917, the three Macon-based companies of the Georgia National Guard’s 2^nd Infantry Regiment formed the 151^st Machine Gun Company. Dispatched to France with the 42^nd Infantry Division in 1917, they would spend Christmas 1917 in France, and after participating in the major campaigns of 1918 spent the following Christmas on occupation duty in Kripp, Germany.[2]

The balance of the Georgia National Guard trained with the 31^st Division at Camp Wheeler near Macon until mobilizing for France in October 1918. Arriving too late to take part as organic units in combat operations, Georgia’s Guard units nevertheless spent Christmas in France before rotating home in 1919.

 

The Georgia Air National Guard in World War II

Formed in 1941, the Georgia National Guard’s 128^th Observation Squadron performed patrol duty from New Orleans as part of the 26^th Antisubmarine Wing over Christmas 1942.[3] Christmas 1943 found the unit stationed at MacDill Field in Florida where the Guardsmen formed a cadre of the 483^rd Bombardment Group and 818^th Bombardment Squadron. The following year the 843^rd was assigned to the 15^th Air Force in Europe where the 818^th was redesignated the 840^th Bombardment Squadron. Flying B-17s, the 840^th served in the skies over Europe and was rotated home in September 1945.[4]

Georgia National Guardsmen of the 840th Bombardment Squadron observe Christmas in Italy in 1944. Georgia National Guard Archives.

The Georgia Army National Guard in The Pacific Theater of World War II

When it arrived in Port Moresby, New Guinea in May 1942, the 101^st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, formerly the 1^st Squadron, 108^th Cavalry, Ga. National Guard, was the only American combat unit on the Island.[5] Through Christmas 1943, the 101^st provided air defense over five airdromes near Port Moresby and were a key element in the allied victories in Papua and New Guinea. For its actions, the 101^st received the Presidential Unit Citation.[6] Meanwhile, the 214^th Field Artillery Group, which was formed from the Georgia National Guard’s 264^th Coast Artillery Battalion and 3^rd Battalion 122^nd Infantry in 1940, provided air defense over Henderson Field, Guadalcanal in 1942.[7]

The 214th Field Artillery Regiment and 101st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion fought in the Pacific Theater of World War II.
Photo by  Capt. William Carraway

The lineage of these Georgia National Guard units who fought in the Pacific Theater are preserved today in the 1^st Battalion, 214^th Field Artillery; 177^th Brigade Engineer Battalion and 878^th Engineer Battalion.

 

The European Theater of World War II

Having waded ashore Omaha and Utah Beaches in Normandy France from June to August 1944, seven battalions of Georgia National Guard Soldiers spent Christmas engaged in the Ardennes following a surprise German counterattack remembered today as the Battle of the Bulge.

945^th Field Artillery Battalion 

When the Germans launched the Ardennes Offensive, the 945^th Field Artillery Battalion was engaged with the IIX Corps, 3^rd Army in the Lorraine Campaign near Nancy. In action throughout December, the battalion had taken severe casualties with just 72 men remaining for duty in Battery C.^[8] On December 19, Lt. Gen. George Patton ordered the XII Corps to move via Luxembourg to the Ardennes. The 945^th, still recovering from the counterbattery fire of December 18, did not get started until the next day. Due to the heavy snow and unbearable cold, the route of march was torturous and delayed. A Soldier in the 945^th recalled that the mud froze to their boots and that men clustered to ride on the hoods of M5 tractors in order to stay warm. ^[9]

On Christmas Eve, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton distributed these personalized messages
 to the Soldiers of the 3rd Army including members of the Georgia Army National Guard’s
945th Field Artillery Battalion. Georgia National Guard Archives

The 3^rd Army was moving to first stabilize the German penetration, then counterattack.^[10] The American counterattack brought with it 108 artillery battalions with nearly 1,300 guns. The guns of the 945^th FAB went into action December 23 in Luxembourg targeting roads, bridges and enemy counterbattery fire. The next day, the 945^th fired 549 high explosive rounds and 17 white phosphorous rounds. ^[11] That evening, Patton distributed a personal message and prayer written by Chaplain James O’Neill to the Soldiers of the 3^rd Army.

On Christmas Day, the Soldiers of the 945^th received turkey dinner. Patton circulated through the divisions of the 3^rd Army congratulating the men for their efforts. He subsequently wrote that “No other Army in the world except the American could have done such a thing.”

 

179^th Field Artillery Battalion^[12] 

Also moving out with the 3^rd Army on December 20 was the 179^th Field Artillery Battalion, a Georgia Guard unit which had been based in Atlanta prior to the start of the War. Moving with the 4^th Armored Division, the 179^th arrived in Nagen, Belgium where the Georgia Guardsmen delivered their first salvos into German flank positions on December 23, 1944. From their firing position, the 179^th Field Artillery Battalion supported the 26^th Division and would continue to do so through Christmas. In January, the 179^th, moving with the 4^th Armored Division advanced to Bastogne to relieve the encircled 101^st Airborne Division.

A cartoon depiction of the rapid mobilization of the Georgia National Guard’s 179th Field Artillery Battalion and 4th Armor Division to the Ardennes
in December 1944 as drawn by a Soldier of the 179th.

 121^st Infantry Regiment - 1944

The 121^st Infantry Regiment spent November and December in the bloody Hurtgen Forest, an experience one Gray Bonnet Soldier recalled as “hell with icicles” During the fighting, Staff Sgt. John Minick led an element of Soldiers through a minefield, silenced an enemy machine gun, killed 20 Germans and captured 10 before he was killed by a mine explosion. For his valorous actions, Minnick posthumously received the Medal of Honor.^[13]

In late December, the objective of the 121^st Infantry Regiment was the town of Obermaubach, east of Hurtgen. Near Obermaubach was a dam on the Roer River. If the Germans destroyed the dam the resulting flood would hamper 1^st Army efforts to cross.^[14]

The 121^st attack jumped off on Dec. 22, 1944. Company B, under command of Capt. William McKenna achieved early success, driving 300 yards through enemy mortar and machine gun fire. Company C gained a foothold in the town and the 121^st began clearing operations. An enemy sniper felled Maj. Joseph Johnston, commander of 1^st Battalion but he refused medical evacuation until the engagement was decided.^[15]

Capt. William McKenna

Christmas Eve and Christmas came with the infantry still heavily engaged. Company F cleared four bunkers while Soldiers of Company K knocked out two enemy strong points and cleared an approach for armor forces to move forward in support.

Stories of individual heroism were replete during the Christmas Day attack of the 121^st against Obermaubach. Technical Sgt. Raymond Kommer moved out ahead of his squad which had been pinned down by machine gun fire. Incredibly, Kommer managed to crawl within arms-reach of the enemy machine gun position. When the enemy gunner paused to reload, Kommer reached into the machine gun nest and unceremoniously pulled the gun right out of the gunner’s hands.^[16]

While leading Company B, Capt. McKenna low crawled through enemy minefields within sight of enemy positions and called in artillery fire. He remained in an exposed position calling in targets before machine gun fire compelled him to return to his men. Still, he moved from foxhole to foxhole encouraging his Soldiers through personal example. During the attack that followed, McKenna was killed by small arms fire.^[17]

 

118^th Field Artillery Battalion

The Georgia Army National Guard’s 118th Field Artillery Battalion
went into position near Malmedy, Belgium just before Christmas 1944.

On December 16, 1944, the Soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 118^th Field
Artillery Battalion, part of the 30^th Infantry Division, were in Langweiler, Germany when they received the order to be prepared to mobilize following the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes. Hastily loading personnel, equipment, and Christmas souvenirs onto trucks, the battalion moved out of Langweiler at 8:00 p.m. into darkness and swirling snow.^[18] The vehicle column endured a night attack by the Luftwaffe the next morning and by December 18, the 118^th was passing through Malmedy. Going into position near the town of Spa, Belgium, the Soldiers would soon find themselves firing at their old nemeses from Mortain, the 1^st SS Panzer Division.^[19] The resolve of the Soldiers was strengthened after learning of the American Soldiers who had been ambushed and murdered along the road in Malmedy through which they had passed just two days previous.

On December 19, the 118^th batteries received fire missions and began firing at the rate of one round per minute against the advancing German vanguard. Presently, the batteries were ordered to increase their rate of fire to two rounds per minute. This rate of fire was sustained until the guns became red hot and the falling snows sizzled on tubes. Soldiers of Service Battery were hard pressed to keep up with the ammunition requirements of the line batteries and were compelled to race about on steep, icy roads bringing ammunition forward.

Over the next several days, the 118^th fought the Germans and the elements with freezing cold temperatures and low clouds preventing American aircraft from flying over the lines. Finally, on Christmas Eve, the clouds lifted, and allied aircraft were soon bombing German positions and strafing supply lines.

The fighting continued in earnest on Christmas and the Soldiers had to rotate from their positions to enjoy their turkey dinner. From December 19 to 25, the battalion fired approximately 20,000 rounds.^[20] They would continue to fire with deadly effect into the New Year and halfway through January before the Allies began to push the Germans back.

 

230^th Field Artillery Battalion

Happy Soldiers of the Georgia National Guard’s
230th Field Artillery Battalion receive
Christmas packages from home Dec. 24,
1944 near Spa, Belgium

Like its sister battalion, the 118^th, the Georgia Guard’s 230^th Field Artillery Battalion received an urgent alert to move while stationed at Langendorf, Germany.^[21] Shortly before midnight December 17, the battalion abandoned their comfortable houses with decorated fir trees and began the movement to the Ardennes. Along the route, the 230^th experienced the same Luftwaffe attacks as related by the Soldiers of the 118^th. Moving south from Aachen, the 230^th established firing positions near Malmedy. Although in proximity to the 118^th the 230^th did not receive the same quantity of fire due to the terrain of the valley in which they were emplaced. Nevertheless, the guns of the 230^th supported the 120^th Infantry Regiment was positioned to their front.

The 230^th had perhaps the most fortunate position on Christmas of any Georgia Guard unit in Europe. The battalion’s headquarters was near the Belgian town of Spa. The Soldiers were able to rotate from Malmedy to Spa where they enjoyed Turkey dinner along with the hot bubbling mineral springs. Without ornaments, the Soldiers decorated small fir trees with bright paper and bubble gum wrappers. Not content to enjoy the blessings of Christmas by themselves, the Soldiers collected truckloads of candy and food to provide for the children of nearby Malmedy. Having enjoyed a relatively peaceful Christmas interlude with the moonlight reflecting of the quiet snowy valley, the Soldiers would soon advance to provide artillery support as the Infantry Regiments of the 30^th Division pressed east.^[22]

Korea[23]

On August 14, 1950, the Georgia Army National Guard’s 108th AAA was activated for federal service. In addition to the 101st and 250th AAA Battalions, the 178th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Operations Detachment and 420th Signal Radar Maintenance Unit rounded out the brigade. With a combined strength of just over 1,000 men, the 108th was dispatched to Fort Bliss Texas and assigned to the 8th U.S. Army. In November 1951, the 108th was dispatched to the Midwest with the 250th arriving at Fort Custer, Michigan and the 101st garrisoned at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. From these bases of operation, the Georgia Guard batteries were independently assigned to cities and industrial areas from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania to provide anti-aircraft capability against the threat of Soviet missile and aircraft attacks. First Lieutenant Stone’s battery of 90 mm guns was assigned to protect the skies over Chicago.

Georgia National Guard Soldiers of the 101st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion stand in the frigid cold of a Chicago winter while waiting for their
C-47 transport plane to refuel and bring them home for Christmas in 1951. Georgia National Guard Archives.

In December, Maj. Gen. Ernest Vandiver, Adjutant General of Georgia, dispatched the state’s C-47 cargo aircraft to bring Georgia Guardsmen home for Christmas from Camp McCoy and Fort Custer. While the Georgia Guardsmen of the 101st were able to rotate home for Christmas, freezing weather prevented the Guardsmen of the 250th AAA from rotating home from Fort Custer.

The Georgia Air National Guard’s 54^th Fighter Wing was activated in October 1950. Mobilized to Japan, Guard aviators flew combat missions in the skies over North Korea before returning to the United States in 1952.

Vietnam

In November and December, 1965, air crews of the Georgia Air National Guard and Citizen-Airmen from other states volunteered for a special mission to Vietnam. Nearly 80 Air National Guard aircraft ultimately participated in Operation Christmas Star, a multi-state airlift operation designed to provide service members in Southeast Asia with Christmas gifts contributed by a grateful nation. The Georgia aircrews delivered nearly 49,000 pounds of Christmas gifts and mail in addition to 97,000 pounds of Air Force cargo.[24]

The first of six Georgia Air National Guard C-97 Stratofreighters is loaded with Christmas Gifts bound for
Vietnam as part of Operation Christmas Star. Georgia National Guard archives.

Desert Shield / Desert Storm

Eleven units of the Georgia Army National Guard were mobilized for Desert Shield with six units ultimately deploying to the Middle East. The aggregate of these units encompassed nearly 5,300 Soldiers, approximately half of the Ga. ARNG’s authorized strength.[25]

The Georgia Air National Guard mobilized ten units. Personnel of the 165^th Tactical Airlift Group, 224^th Joint Communications Support Squadron and 283^rd Combat Communications Squadron were the first Georgia Guardsmen deployed to Saudi Arabia and Europe in support of Operation Desert Shield.[26]

Iraq and Afghanistan

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 more than 22,000 of Georgia’s Citizen Soldiers and Airmen have been called to support combat operations overseas. Despite the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, Georgia National Guard units continue to support contingency missions in the Central Command area of operations. Guardsmen have also been separated from families by domestic missions ranging from cyber missions to supporting border security in the southwest United States.

 

Soldiers of 2nd Battalion 121st Infantry Regiment observe Christmas in Kunduz, Afghanistan Dec. 25, 2009.

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[1] William Carraway “Cactus, Sage Brush, Fleas and Ants.” Georgiaguardhistory.com. April 5, 2017, http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2017/04/cactus-and-sage-brush-fleas-and-ants.html

[2] William Carraway “November to December 1918: ‘We will probably have to go into Germany’”. Georgiaguardhistory.com. Dec. 12, 2018, http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2018/12/november-to-december-1918-we-will.html

 

[3] William E. Ridley. Georgia Air National Guard History 1941-2000. (Clarkesville: Fine Books 2000) 11.

 

[4] William E. Ridley. Georgia Air National Guard History 1941-2000. 12.

 

[5] Richard W. Titus. A Chronicle of Georgia’s 101st Separate Coast Artillery Battalion, Antiaircraft, Automatic Weapons Limited to the Period February 16, 1942 to January 1, 1944. First American Ground Troops in New Guinea. (Crabapple, Ga.: Richard Titus June 1986) 2-31.

[6] George C. Marshall. “General Order. No. 21”. (Washington: War Department May 6, 1943).

 

[7] The Center for Military History. “Lineage and Honors of the 214^th Field Artillery Regiment.”

 

[8] William M. Cosgrove. Time on Target: the 945th Field Artillery Battalion in World War II. (Place of publication not identified: W.M. Cosgrove, III, 1997) 111.

 

[9] William M. Cosgrove. Time on Target: the 945th Field Artillery Battalion in World War II. 125.

[10] William M. Cosgrove. Time on Target: the 945th Field Artillery Battalion in World War II. 126

 

[11] William M. Cosgrove. Time on Target: the 945th Field Artillery Battalion in World War II. 127

 

[12] History and Battle Record of 179 F.A. Bn., 1857-1945. (Regensburg, Germany: Frederich Pustet, 1945) 16.

[13] The Gray Bonnet: Combat History of the 121st Infantry. (Baton Rouge, LA: Army & Navy Publishing Company, 1946) 33.

 

[14] The Gray Bonnet: Combat History of the 121st Infantry, 41.

 

[15] The Gray Bonnet: Combat History of the 121st Infantry, 42.

 

[16] The Gray Bonnet: Combat History of the 121st Infantry, 43.

[17] The Gray Bonnet: Combat History of the 121st Infantry, 43.

 

[18]Gordon Burns Smith. History in Action: 118th Field Artillery, 30th Infantry Division 1942-1945, 2nd Edition. (Washington, D.C.: Florida “Gator” Chapter, 1988) 83.

 

[19] Gordon Burns Smith. History in Action: 118th Field Artillery, 30th Infantry Division 1942-1945, 2nd Edition, 85.

[20] Gordon Burns Smith. History in Action: 118th Field Artillery, 30th Infantry Division 1942-1945, 2nd Edition, 88.

 

[21] John Jacobs et al. On the Way: A Historical Narrative of the Two-Thirtieth Field Artillery Battalion Thirtieth Infantry Division. (Poessneck, Germany: F. Gerold Verlag, 1945) 48.

 

[22] John Jacobs et al. On the Way: A Historical Narrative of the Two-Thirtieth Field Artillery Battalion Thirtieth Infantry Division, 54.

 

[23] William Carraway. “The Georgia National Guard and the Korean War.” June 25, 2001, http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2021/06/the-georgia-national-guard-and-korean.html.

 

[24] William Carraway “The Georgia Air National Guard Brings Christmas to Troops in Vietnam.” Georgiaguardhistory.com

[25] Kenneth Davis. “After the Storm.” The Georgia Guardsman.” Fall, 1991, 1.

[26] Beryl Diamond “Georgia National Guard Responds to Gulf Crisis.” The Georgia Guardsman.” Spring, 1990, 1.