Bedford in Bedford County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion

Very Low Altitude (VLA)

— National D-Day Memorial —

320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

1. 320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion Marker

Inscription.

320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion. Very Low Altitude (VLA). 320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion Very Low Altitude (VLA) . The 320th Coast Artillery Barrage Balloon Battalion (Colored) was activated at Camp Tyson, Tennessee, on 10 December 1942. All the enlisted men and seventeen of the battalion's 49 officers were black. Redesignated on 15 July 1943, the 320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion, VLA, comprised Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), three firing batteries (A, B, and C), and a medical detachment. The battalion trained for four months, then staged at Camp Shanks, New York, to embark HMS Aquitania. On 17 November, the 320th debarked at Greenock, Scotland, and soon encamped at Checkendon, England, fifteen minutes flight from German airfields, which gave urgency to the battalion's preparations for battle. Batteries A, B, and C fired anti-aircraft (AA) barrages of two-ply-rubber, gas-filled, blimp-shaped balloons tethered by steel cables to winches. Depending on balloon models, the barrages ranged from 6,000 to 10,000 teet. They disrupted low-level bombing and strafing runs and forced enemy aircraft to operate at higher altitudes, increasing their vulnerability to conventional AA fire. Six weeks before D-Day, the battalion formed into several assault groups. During ensuing maneuvers, the troop configurations evolved as the 320th strove to extend VLA coverage, increase operational flexibility, and enhance command and control. By late May, the battalion could integrate VLA barrages for combat teams dispersed along England's southern coast from Portsmouth to Land's End. On D-Day, three-man combat teams of the 320th went ashore in more than 150 landing craft, most flying inflated balloons. On Omaha Beach, HHB and A battery supported the 16th Regimental Combat Team (RCT); B Battery supported the 116th RCT. C, Battery landed on Utah Beach in support of the Fourth Infantry Division, Enemy fire at Omaha Beach mooted early deployment of Batteries A and B, but as balloon teams struggled ashore, they took cover where they could and began firing, integrating, and extending their barrages. As the assault forces fought inland, the 320th followed, firing barrages to protect gun emplacements, aid stations, and command posts. The only black unit to land on D-Day and the only full barrage balloon battalion to fight in the European Theater, the 320th, "despite the losses sustained … carried out its mission with courage and determination, and proved an important element of the air defense team." General Eisenhower concludes by commending your fine effort, which has merited the praise of all who have observed it." , As the battlefield moved inland, the threat posed by the Luftwaffe diminished at speed. Thus the 320th embarked USAT Excelsior on 13 November 1944 and returned to the United States. At Camp Stewart, Georgia, the battalion trained for service in the Pacific Theater, and a half-year later embarked USAT Aconcagua for transport to Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. Landing on 6 May 1945, the 320th staged at Camp Aiea but saw no further action. The battalion was deactivated there on 14 December 1945. , In tribute to the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the soldiers of the 320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion, VLA, and in recognition of their worthy contribution to the chronicle that Black History Month exists to honor. Given on 23 February 2006 by the Bank of the James of Lynchburg, Virginia. .

320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion
Very Low Altitude (VLA) The 320th Coast Artillery Barrage Balloon Battalion (Colored) was activated at Camp Tyson, Tennessee, on 10 December 1942. All the enlisted men and seventeen of the battalion's 49 officers were black. Redesignated on 15 July 1943, the 320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion, VLA, comprised Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), three firing batteries (A, B, and C), and a medical detachment. The battalion trained for four months, then staged at Camp Shanks, New York, to embark HMS Aquitania. On 17 November, the 320th debarked at Greenock, Scotland, and soon encamped at Checkendon, England, fifteen minutes flight from German airfields, which gave urgency to the battalion's preparations for battle.

Batteries A, B, and C fired anti-aircraft (AA) barrages of two-ply-rubber, gas-filled, blimp-shaped balloons tethered by steel cables to winches. Depending on balloon models, the barrages ranged from 6,000 to 10,000 teet. They disrupted low-level bombing and strafing runs and forced enemy aircraft to operate at higher altitudes, increasing their vulnerability to conventional AA fire. Six weeks before D-Day, the battalion formed into several assault groups. During ensuing maneuvers, the troop configurations evolved

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as the 320th strove to extend VLA coverage, increase operational flexibility, and enhance command and control. By late May, the battalion could integrate VLA barrages for combat teams dispersed along England's southern coast from Portsmouth to Land's End.

On D-Day, three-man combat teams of the 320th went ashore in more than 150 landing craft, most flying inflated balloons. On Omaha Beach, HHB and A battery supported the 16th Regimental Combat Team (RCT); B Battery supported the 116th RCT. C, Battery landed on Utah Beach in support of the Fourth Infantry Division, Enemy fire at Omaha Beach mooted early deployment of Batteries A and B, but as balloon teams struggled ashore, they took cover where they could and began firing, integrating, and extending their barrages. As the assault forces fought inland, the 320th followed, firing barrages to protect gun emplacements, aid stations, and command posts.

The only black unit to land on D-Day and the only full barrage balloon battalion to fight in the European Theater, the 320th, "despite the losses sustained … carried out its mission with courage and determination, and proved an important element of the air defense team." General Eisenhower concludes by commending your fine effort, which has merited the praise of all who have observed it."

As the battlefield moved inland, the threat posed by the Luftwaffe

320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion Marker (right) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross

2. 320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion Marker (right)

diminished at speed. Thus the 320th embarked USAT Excelsior on 13 November 1944 and returned to the United States. At Camp Stewart, Georgia, the battalion trained for service in the Pacific Theater, and a half-year later embarked USAT Aconcagua for transport to Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. Landing on 6 May 1945, the 320th staged at Camp Aiea but saw no further action. The battalion was deactivated there on 14 December 1945.

In tribute to the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the soldiers of the 320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion, VLA, and in recognition of their worthy contribution to the chronicle that Black History Month exists to honor. Given on 23 February 2006 by the Bank of the James of Lynchburg, Virginia.

Erected by National D-Day Memorial. (Marker Number 2006.)

Topics and series. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Air & Space • War, World II. In addition, it is included in the U.S. National D-Day Memorial series list. A significant historical date for this entry is June 6, 1944.

Location. 37° 19.853′ N, 79° 32.156′ W. Memorial is in Bedford, Virginia, in Bedford County. It can be reached from Overlord Circle 0.4 miles west of Burks Hill Road. The Marker is located on the grounds

320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion image. Click for full size.

National Archives

3. 320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion

Cpl. A. Johnson, from Houston, is assisted by some of his men as they walk a balloon over to a winch, in France on July, 1944

of the National D-Day Memorial. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 3 Overlord Circle, Bedford VA 24523, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Southwest Virginia.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 238th Engineer Combat Battalion (here, next to this marker); The Glider Pilot Regiment (here, next to this marker); Military Police (MP) Platoons (here, next to this marker); The United States Marines in the European Theater (here, next to this marker); First Infantry Division (here, next to this marker); Fifth Ranger Battalion (here, next to this marker); French Forces of the Interior (FFI) (here, next to this marker); Second Ranger Battalion (here, next to this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bedford.

Also see . . .
1. The 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion: The African American Heroes of the D-Day Invasion. (Submitted on February 3, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
2. National D-Day Memorial. (Submitted on February 3, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 3, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 559 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 3, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.