13^th Air Defense Artillery       .            

 

 

 

Heraldic Items

 

Coat of Arms

Shield: On a field Gules a Crescent Luna Waxing per Bend Or pierced by an arrow Per Bend Sinister Chief Or.

Crest: A Filis Domestis Statent Sable subtium a Rungium Seige Natural Fore to a Broken Mirror Argent and Gules.

Motto: “Unlucky to some” or, in the original Latin, “Balas la luna.”

Symbolism: Red and yellow symbolize the Anti-Aircraft Artillery from which the regiment was organized. The black cat is the mascot adopted by the 13^th Artillery prior to their defense of Washington City in 1812. The ladder was a trophy sold to the 13^th Coast Artillery (AA) during the Armistice, which allegedly belonged to the Kaiser (or Trotsky, depending on who told the story). The mirror represents the one offered to Lieutenant-Colonel Custer prior to the company’s departure from Fort Abraham Lincoln in 1876 and accidentally dropped by him. “Shoot the Moon” is an expression which tells what anti-aircraft guns do, although it also seems to be a way soldiers expressed contempt for their enemies across no-man’s land.

 

Distinctive Insignia

The distinctive insignia is the shield and motto of the coat of arms.

 

 

 

Lineage and Honors

 

Lineage

The regiment traces its history back to the 13^th Artillery Company organized during the War of 1812. The 13^th was present at the burning of Washington, having moved across the Potomac River to get a better view. The 13^th Artillery Company did see good service during the Battle of New Orleans, having assisted in winning the battle several weeks AFTER the war was over.

            In the Mexican-American War the 13^th Artillery made it all the way to Mexico City, but saw little active service afterwards because of medical reasons. Regimental lore has it that members of the company invented the phrase “Montezuma’s Revenge.”

            The Civil War was an epic hard-fought conflict that claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers, north and south, and forever changed the face of America. Unfortunately, the 13^th Company saw none of it, having surrendered in 1861 at Fort Sumter.

                        Following the postwar reorganization the 13^th Artillery served on the frontier. At the height of the Indian Wars “B” Battery was detached to the 7^th Cavalry to fight the Sioux. LTC Custer directed the battery to leave its guns behind as “they would slow his column down.”

            During the Spanish-American War the resurrected 13^th Artillery was sent to Cuba. This was where the unit scored its first antiaircraft “kill” by shooting down a lone balloon directing artillery fire over Santiago. The gunners spent all night modifying the carriage of one of their pieces to fire at a high angle and setting the shells just right. Unfortunately the balloon they shot down belonged to the Americans.

            Reorganized as the 13^th Coast Artillery on June 15^th 1905, the unit next saw active service during World War One. The 13^th CAC was sent to the Western Front, where legend has it that they shot down the Red baron, “or some other German Fokker.”

            The 13^th CAC was next sent to Siberia, where American, Japanese, and Czech forces were all vying to non-interfere in the Russian Civil War. The 13^th non-interfered brilliantly, bringing down neither Red nor White aircraft.

            In World War Two the 13^th CAC (AA) participated in the little-known Battle of Los Angeles. Alerted to the possibility of a sneak attack by Japanese planes launched by carriers off the California coast, the 13^th was ready. When Mitsubishis made an appearance just days after Pearl Harbor, the 13^th, under the command of COL Dwayne Kreuzenaugen, responded by filling the sky with lead. Although the regiment shot 3,286 shells and the unit failed to down any enemy planes, the 13^th did prevent the planes from dropping any bombs on L.A. The Navy was never able to find the Japanese carriers, and one American twin-engine Beechcraft was shot down, possibly by enemy action, while flying over the city at the same time as the raid.

For its valiant efforts against the Japanese, the 13^th CAC was sent to help with the defense of the Philippines. The 13^th Coast Artillery (AA) was disbanded on April 11^th, as all mail to the unit on Bataan was being returned stamped “undeliverable.”

            Reestablished as the 13^th Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment in November 6^th, 1943, the unit next saw action at the Battle of the Bulge, where gunners managed to keep up with retreating American units. In some cases, the antiaircraft gunners even out-distanced the armor, artillery, and infantry units they were protecting. The gunners of the 13^th AAA managed to hold off the German forces attempting to take Bastogne by allowing their regimental cook to be captured. His famous Meat Loaf Surprise, served to the elite 2^nd SS Panzer Regiment, incapacitated the enemy with stomach cramps. AA guns pressed into the ground role helped as well. The 13^th AAA later took part in the defense of the Remagen Bridgehead, shooting down two German jet fighters, three bombers, two Ju87s, a barrage balloon, at least two frogmen, and a schnitzel wagon that did not halt when ordered. The regiment was disbanded on May 2^nd, 1945.

            The 13^th Guided Missile Battalion was activated on February 28^th 1955 and armed with Nike-Ajax missiles. While part of the New York Defense Sector, the battalion accidentally launched a missile at the Jersey City on 10 October 1959. It was several days before anyone noticed. The unit was deactivated on 15 October 1959.

            Needed for shorad defense, the 13^th Air Defense Artillery was activated on 1 July 1967. During the 1968 Tet Offensive many units were struggling for their survival. Even the U.S. embassy in Saigon was under siege. During this critical battle the 1-13^th ADA racked up an impressive tally: four enemy water buffalo.  The 1-13^th was tentatively scheduled to be the lead element in the Vietnam War Victory Parade. The unit was deactivated on 27 August 1975.

            On 27 July 1983 the 13^th ADA was reestablished as a himad regiment. During Operation Desert Storm the 1-13^th ADA came close to ending the conflict when they captured Saddam Hussein’s command RV, but the Iraqi dictator disguised himself by removing his mustache and passing himself off as a lost camel herder.

 

Campaign Participation Credit

    War of 1812:  Washington 1813, Louisiana 1815.

   Mexican War: Resaca de la Palma 1846, Halls of Montezuma 1847.

    Indian Wars: The Wagonbox, Little Big Horn 1876.

   Civil War: Sumter 1861.

   War With Spain: Santiago 1898.

   World War I: St. Mihiel 1918, Meuse-Argonne 1918, Lorraine 1918, Siberia 1919.

   World War II: America 1941, Philippines 1942, London 1943, Ardennes 1944, Rhineland 1944-1945.

   Vietnam: Vietnam Counteroffensive, Phase III 1967-1968; Tet Counteroffensive 1968; Tet 69/Counteroffensive 1969.

    South-West Asia: Desert Shield 1990-1991, Desert Storm 1991, Occupied Iraq 1991.

   Expeditions: SWA 1993, SWA 1995, SWA 1997, Desert Fox 1998, SWA 2000.

   Cold War:  ARADCOM 1955-1959.

Decorations

   Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered ANTWERP X; Presidential Unit Citation (Navy), Streamer embroidered LOS ANGELES; Valorous Unit Award, Streamer embroidered RIYADH; Meritorious Unit Commendation (Army), Streamer embroidered REMAGEN. French Croix de Guerre with Palm. World War I, Streamer embroidered MEUSE. Philippine Presidential Unit Citation, Streamer embroidered BATAAN.