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Photographer: Mike Stroud
Caption: Army National Guard Marker, South face
Additional Description: Upper plaque reads :A Brief History Battery A 214th C.A.A.A. Georgia National Guard
The organizational meeting of Battery A was held at Julian Smith Casino in October, 1939 under command of Captain Richaer E. Allen, Mayor of Augusta,Georgia.
Trained in searchlight and sound locator use, the 214th Regiment was one of the first National Guard units to be inducted into the U.S.Army to serve one year active duty. It was one of four searchlight batteries formed into a provisional battalion formed under the command of Colonial Nicholsen and was amoung the first units in the Army to recieve the highly secrective new weapon, radar.
Following Pearl Harbor and the Japanese Invasion of the Philippines, the battalion was deployed on the California coast. It was designated Battery 354th C.A.A.A. attached to the 4th Interceptor Command U.S. Army Air Corps.
In January, 1943 the unit was sent to the North African theater landing at the Port of Oran. It was attached to General George S. Patton's 3rd Corps.Proceeding to Telergma,Algeria and then Bizerte, Tunisia, it defended airfields and the invasion fleet destined for Sicily.After the invasion, it was sent to Algiers for defense of the Allied Headquarters of General Eisenhower and DeGaulle.
Shipped to Florence, Italy and given engineering training under combat conditions, the unit was designated as Company A 255th Engineer Combat Battalion and assigned to the front, south of Bologna. In the spring of 1945, it spearheaded the Po Valley offensive. This was the last great offensive of the Italian compaign. Battery A was instrumental in its succesful conclusion.
Battery A's year of active duty stretched into five years, three of which were overseas.The unit was engaged in six major battles in the North Africa and Italian campaigns and was awarded six bronze Battle Stars.
Lower plaque
Roster
Battery "A" 214th C.A.25 Nov. 1940
( List of Names )
Submitted: August 9, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.
Database Locator Identification Number: p31093
File Size: 0.182 Megabytes

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